I thought the end was in sight

I finished nursing the week after Father's Day. I felt great. Not overly engorge. Not leaking. I thought I had weaned well enough to get past the uncomfortable phase and on to the celebration of my one-year goal.

Apparently not.

This past Saturday I was camping and woke up a little sore. Shortly thereafter my little peanut hit me on accident and I thought I was going to scream. Ouch the pain. I checked and I was a little engorged but mostly just suffering from a bunch of plugged ducts. It was like marbles inside my breast. It hurt so bad.

Being that we were camping, there wasn't much I could do but hope I didn't get an infection. I didn't have my pump so I tried the next best thing--nursing. Too bad my baby thinks that is so last week. I had to grin and bear it.

As a result I have come up with some tips.

-No tight fitting clothing-I know you are all eager to jump back into regular bras, tight fitting tank tops and bathing suits, but maybe give those nursing bras a few extra weeks. Wait until you have gone back down to size before trying to squeeze into anything. The tightness doesn't help!

-Hot showers-This will relieve some of the pain and encourage some of the excess milk to leak off. Though the steady stream of water can be a little painful if you are covered in plugged ducts.

-Don't throw away all of your breast pads-Keep some around (I gave away the disposables but kept all of the washable ones) because the over engorgement can lead to leaking.

-Don't pump a lot-I'm trying not to pump at all unless it gets really bad. Why? Well, pumping to stimulate your body to produce more milk.

So far, that's what I have learned from this experience. I hope it helps you as you start to wean.