BeBa

Lots to write about, but not much computering time these days. Here's a summary of some of the things I've done In the past week:

1. Nursed and nursed and nursed baby boy through his fussy two week growth spurt
2. Took Jake to local mama/baby shop for weight check – he's regained his birth weight, plus half a pound (as of today he's 8.5 lbs)
3. Bought Lily Padz nursing pads. Tried them out this afternoon. So far I'm liking! They seem to be pretty effective.
4. Bought new nursing bras one size bigger than I had on hand. I'm pretty sure the other ones were just enough too tight to create a problem (see #7 below).
5. Brushed teeth daily (sometimes two times per day!)
6. Two baths!
7. Suffered from cold one of daughters brought home from school.
8. Smacked down an encroaching bout of mastitis. Here's how:

After two days of a low-grade fever that made me feel generally miserable, I woke up today feeling MUCH better! I guess it was plugged ducts making me feel so crappy. I had plugged ducts in both breasts and treated them aggressively yesterday. By late yesterday evening I could tell they were starting to clear and they were completely soft and not as tender by the time I woke up this morning – and fever is gone. So glad, because if I was feverish again for 3rd day I was thinking doc appt would be in order. Yay, I think I fought off full blown mastitis!

I thought I'd post my treatment routine in case it might help anyone else:

• Braless
• Moist heat – I filled disposable diapers with hot water and used it as a compress against each breast for about 5 min before nursing. I also soaked in a warm bath last night before bed with Jake, nursing him in the tub.
• Massaging the plugged ducts while nursing.
• Usually I nurse exclusively using cradle hold, but I mixed it up with some football hold yesterday (and will continue today, too) so that his nursing would more efficiently access the ducts that were plugged (on outside of breasts).

Right now Jake is snoozing on his daddy's chest while I steal this moment. God, I could sit here and unwind for hours. How I miss my computer time! But the babe wakes like clockwork at 1:30 am, so I should go now and grab as many consecutive hours of sleep as possible.

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