How long did it take you to get back to normal after weaning?

[kozachka]

I mean hormones and, wishful thinking, breasts. Also, how long did you have the milk for. It's been almost a month since DS nursed last and I still have a bit of milk. And of course my friends look nothing like they've been before the pregnancy :(. And size wise, I am still a cup fuller than before as well. I'd love to get some new bras but am holding off thinking my breasts might still shrink further.

The worst part is my hormones. I've been quite irritable ever since I realized DS has weaned, i.e. a week after he nursed last, which was exactly his 26 months 'birthday'. Today a doctor confirmed my suspicions that hormones were mostly to blame for my condition. I also have a pretty low blood pressure 95-70 and most likely low levels of iron. So need to get back into the habit of taking vitamins (are prenatal ones still OK?) and eating lots of apples.

[omgrown]

My DS weaned at 10 months and he's now 16 months. My breasts are pretty much back to normal but I was never very big to begin with so they don't look all that different. I'm definitely back down to my pre-pg bra size. That probably took about 2-3 months. By the time DS weaned, I had not very much milk left, I think I noticed I could still get a little out for about a month or so afterward.
As far as the hormones, I never really thought about it or noticed, although my DH may have a different answer there ;-)

[MommyAllison]

I have no experience or advice for the weaning questions - but I have been told that women can/should continue taking prenatal vitamins throughout childbearing years if there is a possibility of getting pregnant. If you aren't planning on any more children I think I would still take prenatals for awhile til your body returns to "normal" - whatever that means. :) HTH!

Allison

[kozachka]

Thaks for your advice. I started taking prenatal vitamins again although I'll probably switch to normal ones when this bottle runs out. This is probably TMI but with the way our relationship with DH is developing lately, I don't have any plans, or chance, to get pregnant soon :(. DH does not believe that I can't control my irritability and suggests that I just "get a grip on myself". Yeh, right.

[girlwonder88]

DD is 9 now and my breasts never have been quite the same-a little softer than pre-pregnancy, and a cup size larger. I remember taking a breastfeeding class right before she was born and the instructor showing us a cross-section of the pre-pregnancy breast, and saying "No matter whether you breastfeed or not, this breast is gone forever. You will never see it again". LOL

WAiting to have number 2 here...who knows how the boys will look after that?

Sara

[jacobsmommy]

I have similar questions. I have started weaning my 9 month old son this week. I was also wondering how long it usually takes to restart your menstrual cycle.

Thanks.
Stephanie

[kozachka]

I think it depends. I did not have AF till DS was 12.5 months, he still nursed 7-8 times a day at that point but slept through the night for 3-4 months.

ETA: My hormones settled more or less within 2-3 days of the OP. I had a visit from AF at the same time so my hormones must have been running really wild. Reading about other pp experiences and sharing it with DH (to prove that I am not just making it up) also helped a lot. Here's one of the links that I found particularly helpfull: http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/n...n.html#hormone

I've also heard that it could take breasts up to 6 months to get back to what would be their normal post-baby state. No hope for the girls to be the way they were :( but I knew that going in.

And I can still squeze few drops of milk from the side with which I nursed for the last year or so and it's been 2 months and few days since DS self-weaned. We made it to 26 months to the day.

[sophiesmom]

I'm the bearer of bad news... my breasts looked awful after #2. I'm not real big, about a B cup, but they really were not the same. I'm nursing #3 and am very scared to see what happens after I'm done. :-( They are definitely bigger now, but still not very attractive being full. :-(
I'm seeing implants in my future! Only thing is I'm scared to have them due to possibility of hiding breast cancer.

[muskiesusan]

Alex weaned about 6 months ago and I still have some milk in both breasts. I just bought some new bras last week figuring they can't get any more pathetic then they are now.

I haven't so much changed sizes from my pre-kids days as they just don't hang the same. This was very apparent when a few months ago I tried on my wedding dress. I had cups sewn in so I wouldn't need a bra, and now, they just float on my chest, with my breasts sadly falling inches below where they once were!


Susan
Mom to Nick 10/01
& Alex 04/04