Ah yes, the continuing saga...

...of my boobs.

Andrew's been sleeping through the night lately -- or, he would sleep through the night if I didn't wake up with engorged breasts between 1:00 and 4:00 and have to feed him. Last night I woke at 1:22 and realized that I was already full enough of milk that I'd never make it to 6:00 a.m., so I took Andrew to the rocking chair and latched him onto my right breast. It was then that I experienced some of the most excruciating pain I've ever felt. I thought he was biting me (it was dark; I couldn't tell). I moaned and wailed. I couldn't understand why, when he was well-latched, it still hurt so much. It sucked.

This morning when I got up at 5:30 I discovered that I had a milk blister, which I promptly popped with a sterilized needle (yup, that's the standard treatment). My breasts were engorged again, plus I had a plugged duct in my right breast, and there was a red streak down one side of the breast. To give you some idea of the pain level, imagine someone putting your nipple on a table, then pounding it with a hammer as hard as they can. Then nurse your baby on it.

Anyway, I treated it with hot moist compresses and pumping at work today. At my first pumping session, I pumped 8 ounces. This is not normal. I believe I've got a bad case of milk oversupply (duh -- ya THINK??). I called a lactation consultant (the one who taught the breastfeeding class I took before Andrew was born), but I haven't heard back from her. I think I may be pumping too often, and therefore my supply is overstimulated. This weekend I'll see if Andrew wants to eat more like every 4 hours, rather than every 3 hours. This would allow me to pump only twice at work, and may help regulate my supply. Then again, there's always the "cutting my boobs off and throwing them out the window" concept.

Funny daycare story: Miss S. told me that at one point the other day she had 4 babies in the room with her, and while the other three babies were all wailing for different reasons, Andy Roo was serenely sitting in a bouncy seat, laughing. Ahhh, my sadistic little child...

We're going to visit Nan in PA this weekend! She's not going to believe how much he's grown and changed. I'm looking foward to it; I need REST.

Andrew is so wonderful. Such a smiley, smiley child. He smiles whenever I make eye contact with him -- first thing in the morning when he's waking up, when he's in his bouncy seat as I get ready for work in the morning, when he's on the changing table, when he's in the car seat, when we play, and even when I put him down to sleep at night. I am a lucky, lucky mama, and don't think there's not a minute that goes by that I don't thank heavens for it!