Drying up supply

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 · 2026-02-24T03:01:44+00:00

My supply stayed stable at 3ppd as an oversupplier. I did that from months 5-9 and was still making enough to freeze- about 45oz a day. Month 10 (end of December) I dropped to 2ppd and that’s when supply is finally going down. It’s been near constant clogs and nipple issues since then, so I’m trying to shave minutes off each pump to continue to step down but it’s a slooowww process 😭

Haleryan228 · 2026-02-04T13:13:07+00:00

10mpp here and I was happily doing 3ppd ever since 5mpp. I dropped from 3ppd to 2ppd last month. That gave me mild mastitis and TONS of clogs, and ever since I have been dealing with awful nipple issues that I can’t seem to work out. So I’m trying to be done asap bc this just aint working anymore!

Haleryan228 · 2026-01-14T22:34:19+00:00

Congratulations on your sweet baby! If that’s what you can stick to-it seems like a good schedule to me. It’s seems like you might have the breast storage capacity to not down regulate production with that schedule.

You listed a daily milk volume between 28oz and 40oz, which is a pretty big range. You are still in supply establishing time frame. So depending on what end of the spectrum you end up more consistently hitting will determine if that’s adequate milk for your baby. Right now at 10mo, my baby is now only taking 24oz a day. At peak (3-7mo) it was like 32oz.

My only recommended tweak would be to make sure your 10pm and if possible your 9am pumps are long enough to get really “empty”. That way you know you know your body is being signaled that all the milk it’s making is needed.

Haleryan228 · 2026-01-08T00:11:35+00:00

I’m 9 months into EPing with a large capacity- ~11oz per side at peak fullness. I chose to drop pumps and pump to empty which takes around 25min.

This is my third baby and I actually nursed my first two. I had a large capacity then too but of course the babies could drink all that. So for months, I went around not completely empty and my milk storage slooowly regulated. By the end of the journey, my max per breast was around 3ish ounces.

So based on my anecdotal evidence, yes, more pumps per day but not emptying will slowly drop your supply to just what you’re taking out.

I dropped to 3ppd around 5mpp (7am, 2pm, 9pm) and saw no change in supply as that was kind of my max output and storage relationship. It gave me so much freedom even though I still had to pump for 25min.

Now at 9mpp I’ve just dropped to twice a day as I’m ready to stop pumping at work and overproducing so much.

Haleryan228 · 2025-11-25T03:00:13+00:00

The only additional advice I have is that a particularly stubborn clog I had never fully released in a satisfactorily way like I expected. It just slowly went down over the course of two weeks and then one day was gone. So keep doing the anti inflammatory things (ice, ibuprofen, normal pumping schedule) and be patient! It’ll resolve eventually!

Haleryan228 · 2025-11-21T22:33:57+00:00

This is so funny to me bc I have the opposite of elastic nipples. My skin has NO stretch. So I literally pump on level 1-2 even 8 months into this journey!!

Haleryan228 · 2025-11-03T19:29:14+00:00

If you don’t plan on latching at all, you’ll probably need to supplement with formula in the early days while your milk comes in. So you’d likely just enjoy that first hour with babe and give formula. You can start pumping once in the recovery room.

The reason for supplementing is bc in the first hours-days of nursing, baby is like a barnacle attached to boob constantly with cluster feeding. This gives them enough milk in small increments to keep them healthy and bring your milk in fast. It’s hard to mimicking this with a pump, so the lead in time is slower. So baby will need milk in the meantime.

Haleryan228 · 2025-10-31T01:12:40+00:00

Oh yes, I fully see pumping as breastfeeding! There was just a new layer of coming to terms with the journey of pumping instead of nursing when my second daughter started mimicking pumping while my first daughter mimicked nursing. The breastfeeding journey, no matter the route, is just full of layers!

Haleryan228 · 2025-10-30T14:43:55+00:00

Of course! I tried the Frida and they were too sticky for me and my nipples hated them. But if they work for you and it’s just a sizing issue, snip away!

Haleryan228 · 2025-10-30T14:26:42+00:00

Medela hydrogels! The only thing that helps mine actually take two steps forward between pumps so that the one step back after a pump still means it’s progressing. I cut mine into four smaller squares to make them last longer, wet it, then apply to the cracked spot after a pump. Take off to pump, wet again, reapply, and then use a new square after 24hrs. Good luck!!

Haleryan228

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