My 3 month old son is inconsistent in his night time sleeping patterns. A few days ago, he woke up 4 or 5 times to nurse for two nights in a row. Then he went 8 hours, then 7 hours the next night. Before then he was pretty consistent at 6-7 hours. Needless to say, this inconsistency wreaks havoc on my boobs...I think I have a bit of oversupply to begin with, so they're really sensitive to extra stimulation at night.
Last night I noticed some plugged ducts in my left breast. And it hurt a TON to nurse...not like latch problems or anything, just pain. I figured it was a milk blister (I had one at 5 or 6 weeks), so we kept nursing a lot and I tried pumping to make sure my breast was empty. I have a cheapo hand pump, so I'm not sure it's that effective.
He slept 7 hours and it was so painful, the plugged ducts were huge and tender. All day today I've been having him nurse as much as possible. I was achy this morning, so I took an ibuprofen and rested - I don't feel achy anymore. Also nursing isn't nearly as painful - I can see the blister and I think some milk might be coming out along the sides so it's not all the way clogged maybe?
But what concerns me is that the upper left fourth of my breast is hard. Not rock hard, but harder than the rest. It feels like my breast does when it's full(ish) of milk. Not engorged, just more full than normal. I still feel a few plugged ducts, but they're not as large since I just nursed. Also I have some splotchy redness in this area.
Does this sound like it's turning into mastitis? I've never had plugged ducts this bad, so I'm not really sure what's going on. To top it off, we're out of town for another 3 weeks, so I can't exactly go see the midwives.
Also, how long can I expect this blister to hang around? I can't get an edge of it to pull at, and I'm not excited about popping it or anything like that.
TIA!
Last night I noticed some plugged ducts in my left breast. And it hurt a TON to nurse...not like latch problems or anything, just pain. I figured it was a milk blister (I had one at 5 or 6 weeks), so we kept nursing a lot and I tried pumping to make sure my breast was empty. I have a cheapo hand pump, so I'm not sure it's that effective.
He slept 7 hours and it was so painful, the plugged ducts were huge and tender. All day today I've been having him nurse as much as possible. I was achy this morning, so I took an ibuprofen and rested - I don't feel achy anymore. Also nursing isn't nearly as painful - I can see the blister and I think some milk might be coming out along the sides so it's not all the way clogged maybe?
But what concerns me is that the upper left fourth of my breast is hard. Not rock hard, but harder than the rest. It feels like my breast does when it's full(ish) of milk. Not engorged, just more full than normal. I still feel a few plugged ducts, but they're not as large since I just nursed. Also I have some splotchy redness in this area.
Does this sound like it's turning into mastitis? I've never had plugged ducts this bad, so I'm not really sure what's going on. To top it off, we're out of town for another 3 weeks, so I can't exactly go see the midwives.
Also, how long can I expect this blister to hang around? I can't get an edge of it to pull at, and I'm not excited about popping it or anything like that.
TIA!
