Oh no! The big "M" word . . .

. . . mastitis. Yesterday afternoon I nursed Anna right before leaving for track practice. I noticed that I felt a little painful on my left side, and I wished I had time to pump as well, because it just didn't feel empty. But I didn't; we were late as it was, so off we went. By the end of track, I was very anxious to get back home to pump, and I was very uncomfortable. I realized what was happening, so after pumping and nursing, I put warm moist compresses on it, but that was temporary relief at best. I knew I was running a fever last night, and it was past the "clogged duct" stage, so I called for an appointment this morning. Alas, the Fairfax clinic didn't HAVE any appointments. I knew I would have to go to the ER at Bethesda, since it couldn't wait until Monday. Fortunately, Bob was able to come home at 11:30 to take me. I was so thankful, since I wasn't looking forward to maneuvering on the Beltway with my soreness, as well as a raging fever of 102, a pounding headache, the chills, etc. Amazingly, we got seen pretty quickly. There's something about having the active duty person there in uniform that really helps! We got there around 12:00, and we were done by 1:30. Is that a record or what?! So now I am on antibiotics, which will hopefully take effect quickly. Like I have said before, I would rather go through labor and delivery again that have mastitis. It is so painful. Bleh. I had a bout of it with Caleb too, back in Ohio. After that, I became a fervent advocate of the "football hold", since I had heard that that empties the ducts better. I always started with that, and then I would switch positions midway through each side. I didn't have any more problems with Caleb, and none at all with Jonathan, so I was feeling pretty confident that I had solved the problem! Obviously there is something more going on, though, and I don't know what it is. What amazed me was just how quickly it progressed. Hopefully it will go away just as quickly. I am off to take a nap before our Bible study potluck, which is at our house this evening. Fortunately, we are just providing the meat and drinks, so we don't have to do too much. Mom has been so great about cleaning the house, and Bob will do the grilling, so . . . not much for me, which is good, because I don't really feel like I'm worth much today! Tomorrow Bob's sister Ann and her family are coming up from Richmond to see Anna. I'm really hoping to feel better by then.