Mastitis? Baby is 9 months old

[dreamerkr]

Hey guys! DS is 9 months old and I’ve mixed fed him since birth. However, almost 2 months ago he started to completely refuse the bottle. I tried to give him formula using a cup, different type of bottle, glass, sippy cup, but he just wouldn’t take it and he would start crying whenever he saw that I was trying to feed him formula milk. So since then I’ve been breastfeeding him which has been going really well, and also he eats 3 meals a day. I hadn’t fed him since about 11am, and at 4pm I realised that I had pain in my right breast and my breasts were full. I don’t have any lumps but now I’ve breastfed my baby and my right breast is still hurting. It’s sore to touch and it really hurts. Does this sound like mastitis? I got mastitis when baby was about a month old but that was a lot worse and I had lumps at that time too, I had to take antibiotics for it. I don’t have a fever or anything, just soreness and pain. Any advice on how I can make the pain go away at home?

I've had this a couple of times with EBF DC, who's just turned 1. I've found that feeding frequently in different positions and a bit of pumping helped but the pain didn't go away for a couple of days. I wondered if it was the beginnings of mastitis but I never had any lumps or a fever.

Warm bath, gentle massage, painkillers, feed as usual and make sure you drain completely. Rugby hold is particularly good for emptying out the armpit side of the breasts.

When I had mastitis I didn't get the fever until a little while in. Is your boob hot to the touch? Do you feel weirdly emotional and quick to cry? Are there any signs of red/inflamed veins on the boob? These could be early signs.

I recommend the all so dignified 'dangle feed' if you have somewhere private to do so. It really helped me clear the boob a few times!!

And ice packs can help too. The recommended heat packs never worked for me for bumps and lumps.

But do keep an eye on it, and get help if you need it. They will see you out of hours if needed!! xx

So it got worse fast! My breast got really swollen and felt hot to touch, I started to get a fever and body pain. I got an appointment with an out of hours GP who prescribed me antibiotics (flucloxacillin) which is what I had last time. I know it will take a few days for me to feel better with this but I’ve just had three doses yet, and my baby already has diarrhoea. I’m guessing it’s because of the antibiotics I’m taking.