Thursday, February 21, 2008

More boob issues

I had big plans to write a contemplative post about what it means to be infertile with a child, but I'm having a little crisis, so we've interrupted our normal programming for this bulletin:

My boob hurts. I don't mean that it's a little sore. It REALLY hurts. It hurts all of the time, but when Eggbert nurses, it feels like I'm being stabbed. There's also a big hard painful lump near the base of the breast. However, I don't have a fever or redness, so I don't think it's mastitis. I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday, but that seems like a very long time from now. Any thoughts? Tips? Sympathy?

This is the boob that was underproducing. The funny thing is that after an unhealthy level of attention and cosseting, it had started producing like a champ. Yesterday it yielded 4.5 oz pumping, which was a new record. I do think it was partly just a pumping issue (it still takes a lot longer to pump on that side), but the supply is clearly up too, since the letdown has gotten a lot stronger. Could this pain be related to its new productivity?

2 comments:

Marie-Baguette said...

boob pain comes and goes, especially during the first few months (sometimes it felt like needles. Other times like stabbing). I also had hard and red bumps on my boobs that went away as mysteriously as they came. They really freaked me out. As long as you do do not have a fever, I believe you are fine. What is important is to empty the breasts well. Are you back to work full time? How many times a day are you pumping? How did you get the underproducing boob to produce so much (my right one still yields 3 to 6 times less than the other)?

hadjare said...

It sounds like it could be a clogged duct. Have you tried massaging it in a hot shower or with a hot compress? And pumping that side more and massage at the same time?