On Friday I felt really run down, and started to get a pain in my right breast. I thought maybe I was just tired after waiting with a toddler at city hall for over an hour, but by the next morning the pain was stabbing, and I felt absolutely horrible. There was also a big red patch on my breast- under the nipple.
Yep, mastitis. I really thought I wasn't going to get it at all as most people get mastitis during the first few months. I didn't have cracked nipples or anything either so at first I wasn't sure just what it was.
Pichan had a night or two where he almost slept through (I had to wake him for a dream feed at 4am, as my boobs felt like balloons about to burst). Couple that with the fact he is down to three feeds a day instead of four- and it is dropping about 3 feeds in a 24 hour period. No wonder.
Mastitis really hurts, and the thought of feeding while having a massive pain is a huge turn off. Also, I felt like I had the flu- body aches, run down etc. It wasn't great.
Thankfully I received some great advice from a lactation consultant. So I rested as much as possible, I took showers where I left the water pressure massage my boob, and I fed as much as possible. I was also advised to feed in a weird position- with me on all fours over my baby (talk about feeling like a cow). The idea was so that gravity emptied the breast as much as possible. It also felt good to feed that way as it didn't have his head pressing into the sore spot.
I was lucky in that it cleared up by the next day- so no antibiotics or anything. Which is fantastic. It was tender for a few days, but after that was all back to normal. I certainly wouldn't want to get it again, but as I don't feed entirely by a clock (not really 'on demand' though either- more of a middle ground) I must be careful. At least I know what to do now.
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