Sooooo, mastitis is not fun!
One night I started feeling a little bit off. Kind of achey and I started to get the chills. I remember that I kept telling my husband I wasn't feeling super well. Then all the sudden I felt like I was going downhill fast. When I went to bed, I wore a sweatshirt and sweats, had 3 blankets along with our comforter and sheets....and I still couldn't get warm. One breast was really painful and I was pretty positive I had or was getting mastitis because it felt just like the flu. So fun on top of having a newborn, lol.
I had looked into this when I was pregnant just to have a few things on hand in case this happened. Thankfully, the items I grabbed were really helpful! I also *accidentally* created an oversupply, which makes you more prone to getting mastitis, so I was kind of thinking it might happen....
Here's what I did as soon as I started to notice signs of it and please remember that I'm not a doctor, this is just what helped me:
+ I took 4 sunflower lecithin capsules every day. I was already taking 1-2 capsules daily for preventative measures, especially since I had an oversupply, so I just upped my dosage. This is exactly what the directions say on the bottle too.
+ I took 2 inner defense capsules every 4 hours and I swear this was the big game-changer for me. The flu-like symptoms got knocked out so fast with this.
+ I did NOT pump or breastfeed on that side unless I had to (I tried to just do what my baby needed, not any extra). The more milk that you express, then the more milk you will make, which is just going to make the situation worse even though it might feel better for a moment. I used these booby tubes, kept them in the freezer and then stuck them in my bra. Heat keeps things moving, ice does the opposite, which is what you want in this situation...for things to slow down.
These 3 things knocked it out so fast. I felt almost completely better the next morning. I think the key was being on top of it as soon as I noticed signs and being really consistent with inner defense, sunflower lecithin, and icing. I also tried to get to sleep early (I know it's hard with a baby) and sleep as much as I could. By the morning I was still feeling a bit lethargic, but I was no longer freezing, had no fever, and just felt so much better and relieved.
Here's to keeping the mastitis away, but hoping you have some tools in case it does show up!
Much love,
Brittany ♡
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