Monday, March 20, 2006
A minor setback
So much for having things figured out. I should've known I was speaking too soon.
This weekend...Saturday to be exact...I ended up in an after hour clinic at midnight trying to get a prescription to treat my MASTITIS. Yup, you read right folks...mastitis. Now almost everyone I know has gone through this painful ritual but that just doesn't make it any easier. Doctors and nurses telling me how great a mom I am isn't helping either.
Right now Molly is incredibly unhappy with the taste of my antibiotic filled breastmilk and full of gas (also a side effect) so she's fussy all the time. I have to do hot compresses before feeding and then use an electric breast pump after to try to fully drain my breasts. Feeds that were already taking 40-50 minutes from start to finish are now taking 1.5-2 hours. Luckily Molly is usually good for 3 hours so at least I have an hour to myself for sleep or showers or whatnot.
Noel and Mom have had to start helping me with all the feedings because I can't hold Molly and do the compresses, and drink enough, and eat, and pump both breasts all on my own. Supposedly I should be 'resting' as much as possible if I'm going to get over this infection...what kind of cruel joke is that???
My biggest rant right now is with the inconsistency of information I've received about both breast feeding and mastitis treatment. It seems the health care system is set up under the assumption that breastfeeding will go easily for new moms and so they don't bother to give any mastitis prevention information. Since developing this infection I've learned that I should've been doing breast checks after each feed to see if I had any 'lumps' or semi-blocked ducts. Then I would've been able to massage out the block and avoid infection. I've also learned that it's probably best to rotate between different breastfeeding positions (I was only shown one in the hospital) so that the baby is access all the areas around the breasts. I've also learned that I should be massaging my breasts in the shower to help with my 'let down'...I've also finally been shown what 'let down' is.
This all seems like pretty basic information that would've been pretty damn helpful in avoiding this horrible, painful condition.
That all being said, the antibiotics are now kicking in. The swelling, and redness are gone. And I've learned a lot! The 2 biggest thing I've learned is...
1. You have to think of questions and be proactive when it comes to postpartum care
2. Life for a newborn mom is hell for the first 6 weeks (6 WEEKS!!! At least we're halfway there)
In terms of Molly's development...
I read on the internet today that babies usually don't lift and turn their heads until they're 1 month old. Molly was doing that around day 3 - no joke! Our baby ROCKS!
Time to feed again.
This weekend...Saturday to be exact...I ended up in an after hour clinic at midnight trying to get a prescription to treat my MASTITIS. Yup, you read right folks...mastitis. Now almost everyone I know has gone through this painful ritual but that just doesn't make it any easier. Doctors and nurses telling me how great a mom I am isn't helping either.
Right now Molly is incredibly unhappy with the taste of my antibiotic filled breastmilk and full of gas (also a side effect) so she's fussy all the time. I have to do hot compresses before feeding and then use an electric breast pump after to try to fully drain my breasts. Feeds that were already taking 40-50 minutes from start to finish are now taking 1.5-2 hours. Luckily Molly is usually good for 3 hours so at least I have an hour to myself for sleep or showers or whatnot.
Noel and Mom have had to start helping me with all the feedings because I can't hold Molly and do the compresses, and drink enough, and eat, and pump both breasts all on my own. Supposedly I should be 'resting' as much as possible if I'm going to get over this infection...what kind of cruel joke is that???
My biggest rant right now is with the inconsistency of information I've received about both breast feeding and mastitis treatment. It seems the health care system is set up under the assumption that breastfeeding will go easily for new moms and so they don't bother to give any mastitis prevention information. Since developing this infection I've learned that I should've been doing breast checks after each feed to see if I had any 'lumps' or semi-blocked ducts. Then I would've been able to massage out the block and avoid infection. I've also learned that it's probably best to rotate between different breastfeeding positions (I was only shown one in the hospital) so that the baby is access all the areas around the breasts. I've also learned that I should be massaging my breasts in the shower to help with my 'let down'...I've also finally been shown what 'let down' is.
This all seems like pretty basic information that would've been pretty damn helpful in avoiding this horrible, painful condition.
That all being said, the antibiotics are now kicking in. The swelling, and redness are gone. And I've learned a lot! The 2 biggest thing I've learned is...
1. You have to think of questions and be proactive when it comes to postpartum care
2. Life for a newborn mom is hell for the first 6 weeks (6 WEEKS!!! At least we're halfway there)
In terms of Molly's development...
I read on the internet today that babies usually don't lift and turn their heads until they're 1 month old. Molly was doing that around day 3 - no joke! Our baby ROCKS!
Time to feed again.
# posted by Dana Corkey @ 4:54 PM 
