Mastitis sucks.

Not the most clever title but if you've had Mastitis you will agree.

Mastitis is an infection of the breast, most often caused as a result of breastfeeding (although men or women not lactating can get it too).  Most women get it when their babies are quite young, within 4 weeks post-partum.

I am not most women however.  Ha!  My sweet 8.5 month old baby is finally starting to sleep longer at night and Mastitis was my oh-so-not-wanted reward.  She wasn't keeping up with my supply and so infection set in.  Or at least that's the theory.  It might be because she bit me the day before, who knows.  All I know is I got very very ill all of a sudden on Sunday evening and am still recovering and on antibiotics.

I am not a doctor or a medical professional, just a mommy who has had Mastitis 5 times so far (4 with my first daughter and once so far with the baby).  And this is what I've learned.

Common Symptoms:

-high fever and chills (I had 104.7)
-red spot on your breast that is hot to the touch, hard and sore.
-achy and tired (like the flu)
-pain during breastfeeding

If you get Mastitis here are some non-medical things that helped me.

• Lecithin - 1200 mg 4x a day.  Lecithin also helps with plugged ducts and was easily found in the vitamin/supplement section of my grocery store.
• Hot compress - Using washcloths or towels put as hot of water you can handle on the red spot/infection site throughout the day.
• Hot showers - Similar concept as the compress, hot water helps bring blood flow to the infected area which promotes healing.  Especially if you massage the infection while under the water.
• Sleep/rest - This one is tricky, especially if your baby is older and/or if you  have other children.  But do the best you can to cut back on your busy schedule and just lay around.
• Nurse - This may seem counterproductive if there is a lot of pain, but nursing really makes it better.  The nursing pulls out the infection and keeps the milk moving.  The infection is not dangerous or contagious for your baby by the way.
• Yogurt - My doctor told me that two servings of yogurt (w/active cultures) a day has shown to help decrease the length of an infection.  

The non-medical/natural solutions are great but what really helped me was antibiotics.  All five times that I've had Mastitis it's the antibiotics that really turned things around.  And when you've got a temp of 104.7 it's not the time to wait and see if you'll get better on your own.  Trust me, in this case drugs are good.  Really good.  Sometimes you may even need to try different antibiotics before finding one that will work.  That's what happened to me with this current infection.  It was that bad.

So if you get Mastitis remember to rest and to get medicine if you have a high fever ASAP.  Don't let it make you give up on breastfeeding.  I remember with my first daughter someone asked me why I was still breastfeeding (after having it 4x) and when I would give up.  I thought about it and said that I'd just keep trying and wouldn't stop breastfeeding until I'd had it eight times. :)  I am so glad that I didn't give up because my daughter went on to breastfeed seamlessly after that until she was almost 2 years old!  It may seem horrible at the time (and it is) but wait until you're healthy again before making the decision to wean.  

Cutest little reclaimed purse

I have to share this adorable new purse that my 4 year old just received.  Her grandmother found it in a local museum gift shop but they are sold online as well.

It's a purse made out of a vintage Little Golden Book.  It just happens to be one of my 4 year old daughter's favorite Little Golden Books.  Have I mentioned before that not only do we have oh-so-many Vintage Fisher Price Little People toys but we also have over 100 old and new Little Golden Books? What can I say, I love the classics. :)

The purse has the back cover of the book on the back naturally.  It has an adjustable closure and a shoulder strap.  

There is plenty of room on the inside to hold many treasures.  

The purse is designed by Suzanne Keolker who has a company named Mugwump.  It's out of Portland Oregon and she has a website, sells at many locations nationwide and also on etsy.  She makes her bags out of reclaimed and recycled materials that she rescues from being sent to the trash.  I saw online that she makes bags and purses out of old board games like Candyland and Parcheesi.  And of course they're not just for kids, they'd be lovely for grown-ups with a sense of humor too!

Thanks Grandma, we love it!

Sauteed Swiss Chard (with butter and red pepper flakes!)

I've been feeling not-so-great the last couple of days but I was still able to throw together dinner last night.  I bought a roasted chicken and some bread at the store then made the following Swiss Chard recipe that I found here.  I'd planned on making it last time we had chard but instead made the oh-so-tasty swiss chard gratin.  Last night's recipe was just as good, perhaps because yet again it is made with butter.  I've decided that you can't go wrong if you're cooking something with butter!

Sauteed Swiss Chard with pepper flakes

Ingredients

1 1/2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp minced garlic 

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

A bunch of swiss chard (I used the entire bunch from my CSA box)

Salt and/or pepper to taste

Directions

1. Remove the stems from the chard leaves and cut them into 1 inch pieces.  Roll the leaves and cut crosswise into 1/2 inch strips.  Set both aside in separate bowls.

2. Melt the butter with the olive oil and red pepper flakes in a large saute pan (I used my wok pan) over a medium high heat.  Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.

3. Next add the cut stem pieces and cook while stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes.

4. Finally add the leafy strips to the pan and toss to coat in the butter mixture.  Cover the pan with a lid and cook for approximately 5-7 minutes or until the leaves are tender.  Stir occasionally while cooking.

