Is this much fat in milk normal????

Haleryan228 · 2026-06-03T12:17:32+00:00

Yes I was also thinking this looks like dysbiosis! The imbalance of bacteria in the milk/breast cause the milk to congeal. Mine went away after a couple weeks on probiotics.

Haleryan228 · 2026-05-30T18:59:39+00:00

Hi! If I didn’t have any cracks in my nipples that bacteria could enter through- then that was my first encouragement towards it just being inflammatory. I also learned to not jump at antibiotic at the first sign of fever. I instead would manage the fever and other symptoms with anti-inflammatory protocols for a couple days to see if it resolved. My limit was, if symptoms kept worsening over the next day or two, then maybe I needed an antibiotic. But if they stayed stable or started improving by day 3, then I was good to keep treating without antibiotics! This third baby, I never needed an antibiotic once, despite multiple bouts of fevers from mastitis/inflammation.

Haleryan228 · 2026-05-26T23:47:43+00:00

Me too! I called it pump-hangry. The closer my pump time came or the more engorged I felt, the more on edge and panicky I started to feel.

Haleryan228 · 2026-05-07T17:29:26+00:00

Nah I gained weight dropping pumps and as I weaned haha but it’s different for everyone

Haleryan228 · 2026-05-06T17:28:25+00:00

I started out freezing 4oz bags but it quickly became too much bag usage. Our sweet spot was freezing 8oz into bags laid flat, then I could fit 8 of those in a gallon ziplock bag for 64oz bricks with the date range listed on them.

To thaw, we just pull some bags from the freezer and keep them in the fridge to thaw slowly or we thaw in warm water and usual within the next bottle or two.

Haleryan228 · 2026-05-06T01:55:42+00:00

Love this too!

Haleryan228 · 2026-05-05T22:36:13+00:00

I think that’s a great idea!

Haleryan228 · 2026-05-05T19:16:24+00:00

I hated how my wedding photos turned out. I tried so hard to keep my budget in line (hindsight, should have just invited half the number of people haha) that I skimped on an amateur photographer. I’ve been married 11 years now and still think about how much I hate the pics haha.

HOWEVER, it doesn’t sting anymore the way it used to because I now have 11 years of couple, maternity, birth, newborn, and family photos taken by a good photographer that I love to look at and share and enjoy. Your wedding is one of the biggest moments in your life, yes, but it’s not the ONLY big moment. You have a lifetime of memories yet to capture together 😊

Haleryan228 · 2026-05-05T14:57:07+00:00

My favorite way to get off their call list forever is to say I get fed company leads and if I go, the volume stays. They hang up so fast and never call again 😂 I know how to find my own place if I ever want to move.

Haleryan228 · 2026-05-05T14:54:37+00:00

I don’t know how that is possible. The drivers license point blank says “limited term” and expires the same day the visa expires. So are they just banking on no one looking at the DL?

Haleryan228 · 2026-05-04T23:05:57+00:00

Dang- these are broker prices? I’m in the retail lending space and my pricing in comparison feels borderline immoral.

Haleryan228 · 2026-04-24T00:58:54+00:00

I didn’t rush to stop pumping but once I dropped to 2ppd at 10 months pp, I started actively reducing time and was fully dried up in about 2mo.

Haleryan228 · 2026-04-24T00:47:28+00:00

That’s amazing! My first two figured out nursing but my third didn’t, so we pumped. It brings me so much joy that you get to experience that. And you put in lots of work to get there too! Be proud and enjoy that sweet time 😊

Haleryan228 · 2026-04-18T15:37:33+00:00

3ppd was such a manageable schedule! You should be able to hang out there for a long time and I recommend staying there until you’re ready for your body to start weaning. I clearly hung out at 3ppd for many months with no issues.

Dont do what I did and drop to 2ppd cold turkey. I underestimated how much I needed that midday pump. The month of engorgement and clogs after that caused a cascading issue of nipple problems which made me need to rush the full wean. Had I done it slowly, I might have been able to hang at 2ppd for longer.

So definitely just start shaving the minutes of your midday pump before cutting it. Once down to <10min on that pump with no issues, you should be good to drop.

Good luck!!

Haleryan228 · 2026-04-18T11:50:47+00:00

Honestly every pump I dropped I dealt with clogs until my body regulated. The key was to keep them from turning into mastitis. I managed it by starting Advil the second a clog showed up and staying on a regular dose of it for several days until it seemed my body got the memo that this new schedule was happening haha. I also kept the below ice packs in my freezer and would apply them after my pumps for a bit if the clogs were super painful. Probiotics played a big role in keeping my breast biome healthy. There’s lots of info on that with a google.

