My Struggle With Mastitis

The past two days have been a roller coaster for me. I woke up yesterday morning worried that I was getting sick with a flu or virus. I just felt achy, my head hurt, I had no appetite, and my right breast hurt so bad. As the day went on, I started feeling worse and worse. Then I took my temperature and sure enough I had a temperature of 100.2. Ugh. I definitely did not have time for this.

I looked all of my symptoms up, and I asked for advice from my Facebook friends, and it all pointed back to Mastitis. Mastitis is an infection you can get in your breast while breastfeeding. It happens when a milk duct gets clogged or you just get an infection. The thought of going to the emergency room or doctor’s office scared me because I’d hate to bring sicknesses from the waiting rooms to my one month old son.

Last night consisted of Tylenol, pumping every 2-3 hours and a baby that wouldn’t sleep. By the morning, I felt so sick, tired, and just altogether miserable. I had even started throwing up as well. I’m telling you, it’s no joke. I was trying so hard to get better by myself with home remedies like massaging the area while pumping and using hot towels on the swollen area, but after getting to the point where I was feeling too weak to feed and burp my son, I had to call the hospital! Thank God my doctor sent antibiotics right to my pharmacy! No appointments or anything. I picked up the medicine, ate and took it right away. I’m of course still waiting to feel all the way better, but I’m sure after the antibiotics kick in, I’ll be as good as new. I want to push through this and keep breastfeeding.

I wrote all of this to say, as stubborn as I was while I was trying to get better by myself, my family needs me. Especially my little guy. Mommies can’t take sick days. There are always bellies to feed, tushies to clean, and cuddles to be had. I had to feel better so I could be the best mommy I could be. If you came across this post because you have mastitis, don’t be stubborn. Let your doctor know so they can help. ❤️