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Tuesday, July 05, 2005

milk duds


fireworks? giant daisies? purple air-titties? we report, you decide.


i would have wished you a happy fourth, y'all, but mr nice guy's independence has reached record lows these past seven-odd weeks so he frankly just didn't see what all the fireworks were about. (neither, frankly, did the baby, who we brought up to our roof-with-a-view for her first Fourth. just as the festivities got boomingly under way, she fell asleep. dumb baby.)

but the sky wasn't the only place for fireworks this past weekend. it seems there was no small about of burning, popping, fizzing and explodingness inside mrs nice guy's right breasticle. that's right: all this sporadic nursing and no sleeping has resulted in one excruciating case of Poison Boob.

mastitis, she is a cruel mistress. mrs nice guy went to bed on sunday not feeling well. halfway through the night she was burning up and sweating through the sheets, generally something i do not condone her doing without my assistance. she found a lump. it hurt her to nurse. good lord, do the satanic gods of parenting ever chill the fuck out?

anyway. it's probably just a backlogged milk duct. she felt a little better the next day. popped an advil. drank lots of water; pumped, expressed and hot-compressed. she got the midwife to prescribe some antibiotics -- but reserved those as a nuclear option, if things get worse.

thank goodness the fever is gone today, but there is still some pain apparently. she is nursing frequently, and as all the experts advise, in "different positions." i walked into the room once to find mrs nice guy on her back with the baby face down at the boob and her tiny legs up in mom's face. i also witnessed some bizarre yoga-style downward dog feeding contortion that i am not entirely convinced is legal in this state. oh man, i only wish i could post pictures of that, but this is not that kind of website. instead, you'll have to settle for this july four themed metaphorical abstract rendering of Poison Boob:




12 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Heat packs on the inflamed area can help, too. They dilate the vessels and get the milk aflowin'.

Linda
http://indigogirl.typepad.com

7/05/2005 1:19 PM  
Blogger c said...

Oh god, I remember mastitis. Horrible.

Back massages help, too. No, really, I swear. Honestly.

7/05/2005 2:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

nothing like being a new parent! such fun. i remember it well. resembles being hit by a truck, doesn't it? it gets better. don't ever let anyone tell you it doesn't get better. it gets better.

yes hot packs, drink lots of water. stand in the hot shower with hot packs. all fun to do on a hot summer day while plugging the baby's mouth with your pinky so the screaming will stop for just one minute.

7/05/2005 2:27 PM  
Blogger Shal said...

wow sounds like loads of fun. really it does. I can't wait.

The pics of the boob, oops I mean fireworks were really nice!

Hope Mrs. Nice Guy is feeling better.

7/05/2005 6:55 PM  
Blogger Kara said...

a good dose of guinness works. sends the milk a-gushing.

7/05/2005 7:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cabbage leaf compresses work wonders, too! .....but don't ask me why!! lol

7/05/2005 10:54 PM  
Blogger Lisa said...

OW mastitis, I haven't even had a kid yet, but my boobs are feeling sympathy pains just hearing about it. I have several friends who went through it. The cabbage helped them. I can't wait for a post about that! Good luck! hope Mrs. Nice Guy gets better soon!

7/06/2005 1:14 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree with kara...Guiness works wonders for getting your milk to let down:)

7/06/2005 7:10 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I know it sounds really weird, but just like the other post cabbage leaf compresses work. I have had this problem twice. (once with each kid) Nothing worked except cabbage. Crush it, put it on your boob, take it off to nurse, and in two to three days...relief.

7/06/2005 9:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If it is just a clogged milk duct, do the following: take a hot shower (feels good anyway). Take a washcloth and really roughen up the nipple on the affected boob. What should happen is that a TINY tiny white dot will come off of the clogged duct endpoint, and the backed-up milk will literally come shooting out of your breast - well Mrs. Nice Guy's breast. It is truly impressive on every level. and will give immediate relief. You will laugh at the hot packs.

7/07/2005 8:23 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You must tell Mrs Nice Guy about our yahoo group "PumpMoms". It has a wealth of info for mom who pump sometimes, once in a while, and all the time. It is over 2000 strong. She would get lots of info!

7/12/2005 8:11 AM  
Blogger LadyBug said...

Ugh. The sickest I have ever been in my life was when I had a breast infection when my second daughter was 2 weeks old. Hope Mrs. Nice Guy is back in top form.

7/12/2005 2:32 PM  

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