I have never heard of the word 'mastitis' before... until two weeks ago. And that was when I was diagnosed with this awful condition! It does not sound as serious, but I swear it was horrible. It happened on a Saturday afternoon, when I had a terrible headache and an extremely sore boob. I was feeling a bit nauseous, so I took 2 Panadols, and a powernap. That night, we were celebrating a friends engagement, and considering how long it has been since I actually put on a nice dress and a pair of heels, I soldiered on and decided to head out that night regardless of my condition.
Going out that night made things worse, and the next morning, on Sunday, as I was giving Bambi her first feed of the day, my temperature shot up and I felt like I was burning! I had lunch plans with friends that day, and I cancelled it. I stayed in bed for hours, shivering in cold sweat. However, a few more Panadols later, I felt a bit better.
On Monday, I thought I was back to normal again. Unfortunately, by the late afternoon, my fever was back again, and I knew something was not right. Hehe I googled 'mastitis' and somehow my symptoms seem to match the description (i.e. fever, flu like symptoms, blocked ducts, painful breasts)!
On Tuesday, we met with Bambi's Maternal & Child Health Nurse, and she said I needed to see a GP immediately. So I did, and I was given antibiotics. Mastitis really did my head in, because suddenly my milk supply was reduced and I was worried sick about having to wean off Bambi. Before this, I had plenty of milk, it was funny seeing Little Bambi gently 'choke' while the milk came gushing out in to her mouth. But now, it was no longer the case and that made me extremely sad. It took a lot of effort for me to get my milk in, and I was really feeling sorry for myself, and for my baby. I had plans to breastfeed Bambi for at least 6 months, or longer if I could. It was only 2 months now, to stop breastfeeding was very premature!
Surprisingly, even with mastitis and on antibiotics, I was still able to breastfeed Bambi, and I was avoiding formula where possible. To add to my misery, I was flying to Sydney on Saturday to celebrate my BFF Little-Miss-Drink-A-Lot's Hens Night. How I got mastitis, I will never know, as I have been expressing as much milk as I can, and freezing it up so that my mum can feed Bambi while I was away in Sydney for 2 days. My doctor requested that I go back to see her after 48 hours, and I said to her "There's not much milk as before!" All she says to me is "Keep expressing!" :(
By Friday, the redness on my boobs disappeared, my fever was gone, but I must admit, I was still very nervous about leaving my 2 month old baby behind for 2 days. I knew she was in good hands, my mum is very capable of looking after her, but it was little things like.. "What if Bambi really needed to latch on to my boobs?" "What if she is unable to settle without me?"
Regardless, I could not miss my BFF's hens night. I was determined to make it to Sydney. On Saturday morning, I hopped on the train to the city. Then a sky bus to the airport. When I got to the airport, 20 minutes before boarding, I rushed into the toilet and I was expressing just to clear out the milk. Utter madness. I have never been so obsessed with boobs and a breast pump in my life! While in Sydney, I was also expressing at every opportunity I had. This is to clear out the blocked ducts, and I was hoping that my milk supply would get back up again. I got back home to Melbourne on Sunday night. I missed my Little Bambi so much! Over the next two days, I stayed home and I was religiously expressing every two hours between Bambi's feeds. I also had to make sure she had enough milk.
By Wednesday, finally...there was light at the other end of the tunnel! My boobs felt a bit better, and my milk supply has increased again! Oh my, mastitis! What a terrible ordeal!
