Mastitis - Satsuma,AL

I don't have any advice about the mastitis (sorry), but I wanted to let you know that there is a Mothers of Multiples club in the NWA area that meets monthly and has a web blog. The website is http://www.nwarkansasmultiplesclub.4t.com/

Good luck with the mastitis!

I'm so sorry you're dealing with mastitis. I only had it once during the 13 months I nursed but it was awful. I think I was on amoxicillin for 7 days, not certain though. The heating pad helped me A LOT and drinking lots of water will help it also. Give the heating pad a shot it really really helped me. That's about all I know to do for it though. Good luck, I hope you get it cleared up quickly.

Hi, C.. I know you posted this quite a few days ago, but I wanted to respond anyway. I have a son who is almost 2 and when he was a few weeks old I developed mastitis. My doctor put me on dyflucan (my son's ped put him on oral nystatin), not antibiotics. The anitbiotics will actually feed the infection. Hope you're feeling better...

Do you have an oversupply? Probably a very easy thing to experience if you have twins.

Make sure to feed on demand, not on a schedule, and feed your babies as long as they need to eat.

And, if possible, see if your husband can stay home for a bit to help out! If this is not possible, look into getting a doula who specializes in postpartum care. Doulas help around the house as well as give bf and other baby care support.

I'd get a LLL volunteer to stop by, as well.

Basically, get as much support as you possibly can. Be really proactive about lining up visitors to come by to do laundry, drop off food, dust, vacuum, do the dishes and everything else you can think of. Don't be afraid to ask. You need a lot of help right now. It is extremely important that you take care of yourself right now. Whether the mastitis is recurring or due to fatigue and stress (suppressing your immune system response), it's a sign, I think, that you have more on your plate than you can handle right now.

I'm sure that you and your family will get the hang of this.

Are you nursing your babies in bed overnight? This might help. Your husband might have to spend some time on the couch to make sleep sharing with the twins safer. Let the man sleep on the couch, and basically just go from one side to the other; this way, you can sleep or at least doze while your babies nurse as needed through the night. Same thing with naps. This way, you can get them napping on the same clock, and you can catch up on sleep, as well.

Good luck. I really feel for you. You'll get through this!

L.

I can't agree more with the pump pump pump advice. If you don't have a hospital grade pump...you can rent one. www.anurturingmoment.com is the website for a local store that can help. The owner is a lactation consultant (and SUPER nice). At home though these are a few things that helped me multiple times. Cold Compress, I know it doesn't sound comforting, but I've tried it and it works!! You can use cabbage leaves or other. Massaging in the shower works as well, or if you have a tub with jets try and get that breast as close to a jet as you can. Another thing while you nurse is to try and get the chin of one of your babies in the direction of the lump or pain. Just try and take it easy (I know..easier said than done). Hope you feel better soon and don't give up nursing!!

Hi C.,
I had a very severe case of Mastitis. I also had two rounds, mine was in the same breast, and probably was a reaccuanrce of the first round. It was awful, as you know. I ended up having an absess, which had to be lanced. I had staph! YIKES. The most important thing that got me through it was the following things....1) PUMPING, as paniful as it was, I pumped as much as I could, even just a few mintues every 30 mintues or so. 2) warm baths, where I would compress my breast to help extract the clog, this also was relieving a bit. I even put a heating pad on my chest when I could, or warm wet cloths. With all my trouble I had to stop breast feeding for a week or two, luckily I had frozen some milk. But after that I continued to breast feed/pump for a few more months. I do feel that the mastitis and complications created my milk to dry up sooner than it would have. But I did it! GOOD LUCK! PUMP PUMP PUMP!

I will second LLL. They can help you both with feeding twins and with mastitis. :) Hang in there!

I wonder if you're nursing in a position that is clogging ducts? I would nurse them in a few different positions to make sure you're completly emptying your breasts everyday. I used a special pillow for nursing my twins. I also sometimes nursed simultaneoulsy with one on top of the other both of their feet going in the same direction. Never wait too long too feed them. Don't let your breasts get overly full.

You want to use the same antibiotic. You don't won't to become resisitant to any.

To get some relief take a hot shower and massage the infected breast to get the milk out.

I have 7 kids and my twins numbers 4 and 5 are such a delight. You have so much fun ahead of you. The first year is the hardest and then they entertain eachother. They learn to talk together. It is a joy to watch.

I suggest putting the babies on schedule so you're not completely overwhelemed. This way you can predict your day. I suggest using The Contented Little Baby by Gina Ford. Basically you schedule feed times and naps so you can anticipate the needs of the babies. This cuts done on alot of crying because their needs are always met and it removes a lot of guesswork. It worked great for my twins. Plus when people come to help you can tell them when to put the babies down when to feed them, etc. Also, I changed diapers at the same time so I would forget about one.

Hi C..

I feel for you! I also had recurring mastitis...not fun! Mine was almost certainly stress and fatigue related (I don't recommend moving states with a 6 week old!), so I echo getting as much help as you can right now while you recover. Lower your expectations of what else you need to be doing...the house and laundry will wait!! Your most important job is to stay healthy to take care of your little ones.

I'll tell you what my OB/GYN told me. Mastitis is usually due to an oversupply. Augmentin is the preferred antibiotic to treat it, so if that's not what you are on you might want to check into it (I was on erythromycin 1st, didn't do the job). You should use a heating pad or hot pack before nursing to help the clogged portions loosen up and also massage the breast while nursing. You also do not want to let milk sit in the breasts and become infected after a feeding, so mine had me pump after each feeding so that I was sure they were emptied. I finally followed all the instructions the 2nd time around and I did get better!

I hope some of this was helpful, and I hope you find relief soon!!!

Blessings,

S.

I am so sorry you are dealing with this. I had such a problem with Mastitis that I gave up on the antibiotics and went to a "natural foods store" and talked with a nutritionist. She told me to drink cranberry juice and take the cranberry herb and to take hot showers and just let the water hit my chest and let the milk flow. It was caused from being engorged. My doctor would only give me the antibiotics for 7 days and she said that I should have been taking it for 10 days and that I should have been taking Augminten (sp.). This was the best med for it, but it was hard on your system and maybe the babies. But it was my 4th round to deal with it, so I needed the stronger med. I did the cranberry thing and drank a lot of water and it cleared up in about 3 days. I continued to take the cranberry herb and did not get it again. When I had my next 2 babies I just took the cranberry herb the whole time I nursed and did not get Mastitis any time with them. I also think you should let your husband do all of the house work and laundry for a couple of weeks so you can rest. I hope this helps! Be blessed!

Dear C.,
I experienced masitis several times while nursing our nine kids. Cabbage leaves are soothing and seem to help. Drinking cranberry juice helps too, especially if you can get the straight stuff at the health food store. REST REST REST and nurse often God Bless.