So I had this whole long post typed up and my plan was to post it as soon as I finished my antibiotics.. Until I woke up on Tuesday morning shivering in bed under two blankets and so achey that it hurt to touch my skin. Did I jinx myself by typing out my mastitis struggle before I was fully over it? Probably.
My first round of mastitis started on Sunday, June 12th. It was a fairly normal Sunday, but then while Mike was at the gym I went from feeling totally fine to shivering and ugly crying in Urgent Care in under 2 hours. Luckily, the nurse practitioner who treated me was an older woman with kids of her own, and she took one look at me and immediately felt my pain! She gave me a heated blanket and some Tylenol, then ran to order my antibiotics almost immediately. Mike brought me home, tucked me and Addie into bed with snacks and a heating pad, then made his way to Target for extra breast pump parts and then to Noodles & Co. to pick up my favorite dinner. He's a keeper ;)
After a few hours I started to feel better (which was crucial since Game of Thrones was on), and by the next day I was like a whole new woman! I took it really easy for a couple of days and spent a lot of quality time on the couch with Addie and my trusty pump, but by the end of the week I was able to get back into the swing of things and I was feeling great! Mike left on Monday morning for a week in the field, but I was feeling totally confident about flying solo for the rest of the week. Cue the ominous music...
Per our pediatrician's orders, we are still waking Addison a couple of times over night to eat, but she doesn't even wake up all the way so it's fairly easy and I'm pretty used to it by now. Tuesday morning was no different, and I was up around 4 a.m. to feed her. I felt a little off but it was 4 a.m. so I figured I was probably just tired. By the time Addie was done eating and I rolled over to go back to sleep around 4:30, I knew something was wrong. I was FREEZING and I had a terrible back ache that was radiating from between my shoulder blades. I knew the mastitis had come back (on the right side this time instead of the left), but since it was too early in the morning to do anything about it, I figured I would bundle up under more blankets and try to get some rest.
We were up again around 7 and I wasn't feeling any better, so I fed Addie, took the hottest shower I could stand, made some coffee, and called the TriCare national nurse hotline. After being "triaged" over the phone, the nurse set me up with someone on the appointment line for Naval Hospital and by some miracle they were able to book me an appointment for 2 o'clock that afternoon! I spent the next few hours back on the couch with Addie and my pump and then made my way to the doctor. When I stripped down for the exam the doctor took one look at my chest and said "WHOA let's get you some meds!" Luckily it was an easy diagnosis and I am on my second round of antibiotics in as many weeks. Just like with the first round, I felt a million times better the next day, and now that Mike is home for the weekend things are really looking up!
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| This is a pretty text heavy post.. So here's some random baby cuteness to break it up ;) |
After a few hours I started to feel better (which was crucial since Game of Thrones was on), and by the next day I was like a whole new woman! I took it really easy for a couple of days and spent a lot of quality time on the couch with Addie and my trusty pump, but by the end of the week I was able to get back into the swing of things and I was feeling great! Mike left on Monday morning for a week in the field, but I was feeling totally confident about flying solo for the rest of the week. Cue the ominous music...
Per our pediatrician's orders, we are still waking Addison a couple of times over night to eat, but she doesn't even wake up all the way so it's fairly easy and I'm pretty used to it by now. Tuesday morning was no different, and I was up around 4 a.m. to feed her. I felt a little off but it was 4 a.m. so I figured I was probably just tired. By the time Addie was done eating and I rolled over to go back to sleep around 4:30, I knew something was wrong. I was FREEZING and I had a terrible back ache that was radiating from between my shoulder blades. I knew the mastitis had come back (on the right side this time instead of the left), but since it was too early in the morning to do anything about it, I figured I would bundle up under more blankets and try to get some rest.
We were up again around 7 and I wasn't feeling any better, so I fed Addie, took the hottest shower I could stand, made some coffee, and called the TriCare national nurse hotline. After being "triaged" over the phone, the nurse set me up with someone on the appointment line for Naval Hospital and by some miracle they were able to book me an appointment for 2 o'clock that afternoon! I spent the next few hours back on the couch with Addie and my pump and then made my way to the doctor. When I stripped down for the exam the doctor took one look at my chest and said "WHOA let's get you some meds!" Luckily it was an easy diagnosis and I am on my second round of antibiotics in as many weeks. Just like with the first round, I felt a million times better the next day, and now that Mike is home for the weekend things are really looking up!
Now that I've got all that of my chest... Mamas! Please don't be afraid to ask for help or to run to the doctor if something doesn't feel right! It doesn't mean you're a failure (trust me, I totally felt like one as I wiped my runny-from-ugly-crying nose with a receiving blanket in the Urgent Care waiting room), it's actually the complete opposite! They always say it takes a village to raise a child and even though I'm only 6 weeks into it, I know without a doubt that statement is true! I'm lucky to live across the street from the Naval Hospital, and even luckier that I have such an amazing support team to keep my spirits up when I'm feeling my very worst. I know I usually stick to posting the positive stuff, but mommy-hood (and life in general) is not without it's struggles, so I plan on doing my best to balance posting both the good and the bad!
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