Natural Ways to Dry Up Breast Milk

My son is officially weaned! After three years of being pregnant and/or breastfeeding it feels so nice to have my body to myself again. But the weaning process wasn’t free of all bumps in the road. My son took to weaning fairly well but my body took longer to adjust.

With my daughter, I never had any engorgement issues or milk not drying up while weaning but with my son I did. Having never experienced weaning issues before I didn’t know what to do, so I began to look into ways to help dry up my milk supply naturally. In hopes of helping other women in the same situation as I was in just a couple of days ago, here is my list of natural ways to help dry up breast milk.

Wean Slowly

Take your time and wean slowly. Your body produces milk based on supply-demand. If you cut all nursing off at once cold turkey your body is going to keep producing the amount it is used to producing and you will be in pain. For both of my kids, I did it slowly cutting one feeding out at a time. My kids would nurse about 3-4 times a day when I started weaning. They would nurse first thing in the morning when waking up, before nap(s), and right before bed at night time.

I would cut out the feeding they relied on the least, first. For us, that was nap time feedings. I wouldn’t nurse before naps and instead, offer a bottle of whole milk. I would do that for at least 1 week and once they got used to it then I would cut out another nursing session. And so on until they didn’t nurse at all anymore. By gradually cutting out one feeding at a time it gave my baby time to adjust to the new routine and my body time to adjust and produce less milk.

Don’t Stimulate

When working on weaning try not to stimulate the breasts. Stimulating will keep engaging the body to produce milk. This means avoid pumping, touching, and long hot showers. On the flip side, you may still want to pump to relieve pain from engorgement while weaning. If you choose to pump for pain try to only do a little until you feel relief and not over stimulate. Another alternative to pumping is to hand express. I have heard that can help when weaning as opposed to pumping.

Cabbage Leaves

What helped me the most for relief during weaning was cabbage leaves! Buy a head of cabbage, tear off the leaves, use a rolling pin to crush the veins in the leaves and then put them inside your bra against your breast. The enzymes in the cabbage can help to dry up breast milk. The cool temperature of the cabbage really helps with the engorgement pain or any discomfort from weaning. I know it sounds strange but it really works. Don’t believe me? Try it. I promise you will thank me later!

Peppermint Oil

Another huge help for me with engorgement while weaning my son was using peppermint oil. I love my essential oils and when I read that peppermint can help dry breast milk I had to give it a try. You apply it in between and around the breast. The first couple of times I tried it I just applied straight oil. I was afraid it might be too strong using it multiple times so after a couple of times I mixed it with coconut oil and it helped not be as strong. The menthol from the peppermint gives you that cooling effect which helps to relieve pain and it smells amazing! Win/win.

Birth Control

Getting back on normal birth control can help regulate your hormones and help your milk dry up. While breastfeeding I was on the mini pill which only has one hormone that helps keep it from affecting your milk supply. Once I started weaning and my prescription ran out I wasn’t on anything. I had to wait until my son was completely weaned to get back on the normal pill. Depending on the type of birth control you use you may need to wait until the baby is completely weaned to start it. But getting on birth control can help naturally dry up any remaining milk supply you have once the weaning process is done. Always check with your doctor first before just starting new birth control.

Sage Tea

Drinking sage tea regularly is another natural remedy for drying up breast milk. Simply put one teaspoon of sage into a cup of hot water. Let it steep for 15 minutes. Add in a teaspoon of honey for a sweeter taste and enjoy.

Give these tips a shot and let me know what works best for you in the comments below! Just know this won’t last forever. Your supply will go down and you will get your body back. Be patient with yourself and your body. You will get there!