Why I've been MIA for the last 6 weeks....make that 7

The last few weeks of my life have been miserable. Absolutely mis.er.a.ble.

Here's why.

Avery has been a champion nurser from the beginning. She started off great and only got better. Aside from the usual and expected nipple soreness I wasn't having any problems. It definitely wasn't very comfortable for a couple weeks, but I was expecting that and I had armed myself with plenty of nipple cream to ease the pain. And it worked great. No cracked nipples, no bleeding. I thought I'd gotten off easy. 

Just when the initial nipple soreness was starting to wear off, I got a plugged duct, which was pretty painful. My mom was still here at the time and we researched on the internet how to get rid of it. Some massage, a little heat, nurse frequently, start on that side, etc. I was able to get rid of it after a couple days.

Then about a week after my mom left I started to get this burning/stinging sensation in my nipples when she nursed. I wasn't sure what to make of it and just tried to make sure she was latching on correctly and just hoped it would go away. But over the next couple days it kept getting worse and worse to the point where I was just bawling the whole time she nursed because it hurt so bad.

One night while I was up feeding her I tried googling my symptoms to see if I could figure out was was going on. All the information pointed to thrush, which apparently you can get on your nipples, not just in your mouth. So the next morning I called my doctor to let him know I think I had thrush and he called me in a prescription.

(Funny story: I didn't even talk to my doctor about the thrush. I just called the office and told the receptionist "I think I have thrush" and she went and talked to the doctor who called in my prescription. They never even asked what my symptoms were!!)

Anyway, the bad thing about thrush is that it takes a really long time to go away. It's a yeast infection so it grows in warm, moist environments... basically exactly was nursing is. One of the things they recommend is to try and go topless as much as you can to air out your nipples and to avoid letting the yeast grow in a warm, moist environment like nursing pads or a bra.

So for 2 weeks I was hanging around the house topless and miserable. My nipples were super sensitive so if anything brushed against me it sent a shock of pain through my body. It made it really difficult to nurse because Avery is all crazy, swinging her arms and legs everywhere, before she settles down to nurse.

It was also super frustrating that I couldn't hold her when she needed me because it just hurt too bad. When I absolutely needed to pick her up I would have to put on a bra and shirt which really hurt because anything touching my nipples hurt, but it would at least give me a little protection from her swinging limbs. And the whole time this is going on I was in complete agony the entire time she nursed. The burning/stinging was so painful.

I was so thankful last week when the meds finally got rid of the infection and my pain started to subside.

But just as that was starting to clear up I started feeling like I was getting another plugged duct. I didn't think much of it because I'd had one before and I knew how to get rid of it and the pain from that was no where near as bad as the thrush. So I tried to get rid of the plug but after a couple days it was still there and getting worse. And then Friday afternoon (after my doctor's office closed of course) I got a horrible fever and I knew it had developed into mastitis.

So I went to the ER (by myself with Avery since Tyler is studying for Step) and that was a whole ordeal by itself. I was so grateful my friend Mary came by to see me and hang out with me for a couple hours while they were working on getting a script for me.

I had to see 2 ER doctors before they decided they wanted to transfer me over to triage where I had to wait for them to figure out how to check me in since I'd been checked in the ER. After a half hour of waiting they finally just took me back and I saw the resident, saw the resident again, saw the doctor, and then the resident again before they FINALLY gave me the script. I have no idea why the whole thing had to be so complicated.

To put the icing on the cake, I had to carry Avery like a mile in her little carrier since they had wheeled me in a wheel chair to the opposite end of the hospital and then didn't bother to wheel me back to the side where my car was parked.

So I got my meds and then the countdown began. It takes about 48 hours for mastitis to clear up, but come Monday night I was still in just as much pain so Tuesday morning I called my doctor and he told me to come in. He switched my antibiotic and gave me some pain meds which saved my life!!!! Once those kicked in I felt to much better. It was just as good as getting the epidural when I was in labor.

So now it's Thursday and my doctor said it should be all cleared up by tomorrow, but unfortunately it's just getting worse. Avery is starting to not feed very well on that side and when I pump I can't get anything out. So my breast is huge and very painful and there's nothing I can do to get the milk out. I called my doctor and he wants me to come in this afternoon instead of tomorrow morning.

I'm super nervous because I've read that the next complication is a breast abscess, which requires surgery to take care of. I just can't imagine having to go through that right now, but it wouldn't surprise me if that's what happens because everything else that could go wrong for me has gone wrong.

We've been saying lots of prayers and I've had several blessings from Tyler, but I guess the Lord feels like we still have something to learn from this trial because he hasn't taken it away from us yet. I'm hopeful that we will find a solution some how, but in the meantime I'm just trying to make it one day at a time.

I've been really grateful for the support of all of our friends down here in Galveston. They have provided meals for us this week and I've had so many people offer to help in anyway they can. My friend even made a trip to the store for me. It's made this burden a little easier to bear for me. I'm not sure I would be eating much of anything if they hadn't been bringing dinner because I haven't really been that hungry and then having to go through the hassel of fixing it would be been too much. And I want to make sure I'm eating so Avery has plenty of milk.

Luckily, Avery has been perfectly healthy throughout this whole ordeal. She is a little chunker and putting on weight nicely. She has been such a good baby and been sleeping a lot more the last few days for which I am very grateful. (I think my pain meds might be getting to her a little bit!)

And that's the update on my life. Taking it one day at a time and hopefully I'll get better soon....