I just thought I'd share my little story about mastitis, since, you know, my facebook friends probably don't all want to hear about it.
Yesterday, I had a packed day planned. I felt what I figured was a plugged duct at about 11am and tried repeatedly to try and get my 18-month-old daughter to nurse, but she was too busy. She didn't nurse properly until we got home at 3pm and by then my entire left breast felt as if it had been slammed in a car door. Every move was torture. So nursing? Also no picnic.
My fever started by 5pm and I was rather miserable. Now I was sure this was mastitis an no longer just a plugged duct. I decided to try and help the fever along by wearing warm clothes and doubling up on socks and laying in bed. My fever climbed to at least 102 degrees F and I slept pretty well after a long nursing session just on my affected breast.
When I woke at 1am my fever had broken and my breast was much less tender. I got my daughter on and she nursed like a champ for a long long time. This is the part I most want to share. This nursing session was amazing! I could feel the pain in my breast drain out with the milk like sand through an hourglass. I usually can't really feel specifically what part of my breast the milk is leaving, but this time I could. I distinctly would feel one cluster of tissue and ducts flare up with pain and then drain out. She would change her latch and it would happen somewhere else. It was such a wonderful thing to have my daughter heal me this way; to feel the pain and inflammation drain away and slowly be replaced with relief.
Today all the tightness has left and I'm only a little sore. I'm sure if I take it easy, I will fully recover.
Yesterday, I had a packed day planned. I felt what I figured was a plugged duct at about 11am and tried repeatedly to try and get my 18-month-old daughter to nurse, but she was too busy. She didn't nurse properly until we got home at 3pm and by then my entire left breast felt as if it had been slammed in a car door. Every move was torture. So nursing? Also no picnic.
My fever started by 5pm and I was rather miserable. Now I was sure this was mastitis an no longer just a plugged duct. I decided to try and help the fever along by wearing warm clothes and doubling up on socks and laying in bed. My fever climbed to at least 102 degrees F and I slept pretty well after a long nursing session just on my affected breast.
When I woke at 1am my fever had broken and my breast was much less tender. I got my daughter on and she nursed like a champ for a long long time. This is the part I most want to share. This nursing session was amazing! I could feel the pain in my breast drain out with the milk like sand through an hourglass. I usually can't really feel specifically what part of my breast the milk is leaving, but this time I could. I distinctly would feel one cluster of tissue and ducts flare up with pain and then drain out. She would change her latch and it would happen somewhere else. It was such a wonderful thing to have my daughter heal me this way; to feel the pain and inflammation drain away and slowly be replaced with relief.
Today all the tightness has left and I'm only a little sore. I'm sure if I take it easy, I will fully recover.
