Mastitis! I ain't got time for that!

So, my goal of posting once per week was a bit thwarted by my immune system which took a dive and landed in the pool of mastitis. Yup! You read it right. Most of the time mastitis occurs within the first month or two after having your baby when you are dealing with engorgement. Then, as the breasts soften over the months to come and baby gets more efficient at emptying them you no longer have that problem. And that is when many people think they have lost their supply. Not true! But, we'll talk about that later. For the opposite end of the spectrum, the overachieving milk ductal system, we have our own set of problems like engorgement...still. And yes, leaking...still.
So, when my awesome little 5 1/2 month old baby girl started sleeping 10 hours at night - thank God! Yes,I was getting a little engorged at night, but I'm finally getting some sleep! I'm not getting up to pump, it will be fine. Or so I thought. Now, I have mastitis.
Mastitis occurs when milk stays in your breast too long and grows a bacteria that infects the breast TISSUE, NOT the breast MILK. IT is important that you continue to breastfeed on the infected side. It keeps it from getting worse and gives your baby more good antibodies. And, you generally will need antibiotics to resolve.You can try some other things first, but mastitis can get bad really quickly and lead to an abscess which may require surgery. LESSON - if you are engorged, make sure to feed baby or pump enough to keep milk flowing and massage your breasts to make sure the milk in the back ducts are flowing downward. Often, it starts as just a plugged duct and you can usually use heat and massage to get it out. If it has not improved after 24 hours or you develop flu-like symptoms, see your OB pronto! This is what it looks like:

So, yesterday, I spent the day, feeling crappy, applying heat to my breast, massaging it trying to get anything clogged out, last night I pumped before I went to bed, took lots of Vitamin C, drank lots of water, and tried to get rest. And, I do feel better today, but my breast looks worse, so I'll be picking up my antibiotics (Augmentin) this morning. Hopefully, it doesn't give us thrush. That is the risk when you need to take antibiotics while breastfeeding. And, thrush is a nightmare to deal with. So, don't drop by my house unexpectedly this week, I will likely be topless trying to avoid getting it. I'll let you know next week! In the meantime, I will still enjoy breastfeeding my little one. Its SO worth it and I treasure it so much. Most good things come with challenges along the journey. But I wouldn't change a thing (except maybe getting up and at least hand expressing some milk out of my breast next time:) God bless and may you enjoy meandering in the land of milk and honeys without mastitis.