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One side of one of my breasts is extremely plugged right now and it is very hard in this area. I feel at least 5 bumps in there so my ducts in that area are plugged. I have no idea how to unplug it and I've been sitting with my pump to try to empty that breast the for the last hour. My baby is napping right now so I can't directly feed him at the moment because it's a much needed rest for him. I've come to the conclusion that breastfeeding is a full time job in itself (in order to make sure we're not getting an infection and keep producing milk for our little one) and I have no idea how a full time working mom at an office can breastfeed for 6 months.  

(Flash Forward 10 minutes)

Right after I started this blog, my newborn son woke up and I put a hot compress in that area for about 3 minutes before feeding to him football style. It seems to help! That area is not as hard. He was only drinking for about a minute but it was enough to make it feel better. So do a hot compress before breastfeeding with the breast with the plugged duct. Now if I was sitting in a office in a middle of a meeting, there is no way I can stop whatever I am doing and use a breast pump to empty my plugged ducts and there is no access to my baby to help empty it either.

How do full time working moms breast feed their baby for 6 months? I guess that is why so many quit breastfeeding and turned to formula. It's hard.

I was 5 weeks postpartum when I went to the ER a week ago because my right boob was hurting so bad and I was having chills and fevers up to 103 degrees. It was a Saturday and my husband called my OB/GYN office in the afternoon that day to see if we can get a doctor to prescribe me some medicine instead of going into ER. He called twice and there was no response from a doctor so we rushed to the emergency room to ensure my fever doesn't get worse after my last reading was 103 degrees. My assumption was I got mastitis, from reading online. I started feeling pain from my right boob at 6am that morning. It was so painful, it woke me up from my sleep. I felt my boob and it was really hot with a big lump at the top of it. I grabbed my breastpump right away to start emptying my milk. It's been over 4 hours since I last pumped or fed my baby. He was sleeping for a lot longer than usual. 

After pumping for about 30 minutes, my boob was still hurting a lot. I started getting body aches and chills. My husband could not figure out what was wrong with me. I think he thought I was being hysterical. Anyway, after doing some research online on engorgement, mastitis came up as a severe issue from engorgement. It said with regular pumping/feeding and a hot compress, it'll get better and I won't need to see the doctor. Well, my pain got worse and even with all the pumping and feeding, I was feeling worse pain. 

After the ER took my blood pressure, they expedited me to the top of the ER list because my blood pressure was so low. They originally told me it was going to be an hour wait. Well, guess not. They took my blood work and urine to make sure every thing is okay. I was diagnosed with mastitis and a urinary tract infection! It turned out that that catheter that they used on me while I was a labor could cause UTI! I was feeling pain while peeing since I gave birth but I thought that was just a result from giving birth. I had no idea. So watch out you guys! The mastitis can give you flu-like symptoms like I had, and so can a UTI! 

I hope any of you don't have to go through what I went through. It was painful and I'm still on antibiotics for my infections. My right boob still hurts but not as much. It got significantly better after the 3rd day on medication. I suggest to not wait to get medicine. Get it while you're sure that you have mastitis! 

Good luck!

I knew it was going to be hard going to the bathroom after giving vaginal birth, but I had no idea I would still be constipated even after 3 weeks. I have taken laxatives 3 times and I hate that I need those in order to empty my waste. 

I also feel that my hands are still numb after I wake up from my sleep, which is very little these days. My numbed hands are what I had while I was pregnant towards the end of my third trimester. I wonder if that is a result of all the toxins built up in my body from not being able to release them?

Anyone else having the same issue? 

When I first started pumping my breast milk, my first 15 min session produced under 1 oz and that's including both breasts! On the 3rd day after I gave birth was when I started pumping to get more milk coming. Now, 15 days later, I am finally producing over 5 oz. What a difference and relief! I'm finally making a surplus for my baby.

We are no longer supplementing my baby's diet with formula.

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While I was pregnant with my son, I decided that I was going to breastfeed instead of using formula since so many medical professionals highly encouraged it. When my son was born, he latched onto my breasts right away and I felt like we had a good thing going on. On the second day, I got worried because his lips were getting really dry and that made me think I was not producing enough liquids from my breasts. We decided to see a lactation consultant the next day.

I'm not sure if it's because of my postpartum or if I'm just uptight but I felt really violated when the lactation consultant started massaging my one of my breasts. I guess that's a part of their job but while I was feeding my son (because I had to show her), she still massaged it while he was latched on. I felt really, really weird. She was an old lady.

Did anyone feel the same way?