Thankful

Yesterday was a tough day for me, but still there are many things to be thankful for. At the top of my list are mother-in-laws. Cher and great aunt Bev came over yesterday to check out a fabulous yarn store in Mankato and to see Maya. They also ended up as impromptu babysitters. Here's the story. You know that I've had some struggles with breastfeeding. Well, things on that front have actually improved quite a bit. Maya has gotten much better at eating or, more likely, I have gotten better at feeding her. Unfortunately, about two weeks ago I came down with a case of mastitis. For those of you who aren't familiar with mastitis, it's an infection that causes a red, hard, painful lump as well as flu-like symptoms. The doctor put me on a ten-day course of antibiotics. I finished those last Friday, but the lump didn't go away (despite my best efforts of heat packs, ice, massage, regular feedings...). In fact, it got worse. On Tuesday I called the doctor back to report the problem and she scheduled a mammogram and ultrasound for me on Monday. By Wednesday, though, the lump was so red and so swollen and so painful that I could barely stand to have clothes touch it, so I called the clinic back and begged them for an earlier appointment. They were able to fit me in at 2:00 yesterday.

And now, back to being thankful. Cher and Bev graciously agreed to stick around in town so they could watch Maya for me when I went to my appointment (which was only supposed to take an hour at the most). Since they didn't have any extra seats in the van (Cher also brought over a bunch of old kitchen cabinets to put in the garage...another thing to be thankful for!), Cher took my car and I took her van to the clinic.

After an hour in the clinic and a (very painful!) mammogram and ultrasound, the doctor came to tell me that the mastitis had developed into two abscesses, which needed to be drained. Argh! Well, it's 3:00 (the time I am supposed to be back to meet Cher), I have her car, and my cell phone is dead. Awesome.

Now for the second thing I am thankful for. Brian. I used a phone at the clinic to call him and left what was probably an incoherent message for him about him needing to leave work, come to the clinic to pick up his mom's keys, find her car in the lot, leave me his car, and drive out to meet her at the cabin. Thankfully, he was able to get out of work early and come to my rescue.

Back to the abscesses. The doctor was able to partially drain them (he estimated that he only got 20% of what was in there) and then he sent me up to the OB ward to talk with a doctor about meds. Meanwhile, the local anesthesia they gave me began to wear off and I was in a LOT of pain. By the time I finally left the clinic, I could barely walk. I had no way of getting a hold of Brian or anyone else because my cell phone was dead, and I still had to stop at the drug store to pick up medication. Add to all that the whacked out pregnancy hormones and needless to say, I cried several times that afternoon.

I don't know what I would have done had Maya been with me for all this! Thank you Cher!! And Brian took care of Maya after Cher left and for much of the evening until my pain meds kicked in. Maya must have known I needed a bit of a break, because she was amazing last night. She barely cried and she ate well at all three feedings.

So, all in all, it was an awful Thursday afternoon, but at the same time, I am so thankful for how it turned out.