Unfortunately, I am too familiar with Mastitis.
When Felix was born (in 2017), he had trouble latching for the first 5 months! So, i had to use nipple shields and pump if i wanted to continue breast feeding. (which i did)
Oh the horror! OMG!
No matter how much support i had from lovely Midwives/breastfeeding helplines/Doctors/clinic and Family. I really struggled to get the whole breastfeeding thing.
So, i started pumping as soon as he was born, while in hospital. My husband & nurses would come and squeeze colostrum out of me before my milk even came in. So painful. But so worth it for bubs. So there i was, dripping into this tiny syringe to feed little boy. I was in hospital for 3 days and then came home.
I will share my traumatic birth story in another post.
Felix was a really calm baby, slept really well all the time – so grateful. Come feeding time, I would become anxious, knowing that I would be in pain trying to get him to latch, and then feeling like a bad mum after many failed attempts and bleeding nipples. So i would pump 200mls! at every feeding hour through the night so that he’d have bottles for the next day. Little did i know that i was actually increasing my supply because i was pumping way too much each session, so my breasts were HUGE, SWOLLEN and so SORE all the time. I got my first bout of Mastitis when Felix was 2 weeks old. I had no idea what was happening to me. It started with fever and nausea, followed by vomiting and the shakes, really red sore breasts and they were as hard as rocks! I called the home Dr, who told me to go to emergency. SO, i did. Without the baby. Leaving him for the very first time since he was conceived! My sister came with me. I was put in a private bed in emergency because i needed to pump for Felix’s next feed. (Also, you need to keep feeding or pumping when you have Mastitis to get the milk flowing and clear any blocked ducts). My husband came to pick up what i had pumped while my mum stayed at my place with baby Felix. Thankfully – he slept through the whole night and didn’t need a feed. I stayed in emergency while they gave me antibiotics and fluids via the drip, i went through a few bags and they sent me home. I recovered pretty well and over the days to follow i continued to feed using the nipple shields instead of pumping.
i got mastitis 6 times until Felix was 5 months old and he had miraculously latched to my nipples after a visit to my GP. I cried with joy, i looked at my doctor with tears running down my cheeks and said ‘is he doing it? it doesn’t hurt! is this what it’s meant to feel like?’ I don’t know what happened. Maybe my nipples became more to shape (they were pretty flat to begin with), or maybe he was old enough to get the hang of it.
I kept the nipple shields just in case, but never used them again. Gone was the anxiety and fear that led up to every breastfeed. Gone was the fear that a nipple shield would be flicked off at a strangers feet while eating lunch and breastfeeding at a cafe (yes, it happened on several occasions). I finally felt ‘normal’. Like i was able to enjoy feeding my baby and not get hot flushes running off to the car to feed him every time he cried.
it really was an ordeal for me. But was so glad he figured it out. I breastfed Felix for 13 months. i think he only stopped because i was already 3 months pregnant with baby number 2! (hehe)
That’s a story for my next post. 2 boys under 2 years old.
Thanks for reading 🙂
Rita xoxo
I’m your average girl, Follow me on my socials to see what I’m up to every week! Let’s connect. @thekindmum
