When the going gets tough...

Disclaimer: The following blog post may contain info you don't want to know... it involves illness and a lot of talk of my boobs. But it is all stuff I want to remember when I think about to the early weeks of having Wes and can only remember the sweet smell of his head and softness of his hair against my cheek while writing this blog post... You've been warned.

These past few days have been rough for me. I caught a stomach virus (the second since Wesley has arrived) late Saturday afternoon. By 8pm I had handed Wes to Reid and installed myself in our bedroom/bathroom. I puked twice and took some of the anti-naseau medicine given to me during my last bout. The medicine makes you very sleepy and since both Reid and Wes didn't want to be exposed to the virus more than they already were, Reid slept with Wesley in the living room. What a good husband and daddy to care for Wes all night long! Wes slept on Reid's chest on the sofa and Reid gave him bottles of previously pumped breast milk when he woke.

By Sunday my stomach was starting to feel better but I was drained from the night before. And to top it off my in-laws had to say goodbye to us and Wes. Parting from family is always hard...

Sunday night came and the next part of the virus set in... diarrhea. It was so bad that by Monday morning I was really dehydrated. I packed Wes into the car and we drove to the store for Immodium. But by that time the damage of dehydration was done. My milk supply for most of Monday was pretty low and that made for one very fussy baby who is used to opening his mouth and having it flow in! Also Monday afternoon/evening was filled with a lot of muscle aches and pains (again from the bug) for me. All around, a nasty day. I finished the day by pounding about 60oz of water in about two hours, which brought my milk back in full force (but also meant I had to pee about six times during the night).

Yesterday was a pleasant day healthwise. I was feeling good and Wes wasn't quite as grouchy. I got the kitchen cleaned and some laundry done. When Reid got home I passed Wes off to him and took a shower. When I got out of the shower I looked in the mirror and found a red spot on the bottom of my left breast. And just below that spot is a hard nodule. Which means I have my first clogged duct, no doubt from all the craziness in terms of dehydration/re-engorgement. So, that coupled with the fact that we woke to about three-four inches of snow means that Wes and I are going to stay close to home today. We are going to nurse a lot and nap a lot and hopefully get that duct unclogged and back on healthy footing by tomorrow.

The only positive out of all of this nastiness? Knock on wood, Wes hasn't gotten sick once so far! Yay for healthy immune system built by breastmilk!