How come nobody ever told me weaning is such an uncomfortable process?! With DD1, I weaned her at 13 months when I was 12 weeks pregnant, and has absolutely no problems. I tapered off the feedings over a period of two weeks and one day, just didn't give her that last feed and that was it. No engorgement, no pain - nothing. Milk gone, just like that. I thought that was how it worked every time - ha, shows what I know!

DD2 is 14 months old and I just dropped the last feed a week and a half ago. We had been down to one feed a day for the previous three weeks, so I thought my supply was at an ok stage to drop that feed, but ten days on now and it is still so uncomfortable! I'm not engorged, but my boobs are so sore and the slightest touch or pressure against them makes me wince in pain. I think I may be getting a clogged duct in one, but I don't know how to get rid of it without breaking out the pump or feeding off that side, neither of which I want to do of course as I'm trying to stop all milk production.

I've been using cold compresses and have just started taking Benadryl at night, hoping the antihistamine will help dry things up, but I'm really uncomfortable and worried about a clogged duct that could then turn into mastitis. I tried massaging and hand expressing this morning but it doesn't seem to have made much of a difference.

I've also been ridiculously sad about weaning (we think DD2 is probably our last baby) and to be perfectly honest, I wasn't fully ready to drop that last feed when we did. It was very abrupt as DH and I had somewhere to be last Saturday evening and were going to be very late if I fed DD before we left. My mom, who was babysitting, put a lot of pressure on to just forget the feed and go (she's never been super supportive of BF'ing), and rather than get into an argument, I did. But really, I probably would have continued on for another month or so had it not been for that situation. Anyway, I digress, but I'm wondering if the abruptness of it all and the resulting emotional roller coaster is having an adverse effect on the weaning process.

Anyway, any advice or tips to share on how to make the weaning process less painful and/or get rid of a clogged duct without pumping or feeding again?