The timing of things. . .

[simplymcghie]

Oh how wonderful the timing of things can be. I am a small business owner and a mother of three ranging from 5 years to 10 months.

In addition to my very busy, hectic life I have:

Tomorrow we are having a totally last minute birthday party for my son which we have to plan and get things ready for. He turned 5 on the 14th and if we don't do the party tomorrow we will have to wait until the middle of October.

Saturday I have a big show where I'm selling my soap which I still have to wrap, make signs and finalize my display.

and today I discovered that I have some plugged milk ducts that are developing into a breast infection. The remedy for this is applying heat, frequent nursing and bed rest (as much as possible) until it clears up.
-figures. . .

Oh well. What can I do. Now I'm off to try to rest. . . it that's possible.

 

[kharmon320]

Hi, Sorry you're dealing with all this at the moment. I wanted to add that I thought moist heat worked really well for clogged ducts. The easiest thing for me was to wet a disposable diaper with really warm water. The diaper would soak up the water but stay warm for a while. When it cooled off I would pop in the microwave to warm it up (closely monitored of course).

Hope you and your baby spend some quality time in the bed on a nurse-a-thon and you feel better soon. I used to have the same spot that would plug up, but never developed mastitis.

Good Luck!

 

[simplymcghie]

Hi, Sorry you're dealing with all this at the moment. I wanted to add that I thought moist heat worked really well for clogged ducts. The easiest thing for me was to wet a disposable diaper with really warm water. The diaper would soak up the water but stay warm for a while. When it cooled off I would pop in the microwave to warm it up (closely monitored of course).

Hope you and your baby spend some quality time in the bed on a nurse-a-thon and you feel better soon. I used to have the same spot that would plug up, but never developed mastitis.

Good Luck!

Thanks, I'll try the moist heat thing.

 

[Sibi]

looks like timing is not in your favor right now but remember...your health comes first and foremost. You need to be healthy to be able to take care of the little ones. Perhaps a friend or family member can help you with all the tasks that need to be taken care of since you need some rest time. You'd be amazed at how much the people that love you would like to help! Ask

 

[LauraHoosier]

I've heard that cabbage leaves held on the area can help as well. I can check with the person who told me about it. She recommended it to a mutual friend to use after her mastectomy for breast cancer for the pain and swelling, she had to have 2 separate surgeries thanks to her stupid insurance, and used it both times with fantastic results.

Let me know and I can poke her for the directions.

 

[AmyW]

I'd forgotten about the cabbage leaf. I only had mastitis twice (nursed 4 kids total of almost a decade) but the 2nd time I tried that and it actually worked.

Just place a whole leaf (cold from the fridge) on your ****(s). Replace as often as you want.

Alternating warm/hot and cold is good too, use a rice sock for the heat.

As miserable as it can be, just nurse through it.

Hope you feel better soon.

 

[simplymcghie]

Thanks guys. Maybe I'll try the cabbage thing. I just need to get cabbage first

This is the first time I'm having this and this is my third baby that I've nursed. I've gotten a plugged duct before but that was at the very beginning of my nursing experience with my first and because newborns nurse so often anyway it cleared up in no time.

This time around, I'm nursing as often as I can but my 10 month old seems to be more interested in crawling away and playing half the time. It's actually kind of funny. He'll nurse for a minute or two all the while looking at me like "Mom, it's not time to eat," and then he'll wiggle away at play.