I had clogged milk ducts...again

A few days ago my little one's first cold hit its peak and he was so congested it was heartbreaking. A positive point of this was that unlike his first stuffy nose, he does now have the ability to breathe out of his mouth, an ability newborns DO NOT HAVE as they are obligate nasal breathers.

Well, the flip side of this benefit is that he was only using his nose while nursing...meaning that it became incredibly congested in between and made nursing for any length of time difficult. Thanks to my strong letdown (i.e. milk ejection reflex) he wasn't going hungry, but he also wasn't putting much effort into sucking. Which brings us to my problem.

The lack of my sweet boy's desire to suck meant that my breasts did not get properly emptied. After a couple days of uncomfortable nighttime soreness, it began to extend into the day. So I tried pumping while massaging, twice. The first time after about half an hour of vigorous massage it was softened enough - not completely but enough. The second time it barely softened at all. It was at this point that it crossed my mind that the was getting ANOTHER plugged duct. Well, it was my husband that pushed me into action - he told me to do something to fix it because he did NOT want me sick again. Well, remembering the 103 fever from my almost mastitis, I agreed.

Well, I decided to do an overnight run of one treatment that I didn't put much effort into before - especially since heat wasn't helping. So I did an alternative castor oil pack. Specifically, I

1) soaked a cotton ball in castor oil
2) placed it over the plugged duct
3) covered the cotton ball with a disposable breast pad
4) made sure that the pad was nicely tucked into a comfy bra to be held in place while I slept
5) applied heat over the area until bedtime

*It's important to note that the oil should NOT be allowed to come into contact with your nursling.

Well...lo and behold, it WORKED! I woke up with a wonderfully empty breast from my little one's improved night nursing and the disappearance of my clog. A little sore from my vigorous massage, but I'll nurse on!

♥