My Experience with Mastitis

The day my exclusively breastfed baby turned two months old, I got mastitis! For those who aren’t familiar with mastitis, it’s a clogged milk duct that gets infected and can result in severe discomfort and flu like symptoms.

Here’s the timeline on how it developed and what I did to relieve my symptoms.

• At first, my breast felt bruised, like someone had punched it. I kept feeding my baby and tried to gently massage it but it was progressively getting worse.

• Towards the evening, my flu-like symptoms started and I knew it was mastitis. I had 104 fever, which was scary but I still had to feed my daughter so it was emotionally draining as well.

• Luckily, during the day I had called my doctor and he prescribed me antibiotics just in case. I was able to start the antibiotics that evening when my symptoms got worse.

• I used an ice roller to gently go over the infected area, which provided some relief. I also did a lymphatic drainage massage in my armpit near the infected area a few times a day.

• After being on the antibiotics for 48 hours, I felt completely better. My breast was still a little sore but it was nothing compared to how I felt before.

It’s super important to still feed your baby regularly when you have mastitis and not to over fed or over pump. Antibiotics is needed to clear the infection and symptoms.

A lot of babies start sleeping longer stretches at night around 2 months so it can be common to get a clogged duct. I hope no one has to experience mastitis but if you do, I hope this post helps! #lemon8partner #mastitis #excludivelybreastfed #breastfeedingmom #breastfeedingjourney #breastfeedingtips #breastfeedingessentials #ebf #ebfjourney #firsttimemom