5. Lightly season the mixture with salt and pepper before serving.

Enjoy!

I found that the red pepper flakes added quite a kick.  The 4 year old and I drank milk with ours since it was a bit spicy, but we're pretty bad at handling spice.  The husband didn't mention the spice level at all. 

Easter Egg Radishes and Artichokes, my favorites from this week's CSA

Our Chow Locally CSA box yesterday did not disappoint.  There were so many bright colors that it resembled a bouquet of flowers.  Check out these Easter Egg Radishes.  Pink, purple and white, just lovely.  I've read that they are mostly a decorative radish, so perfect in salads or for dipping.  I happen to have a yummy buttermilk ranch dressing/dip so I'm all set.

This week's share also included beets, nelson carrots, curled kale, spring garlic, romaine lettuce, red chard and artichokes.  I have plans to make some kale chips and to saute the chard tonight.  

Artichokes are a favorite of mine and the 4 year old.  Yes, my 4 year old eats artichokes.  I was surprised too.  We do it the only way I know how which is the way my mother made it for me.  I  steam the artichokes with chunks of garlic until softened.  Then you take off each leaf and pull off the "meat" with your teeth.  Of course not before dipping it on a deliciously indulgent dip made out of vegenaise (or mayonnaise) and a splash of lemon juice.  When I was growing up my mom made the dip out of melted butter and mayonnaise, so this is a slight health improvement.  Ha!  In my 20's I visited friends in France and they dipped the artichoke leaves in only vinegar.  Not as good let me tell you, especially after being raised on such a rich dip.

Steamed Artichokes

Trim off an inch or two of the artichoke stem.  Using scissors cut off any sharp tops of individual leaves (yes this can be time consuming but worth it if you have a really sharp artichoke).  Place in a large pot stem up if you have several.  In a steaming basket if you have one or two.  Slice up 3-4 garlic cloves and add them to 2 inches of water.  Steam until the artichoke leaves are tender, about 30-40 minutes depending on the size of the artichoke.

Lemon Vegenaise Dip

For the dip take a couple Tbsp of vegenaise and add a squirt of fresh lemon juice.  Of course you could substitute mayonnaise for the vegenaise.

How do you prepare your artichokes?

What I love this week.

I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorites from this last week.  My friends and I chat all the time about what we love, so I thought I'd share it with you too!

1. Newborn size BabyLegs - I have this exact darling little set of babylegs and have been using them in heavy rotation lately.  This time of year in Phoenix it can be in the 50's in the morning and the 80's (or even 90's) in the afternoon.  So I can dress up the baby in a sweet summer outfit but make it weather appropriate in the am by adding these little leggings.  They also come in handy around the house since we do cloth diapering.  Changes are much swifter if you don't have to remove pants!  My baby may be 8 months old but she's still rocking the newborn size.  Yes, I make skinny legged children.
2. Beyond The Sling by Mayim Bialik, PhD - I briefly wrote about Mayim and her book yesterday.  I just got the book on Wednesday and I'm loving it so far.
3. Green Sprouts slicker - We've entered into the oh-so-fun but messy stage of eating with the baby.  Since she pretty much refuses to eat out of a spoon food ends up all over the place.  I bought this slicker on Zuilly a month ago and it arrived this week.  Just in time!  Although I bought the larger stage 4 (2t) size it is working pretty well for us.  I love the coverage, less to clean off of baby.  I'll post some photos of it in action soon.
4. Bluum - Have you heard of Bluum?  You purchase a subscription and every month you get a box of random samples or goodies targeted for parents of small children.  You never know what you're going to get, so it's a fun surprise.  This last month they had a Rabbit Organic baby food pouch, white tea sample, 2 Wedela travel size samples, a spritz (mine was for your pillow) and a chocolate.  Very fun to open but I have to admit that at $11 a month I'm not sure I'll keep my subscription past the 3 month intro I purchased from Plum District (for a steal of only $8 total).
5. Indestructibles Wiggle March  - I discovered this baby book while on our trip to CA.  If you have a small baby you must get this book!  It is thin like a magazine or big kid book (which babies are oh-so drawn to), but it's indestructible.  They claim to be chew proof, rip proof, non-toxic and washable.  My 8 month old is trying her hardest to destroy the book but so far it's still intact.  At $4.95 it's a great deal.  
6. Old Navy ruffled sleeve dress - I got this dress for my 4 year old at Old Navy for only $10 this week!  I think it will be on heavy rotation this spring and summer.
7. Mad Men - Season 5 just started on AMC.  I was able to see seasons 1-4 on Netflix after my baby was born.  Let's just say I saw all 60'ish episodes in a very short time period (on the iPad) thanks to being up all night with a newborn.  The season premier was on AMC.com, not sure what I'll do for the rest of the season since we don't have cable or live television.
8. Trader Joe's Movie Theatre Popcorn - This stuff is amazing.  It is all natural but somehow tastes just like the chemical laden movie theatre stuff.  I don't know how they do it but I am loving it.  At only $1.99 a bag it's a steal as well.  Let's just say that we can go through a few bags a week around here (I'm not the only fan).

So those are some of my favorites.  Do you love any of these products too?