When you're busy making other plans

Now in the middle of my fourth mastitis episode in the past six months. Why?! I guess it makes sense when I look at the causes, and I know from experience that the remedies work. It is always a signal to back off and slow down. But it still surprises me.

Some causes-

-missed or irregular feedings

-going a sudden long stretch between feedings

-overabundant milk supply

-compromised immune system

-poor diet

-exhaustion

Check, check, check, check, check, and... check.

Some remedies-

-frequent nursing

-frequent hydration

-anti-inflammatory diet (ditch the sugar and dairy for vegetables)

-direct heat

-bed rest

I think it's possible that at this stage of life what I think I should be able to do doesn't quite match up with what my body can handle. I remember reading once in a Vicki Iovine book that a breastfeeding mom is "still a little bit pregnant." I'm torn between wanting to move on and claim my own body back, and not wanting to leave behind this fleeting connection with my baby.

Something else I read that stuck with me was "A mother suffering from an abscess needs to get some rest and let herself heal. That is the 'message' of mastitis and abscesses to every mother. She needs to do nothing but rest and feed her baby. Nothing else is more important." (via kellymom.com)

I think I thought that by the time I was within spitting distance of my baby's first birthday, I'd be happily still nursing (at times and places convenient for me, of course ;) but way past any issues like abscesses and mastitis. I guess I forgot that having four kids means, among other things, not really being able to plan or choose the timing of any of this stuff.