All Clogged Up

On Monday I started noticing that I was having a hard time pumping on the left side.  When I got home I wasn't feeling too hot, my left side sure was.  Sarah Graves was irritable all evening and I thought I just wasn't enjoying the time with her because she wasn't enjoying it.  By the time I sat down to nurse her before bed, I was having chills like I had the flu and it was painful for her to nurse.  I asked Aaron to check my book on breastfeeding to see about symptoms for breast infections.  As he read the symptoms for a clogged milk duct, I knew that was the problem.  I had the flu like symptoms; my boob was tender, it was hot, I could feel little marble like places in one area, and it was hard for Sarah Graves to nurse on it.  One of the suggestions for how to remedy this situation is to apply moist heat to the area.  As soon as I put her in the crib I made my way to the heating pad and got setup.  I kept putting the heating pad and warm wash cloth on it on and off for about 2 hours and finally I felt like I should try to pump to see if that would help some more.  I was able to pump and that made it feel tremendously better.  I took some Motrin and my fever and chills subsided so that I could get some good sleep. 

My new boss started on Monday and sits right across from me.  I haven't been sure whether I should mention that I am continuing to breastfeed and therefore go to pump during the day or not, so I haven't brought it up.  Some men are kind of weird about the whole breastfeeding thing and I haven't gotten a feel for how he might handle that conversation.  So, it felt especially awkward when every 2 hours I got up to go and pump because that is the recommended way to make sure the duct stays empty and has a chance to heal.  Great, now he probably thinks I'm a smoker, but that wouldn't explain why I take a large black tote bag looking thing with me.  I'm not thin enough to be viewed as a candidate for compulsive exerciser.  He might think I go to get something to eat all the time, but the cafeteria closes between breakfast and lunch and I sit at my desk and eat fruit and almonds all day.  Maybe I should mention it at some point, just so he doesn't spend his day pondering where I go all the time…

Anyway, the problem does not seem to be totally fixed as the left side is feeling a bit warm and a little swollen today, so I have put in a call to the midwife to see what else I can try.  If anybody has been through this and has something else that worked for them, please comment.