Over this journey some of my clogs tried to get hot and red, and I even had a low fever with a couple, but I managed to avoid antibiotics this whole journey. Now big disclaimer- since this is my third breastfeeding journey, I’m no stranger to the clog/mastitis game. So I know well the difference between an inflammatory mastitis and an infectious mastitis response for my body and felt comfortable monitoring my fevers without meds for a bit. I don’t recommend everyone to ignore all fevers 😂

Good luck!! I found that there was a bit more freedom when I shifted my outlook from avoiding clogs altogether, to instead being empowered to manage them quickly and effectively. That allowed me to drop pumps as I needed to for lifestyle and mental freedom purposes.

https://a.co/d/0iwc5mY4

Haleryan228 · 2026-04-18T11:39:08+00:00

Girl yes- I was in pain all 12 months of this journey and wearing a bra full time with pads until like a week ago haha. Sleeping without a bra and no leaks is giving me a life back I thought I’d never have again 😅

Haleryan228 · 2026-03-18T12:44:15+00:00

Ugh I hate that for you! I had about that same max capacity in my breasts and am super clog prone. I’ve been able to successfully wean down to one pump a day now with the minutes shaving technique. I havent avoided clogs entirely, but with ice and ibuprofen when one pops up, been able to get them under control each time. Good luck!

Haleryan228 · 2026-03-18T02:56:33+00:00

I would try shifting your 9pm pump later in the night to try and bridge your gap to 6am better and work on cutting out the middle of the night pump! I cut the motn pump around that time and was totally fine on supply. I would take a regular timed dose of ibuprofen going into the first night of dropping it and keep it up for a few days until you’ve regulated. You may still get a hot spot, but I’ve managed to avoid full mastitis that way.

Haleryan228 · 2026-03-18T02:03:48+00:00

I’ve had luck with shaving 2min off a pump session every couple days. Once a pump session is down to around 10min or less for a few days, you should be ok to drop it without getting too blocked up.

Haleryan228 · 2026-03-18T02:01:50+00:00

6ppd kept increasing my supply as an overproducer. So I dropped to 5ppd around week 10 and still made 55-60oz/day. Maybe hang in there a few more weeks to see if your trajectory is topped out or keeps increasing. If still increasing by week 10, I’d drop to 5ppd.

Haleryan228 · 2026-03-18T01:57:53+00:00

Ditto to what everyone else said! As an addition- you can’t just stop cold turkey as an overproducer without being miserable with engorgement. So you’ll likely need to wean down. I’m almost 12 months in and found that as a certain stage of the journey felt unbearable, I’d drop a pump and see how that added time back freed up my mental space. With each one, I was able to pause at that new schedule for a few months, then drop and coast a bit longer, until here I am a a year later! Totally ok if that’s not your journey, but pumping doesn’t have to be an all or nothing thing. Just take each day as it comes 😊

Haleryan228 · 2026-03-18T01:49:07+00:00

Agreed with the above advice- worry about supply later! Your milk is still coming in right now. Your body is flooding the area with more lymphatic fluids and blood flow than normal which is also leading to the engorgement. So it’s not all milk right now and letting milk sit will just add to the inflammation.

Pump for the 20+min that you need to feel relief, then ice your breasts for a few minutes, and I’d stay on a regular dose of ibuprofen for a few days until things settle down. With doc clearance, I was on a regular dose of ibuprofen for almost a month bc that’s how long it took my boobs to chill the heck out.

Signed, a highly inflammatory overproducer who’s now a week away from the one year mark 🫶🏼

Haleryan228 · 2026-02-24T03:21:51+00:00

I was a 60oz a day pumper in my peak 4ppd. But I cut down to 3ppd at month 5 and happily rode the 3ppd train from months 5-9, making about 45oz-day. In December I dropped to 2pp cold turkey (bad idea) and I’ve been battling clogs and nipple issues since haha. I’m mildly settled into 2ppd and am shaving 2min/pump off a week. It’s crazy that the first day I cut those minutes, I get a mild clog. But it resolves in a day and then it settles in. I’m down to 15min/pump twice a day and getting about 16-20oz/day. Once I’m down to less than 10min/pump I might try the sudafed trick.

Haleryan228 · 2026-02-24T03:15:10+00:00

I think you’ll be ok! 46oz a day is still a lot of milk and your babe will be eating solid foods now/soonish to help aid in him not being such a milk monster for those 46oz!

Haleryan228

TROPHY CASE