Thrush?

Stayed home from work today; my sinuses were killing me, and I just needed a break. I was up at 3:00 feeding Andrew (from the left breast, then finished him off with a bottle of breast milk), then I came downstairs to pump my right breast, which still gives me stabbing, shooting pains when I try to nurse. This morning I called my doctor's office and they gave me an appointment for early afternoon.

A confession: I still dropped Andrew off at daycare. I'd just had it. My intention was to lie in bed, read, nap, and then go to the doctor. Here's what really happened:

My cell phone battery had died over the weekend, and I had some un-listened-to voice mails. One of them was from the house appraiser (I'm refinancing my mortgage). So I had to call him back. He wanted to come by tomorrow, so I said I'd call my neighbor and see if she could let him in, but that it would have to wait until after 9:00 a.m. (this was at 8:00 a.m.). I realized that the house was a dirty disaster, so I bundled some newspapers, washed the kitchen floor, tidied the kitchen and dining room, and vacuumed the living room and dining room. I threw two loads of laundry in (Andrew had a poop-splosion this morning, my PJs had crusted spit-up on them, and I'd leaked on all my nursing bras). I ordered groceries on Peapod for Wednesday night delivery.

I know, I really shouldn't have done all this. I should have stayed in bed. But the good news is that the appraiser called back at 8:45 and said he could stop by today, which he did, at noon. Let's hope the house appraises for the right amount; otherwise I'm not eligible for the refinance.

I stopped by daycare before my doctor's appointment to check on Andrew, then headed to the appointment. My OB thought I might be brewing another infection (plus I told her about my sinuses and how I have ZERO time to go to my GP), so she prescribed Augmentin. Plus she gave me a prescription for yeast infection medicine in case the Augmentin gives me a yeast infection. Yum.

I went to the pharmacy and filled the prescription, and then I picked up Andrew. We got home around 3, at which time I fed him. He went down for a nap at 4:30, and he's been sleeping ever since (!!!). Never wake a sleeping baby -- but at this rate he's not going to sleep tonight!

The lactation consultant called me back about an hour ago: She thinks I might have thrush, given my symptoms, but she wants me to come to breastfeeding support group tomorrow morning. How could I not, at this point? The nasty thing is that, if it IS thrush, then antibiotics are pretty much the worst thing I can take right now, since they kill off all the good bacteria in your system, which sets up a situation in which yeast thrive. Ugh.

So, after I talked to the LC, I boiled EVERYTHING: bottles, nipples, pacifiers, all the breast pump parts, and even the bottle brushes that I use to wash the bottles every night. And apparently I will have to continue to boil everything, every night, until the thrush is gone. The good news is that Andrew doesn't seem to exhibit symptoms of thrush, but he'll have to be treated for it as well, since babies don't always have symptoms but could be "carriers," passing yeast back and forth every time they nurse. Oh, the fun!

I wouldn't at all be surprised if thrush were the true diagnosis: I've been on antibiotics almost continuously since Andrew's birth, including during his birth (I spiked a fever at the end). Gentamycin during birth; Cipro when he was 16 days old; dicloxacillin when he was 8 weeks old; Cipro because the dicloxacillin didn't work; Keflex after the I&D (Incision and Drainage) for the abscess that happened because neither the dicloxacillin nor the Cipro worked...and now Augmentin. You get the idea. I'm pretty sure my intestinal flora resembles the surface of Mars at this point. Nothing like what the human digestive tract is supposed to look like.

Ooh, signs of life on the baby monitor -- what goodies are in store for the mama of a baby who napped until 6:45 p.m.??? At least I don't have to be at work tomorrow morning, since I've got the lactation consultant/support group meeting. Will report on that...