One more obstacle...

(If you aren't a reader with any interest in breastfeeding or women's health issues, then you can just skip this post.)

I considered taking a photo just like someone I know, but I decided that if I haven't been posting any fun pictures lately, then I don't want to post "unfun" ones like that. :-)

Heather and I have thrush. Ugh. I'm not really sure when it started. My right side hasn't been quite the same since the bouts of plugged ducts and mastitis in November/December...but it was never really bad enough to call anyone. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't. What's done is done, right? What I can tell you is that I started noticing some real discomfort and even a little pain overnight on wednesday. I freaked out a little, but then pumping and nursing sessions on Thursday and Friday were okay. And the irritated areas were primarily the side where Heather's new upper tooth was hitting. Starting Thursday morning, I applied lanolin religiously after every session and kept myself in clean breast pads. By later Saturday afternoon, I knew that my problem was not getting better and I'm sorry to admit that I was a bit of a cranky pants myself for the rest of the weekend...at least to poor R.

This morning Heather and I visited the pediatrician and this afternoon I spoke to an LC and made an appointment at a local Breastfeeding Center. We're primarily going to get a prescription for me for a cream that will fix my pain and I plan to ask about other strategies we can take if Heather's meds don't work. (From what I've read, about half of the yeast strains out there are resistant to what she's been given and the pedi found an ear infection, and the antibiotic she's now on isn't going to help our situation either.) I'm also going to ask about how best to clean and steralize around here. I've boiled all of the bottles, pump parts and pacis. And my bras and her blankets are currently in the washing machine in hot water.

I don't know what to do about all of the stuffed animals that I can't put in the washer or the plastic toys that make music, noise, etc. I'm hoping the doctor will have some good suggestions for us.

If we were down to fewer feedings, I might consider weaning. But I'm just not ready yet and I don't think Heather is either.

Ah well. I must extract myself from under the sleeping kitty to go pick the peanut up from daycare. (I dropped her off so I could get the boiling, washing and cleaning done. I had hoped to do some work, but I didn't sadly didn't get to that. Sadly because I don't want to get any further behind...)

Vent

I am tired of being broken.

I vividly remember a few weeks ago (the first weekend in November, to be exact) thinking how happy I was that I felt like I had my body back. Despite the fact that Heather was still nursing, we were in groove that made everything feel almost like it did pre-baby, I could move all of my appendages like I used to pre-baby and I was even continuing to lose weight from breastfeeding (granted, some of this was just from being too busy to eat much dinner).

Well, all of that has reversed. The friday before Thanksgiving I got a clogged duct in my normally perfect and extremely productive right side. The Sunday before Thanksgiving my hip/leg pain returned. And the past couple of weeks I've been craving chocolate and sweets like I did pre-baby. (I haven't gained any weight, but the loss has stopped). I'm back on my motrin and not sleeping as well because of the hip/leg pain, and my clogging issues seem to be ebbing and flowing (ha ha), but not going away. The only good news is that the motrin I'm taking for my leg is good for the duct, too, so at least I don't have to overmedicate.

Add in a horrendous night last night, which was probably due to the beginnings of Heather's third tooth (Merry Christmas to us) and I'm pretty miserable today. I'm seriously just waiting for the clock to strike 5 so I can go home and put a hot compress on my sore breast. And the fatigue and stress are probably the cause of the clog (or the reason it keeps returning), so it's a catch-22 of sorts

I seriously hate being this whiny...but nothing seems to make me more whiny than being tired and achy at work.

Whine.

To keep from being totally obnoxious, I'll end on a happy note. The inside of the house is decorated for Christmas and it looks nice. Heather loves the trees and the lights. :-)

Slightly Optimistic

I've done a bunch of reading online to try to come up with new strategies to try for the benefit of my supply. In the process I found Work and Pump. There is some information on there I wish I would have had several months ago. :-) Nothing earth shattering, just a few tidbits that might have altered my strategies a little.

So I'm experimenting, and results seem to be good so far. Despite the hassle, I've started taking the pump home each night. The goal is to pump after both evening feedings, though I have found so far that I'm too tired to do it after the second one. But between the extra pumping and the 2 1/2 ounces that Heather didn't finish at daycare yesterday, we didn't have to use any frozen milk today! And, even more importantly, I got a full feeding at my first pumping session this morning!

The morning session is another strategy change, too. I decided to try pumping as soon as I get to work. Hopefully this will mean that I'm more relaxed since I haven't even started to think about the work day yet. It also means only interrupting my work twice and leaves me with more time and flexibility for my other two sessions.

I'm hopeful that these strategies, plus the oatmeal, water and fenugreek *and* my recovery from the breast infection will mean that we won't have to use up the whole freezer stash in the next two weeks. As I said before, I totally realize that supplementing with formula isn't the end of the world (and I realize that it might even make my life easier by putting less pressure on me to pump), but I'm concerned about the slippery slope of demanding less milk, so my body makes less, so we have to supplement more.

I'll stop boring you with all of this pumping talk soon - it just happens to be the big "thing" on my mind right now. With parenting there is always something, and I'm sure the next series of parenting related posts will be all about solids! To make up for the limited appeal of my prose, here are a few Heather pictures. Our picture gallery is up to date, except for our camping trip. So those of you who are registered users will find new photos in the May, June and July albums and everyone can see the new pictures in the public folder. (I apologize that the public folder is out of order - but really at the moment I'm just happy to be almost caught up).

Foot holding is a favorite pasttime these days.

Hanging out on the back porch is a good way to make a fussy Heather happy again.

Being in the tent seems to make her happy, too.

Being in the tent yields a number of fun expressions.

Trying out her cool sunglasses, which are still a little big.

Wondering why Daddy took over 600 pictures on this particular Saturday.

Sitting up with assistance is almost as good as standing with assistance. :-)

Random Tuesday Part 2

14 - I should mention that the clapotis works okay for breastfeeding in public. The biggest obstacle is that Heather always seems to have her "top" arm in motion while she's eating. So while it might have worked better if I would have made it a little bigger...the whole process would still have it's challenges. But, I think we do well enough that I feel comfortable nursing in public when necessary.

15 - I'm not a person who likes routines and routines are good for babies. Shall we just leave it at that? :-) There isn't much else to say, it just is what it is. It's one of the reasons that I'm not looking forward to going back to work - the morning routine.

16 - Our luckiness can't be overstated. Despite the fact that Heather will still fight it when she's tired and falling asleep, she continues to sleep through the night. *knocking on wood* Sleep is good. :-)

Clapotis is next

I'll be back to post more soon about Heather's first shopping trip, a friend's shower, my best friend's visit and possible improvements to Heather's sleep schedule that are likely to disappear next week when she hits her next growth spurt.

The reason I'm posting is that I know what my next knitting project is now that I have finished knitting baby shower presents. Heather and I need another Clapotis. The one I have is wool and it isn't washable. I found today that it is a nice wrap for discretely breastfeeding in public. But not only do I not want Heather to spit up on it...it's also too hot. If she's too hot while she's eating she just falls asleep and the feedings take longer.

I think I have some hand-painted cotton in the stash that will do nicely. We'll see how long it takes to knit...