Should I squeeze or not squeeze my milk when I am weaned?

When the baby is young, the main source of nutrition is breast milk, but as the baby grows older, he needs to be weaned and start eating milk powder and complementary foods. However, the new mother's breasts will not completely stop secreting milk at this time, and milk engorgement will still occur after weaning, which is very uncomfortable. So, should you squeeze or not squeeze the breast milk when you are weaning? Let’s take a look below.

When a mother's breasts are severely engorged, she can squeeze out a small amount of milk to relieve her discomfort, but be careful to be moderate in milking, not to squeeze out all the milk at once, and not to squeeze out the milk too frequently. Milking is also a gradual process. At the beginning, the mother can squeeze out more milk, but afterwards, the amount of milk squeezed should be slowly reduced to avoid stimulating the breasts and causing excessive milk secretion, which will help the mother to stop milk production.

When weaning, if the mother experiences unbearable pain, or finds a lump in the breast by touching it, the pregnant mother needs to use a breast pump to absorb some of the milk. If left unchecked, the mother's breasts will continue to grow, which is a relatively dangerous thing for the mother. It may cause the mother's milk ducts to be blocked and she may be at risk of mastitis. However, mothers should also pay attention to one thing, that is, do not use a breast pump to express milk frequently, because this will stimulate the breasts to continuously produce milk, which is not conducive to weaning for mothers and will increase the weaning time.

When a mother's milk is severely swollen, there is one action that is not recommended, that is, rubbing the breasts with hands. This may make the mother feel better, but it will also produce a conditioned reflex in the breasts, causing the breasts to produce more milk, which is not conducive to weaning. During the weaning period, if the pain of breast engorgement is bearable, the mother should try to endure it, because in about a week, the mother will experience milk dryness, the secretion of breast milk will stop, and the weaning is complete.

Weaning method

1. Take milk-suppressing medicine: If you are determined to wean your baby, go to the drugstore and buy milk-suppressing medicine. The milk will gradually stop coming out, allowing mothers to shorten the weaning time, reduce the number of days of milk swelling, and reduce pain.

2. Use a breast pump: It takes about 7 days to return to normal after weaning. In the first three days, the milk will be very swollen, and the blue veins will be visible. It will hurt when touched, and there will be milk lumps. You can't even sleep, and the tightness is very uncomfortable. Mothers should not force themselves at this time. Using a breast pump to suck out some milk will not affect weaning. Just suck until you don't feel uncomfortable or tight. Don't suck too much, and then let the milk slowly return on its own. If you don't use a breast pump to suck out the milk, it may cause complications such as fever.

3. Avoid eating foods that are beneficial to milk production: During the weaning period, mothers should not eat foods that are beneficial to milk production, such as pig's trotter soup, crucian carp soup, or milk and beans. Increasing nutrition means increasing the pain of weaning, so it is best to eat light foods, such as vegetables, the lighter the better, during those few days to reduce the amount of milk.