« Week three with this new baby of mine: longing | Home | Ten things that motherhood gives you »
Breast gymnastics
By ella | June 19, 2008
Mastitis has struck.
Not a milk blister which was the cause of so much ongoing trouble last time (like for about eight months), but fortunately just a simple blocked milk duct.
But, holy crap, if it doesn’t hurt just the same.
The baby and I try out all sorts of exotic feeding positions. The best, according to the lactation consultant, whom I used to have on speed dial when William was a baby, is to feed on all fours with the baby lying underneath you, positioned so the baby’s bottom lip is in line with the affected area. (See? You come here, you learn something.) All the same, it’s possibly not what you feel like doing when you have a fever, feel like crap and would rather be lying in bed than attempting contortionist breast gymnastics.
This is apparently also the time to increase the frequency of the baby’s feeds (because I’m clearly not spending enough time pinned to the sofa feeding already), apply a warm cloth to the affected breast to encourage milk flow and take a basic painkiller if I need it (not least because it feels like your nipple is being clamped in a vice when you try feeding on a red, hot, mastitis-stricken breast). If the mastitis doesn’t clear up within a few hours I have to visit the doctor for antibiotics - because, untreated, an abcess can form which would need to be drained. And I don’t know about you, but having a needle stuck into my boob is not high on my list of priorities right now.
I’ve managed to avoid antibiotics because I clear the blockage, which makes me feel better, only for it to return, along with the feeling like crap. So it spreads something that would normally be shortlived into several days.
So, in summary: I’m having so much fun at the moment!
Subscribe Via Email OR
Subscribe Via RSS
OR
Read More:
- The first week with a newborn
- Screamer and the blessing of motherhood
- Week three with this new baby of mine: longing
- Sibling rivalry and a new baby
- Babywearing
Categories: Babies
Oh, Ella. I hope you feel better very soon!
Cabbage leaves. Get one from the fridge and stick it in your bra. But don’t do it for too long or you milk will dry up.
Violets last blog post..Foreign soil
I’d heard about cabbage leaves when stopping breastfeeding, but not for mastitis, although I’m guessing it takes away pain right? Thanks. I’ll give it a try.
Man, that really sucks. Sorry to hear that you’ve got glass in your boob.
What type of bra are you wearing? If you’re wearing an underwire nursing bra then the stupid wires might be giving you some crap.
From everything that I’ve read, Motrin, boobing the kid around the clock, changing to a different feeding position and warm compresses are you friends.
Hope it gets better for you really soon.
Amy [Taste Like Crazy]s last blog post..My Pitbull’s Cuter than Your Pitbull
Thanks Amy.
No underwire bra - the mastitis is due to a problem in my breast. I had it checked out and it doesn’t appear to be anything serious - recurring mastitis can be a sign of a tumor - but it means the duct is prone to getting blocked.
Meanwhile I am gratefully trying everything that people suggest.
Hi, I just stumbled here and had to send my sympathies - I had recurring mastitis (5 times in a year) and it is truly the pits. All the advice you’ve gotten is good, especially to keep the boob empty as much as possible. I was told to point the top of the baby’s mouth at the blockage for maximum strength suck.
Don’t be afraid of the antibiotics - I hate taking them, but when you really need them, its the difference between misery and pain and actually feeling better and being able to function. I hope you’re feeling much better!