Mastitis, Take 3

If you find any discussion of breastfeeding uncomfortable, please skip this post. It'll just be embarrassing for both of us. However, if you're a young momma who could benefit from my mistakes, well, then they'd feel a little less like mistakes.

Most girls I know who breastfeed have had mastitis with at least one child. It's incredibly common. It's also particularly inconvenient. It usually occurs in the first couple months of breastfeeding, when you're busy adjusting to a few other things. It's painful in a very sensitive area and is accompanied by the flu. Not the actual flu, but it feels like the flu. Its treatment is squeezing and otherwise torturing the sensitive area while taking drugs. And if you get the wrong type, it can lead to hospitalization. Attractive, right? Now let's get to the good stuff: my mistakes.

I've had mastitis with each baby, but this time was memorable for several reasons:

1) FULL: It was preceded by a day of less-than-stellar choices. I've missed church terribly since Isaac was born so Sunday I decided to take him for service (and keep him in the Ergo). All was well until after church. There was a big picnic on the lawn with tents and foodtrucks. It was magnetic (food trucks!), so I went "just long enough to give Isaac a bottle and get myself some fun food." Two hours later, we got home hot and tired and close to his next feeding, so I skipped pumping. Then, I was so full, that he just ate on one side per feeding that evening. I spent the night full. (Which is not to say I caused my illness, but I created a nice cozy habitat for it.)

(I figure his chagrin is much cuter than mine.)

2) A AND B: Monday morning, I woke up in pain. A) Clog or B) infection? I felt around for a lump just under the skin, but found nothing. By 11am I had fever/chills/aches. Mystery solved: must be B (mastitis), so I called the doctor for antibiotics. I made sure Isaac nursed on the affected side, but I stopped looking for A. As time went on, Isaac didn't seem to be getting much from that side - nor did I when I pumped. It wasn't until Tuesday night -- 36 hours after the mastitis began -- that I found the clogged duct, hiding deeper in the tissue, easily overlooked or confused with...like...a rib. By then, it was much more stubborn and had me worried.

3) PANIC: It's really never helpful to assume the worst, so uncharacteristically I homed in on the worst case scenarios immediately. Either this deep duct had blocked the milk flow long enough that I wouldn't be able to get it back, or it was a tumor. And I chose to deal with this late Tuesday night, from about 11pm-12:30am. Very rational hours.

4) TURN UP THE HEAT: My usual sissy remedies for a superficial duct weren't cutting it, so sweet friends came to the rescue with advice: A long and very hot shower while massaging the spot, then pumping/nursing frequently while massaging the spot. Then massage it a little more because it feels so good (not). Now repeat. It's like boot camp for your breast. And it did help, though in my befuddled state I still found it hard to tell if I was detecting the clogged duct or a rib. To this day (Thursday), the lump isn't entirely gone, but the milk is flowing and with time (and killer drugs) it's settling down. Miraculously, I haven't dried up, and I seem to not have cancer. I even went on a mini-date with Josh. Which led to...

5) INSOMNIA: When you are starting to feel better, don't eat anything with beans in it, and don't order coffee out unless you're POSITIVE it's decaf. Otherwise, you may be unloading the dishwasher and blogging about your own foolishness at 4:15am.