Hey Jakey,

Nothing's ever easy, is it? So I was out in the garage day before yesterday, getting ready to make a run to the dump and the recyclers. Having a new baby generates a LOT of cardboard. Big diaper boxes, lotsa big boxes from PlaySkool and Fisher Price. All of a sudden, I'm thinking, hmm, I'm kinda thirsty and a bit worn out. So I walk in the house, sit down on the couch, and all of a sudden, I'm overcome with a case of the chills. Within minutes, I'm lying on the bed, with 3 blankets on me, and I'm shivering violently. Oh, and my right boob feels like its on fire.

That's right. Mastitis. Thanks, Jakey! Anything else you can throw at me?

I went to see the PA at my doctor's office yesterday, Rebecca Oliverez. What a sweetheart. Waaay nicer than my regular doctor. She gave me a scrip for antibiotics, but I'm not supposed to take them unless I can shake this myself within the next couple of days. She said its wicked common and that every BF'ing mom she knows has gotten it once or twice. We walked back out into the office and she took a poll of everyone there, including the patients waiting to be seen, and every one of them said, "yeah, been there, done that."

Hmmm... which brings me to...

"The Breast Feeding Book," by William and Martha Sears. I mentioned it in the post below.

I really have to quit putting so much stock in all these books that I buy. I've got to take into account that if you're going to write a book about breastfeeding, you're probably pro-breastfeeding at any cost, and you're going to be quite overzealous about it. Here's what the Sears' have to say about mastitis:

"Problems with recurrent mastitis are usually the result of irregular breastfeeding patterns... Mastitis is a sign that you need to take a closer look at your lifestyle and breastfeeding relationship and make some adjustments."

WTF? According to these authors, my life is supposed to come to a grinding halt so that I can nurse you properly. And its not just these authors that suggest that I should reconsider returning to work at all. Can anyone really heed this *advice*? Is there really anyone out there that says to herself, "Hm, maybe I DON'T need to pay rent, or make car payments or buy groceries anymore. Dr. Sears has a point, I should stay home and nurse..." Argh. That's it. No more books. I don't care if amazon.com has free shipping or not.

I'm going to quit beating myself up over this, Jake. Nursing you isn't the textbook case that I imagined it would be, and I can't cry about it anymore. Easier said than done.

Hey, I got an idea! Let's go watch Nevada beat the hell out of Georgia Tech! Go Wolf Pack!