All posts by Monna

May 30
3

Mastitis: Natural Remedies for a Quick Recovery

By | Breastfeeding, Natural Health | 9 Comments

This weekend, a nursing mom’s pain sidelined my plans in the form of the dreaded mastitis. While I’ve had plugged ducts a few times in my not-so-stellar nursing career with my other kids (a story for another time), I’ve never felt anything like mastitis in my life! I learned a quick lesson on how to recognize a clogged duct and to deal with mastitis naturally with herbs and rest.

Toward the end of last week, I noticed my right breast felt kind of a numb soreness (numb on the surface and sore beneath), but it felt better when relieved by pumping or nursing. I also felt like I was starting to get a little more done during the day so despite my post on learning to let it go, I burned the candle at both ends several nights in a row. In the meantime, my nursing baby started to sleep a little longer during the night so I went longer periods (maybe 5-6 hours) without nursing or pumping. Here’s what I learned…

 

Exhaustion + extended periods without nursing = clogged ducts

 

Unfortunately, I was too tired to process that information clearly because I was on an adrenaline high during the day. So, I just kept pumping and nursing during the day and burning that midnight oil – literally. Then I learned something else – and this time I had to listen!

Clogged ducts + exhaustion = mastitis

When I woke Sunday, I felt pretty bad but I thought if I got up and got moving I might feel better. WRONG! Within a few hours, I felt light headed and like I might pass out. I was down for the count! Back to bed I went. When I was awake I was miserable and definitely shed some tears over the offending breast. Mastitis is no joke!

Want to know what mastitis feels like? Start by running in front of a MAC truck (for the all-over aches), hopping into a fire pit (fever), jumping into an ice bath (mad chills) and then smashing your breast with a hammer a few times. Does it feel hot and swollen yet? Ok, smash it a few more times. Yep. That’s about right.

I went looking for old wives’ tales online about natural remedies. The thing about old wives’ tales is that there is usually some truth to them. I wanted to avoid antibiotics if at all possible. The mom forums seemed to agree on a protocol.

1. Rest! There it is again. You’d think I’d learn right? Susan Weed, one of my herbalist heroines says that mastitis is almost always the sign of an over-busy nest. I went straight to bed and I did not get up for about 24 hours. This is essential to a quick recovery from mastitis.

2. Nurse or pump every 2 hours just to empty the breast. Massage the breast while nursing or pumping to help break up the clogs and keep the milk flowing. Waiting longer will result in a longer infection. Using a hot compress prior to nursing or pumping is helpful.

3. Echinacea infusions or tinctures. I used a tincture since I always keep it in my house. 2 drops per pound of body weight up to 6x/day while the fever stuck. Now, I’m down to 3x/day for the rest of the week. (The redness and swelling are almost gone). A friend who had mastitis multiple times over the course of a few months used it instead of antibiotics and she finally kicked it!

4. Vitamin C 3-5000 milligrams daily – I drank EmergenC a few times each day.

5. 4-6 fresh garlic cloves a day. No, garlic pills are NOT the same as fresh. Fresh garlic contains powerful medicine to knock out infection. Here’s a tip. Don’t smash or chop the garlic. Slice it. It’s less “bitey” this way. I popped some bread in the broiler, took it out and topped it with butter and 3 cloves of fresh garlic. DEEE-licious!

6. Do a castor oil pack. Some swear by hot compresses. I did those but this was even better. Thanks for the advice, Sarah! The pain decreased right away and it really helped clear the clogged ducts. Pump or nurse first. Then wet a piece of flannel or cotton cloth with warm water, slog some castor oil on it and place on the affected breast. Cover with plastic wrap, a heating pad or hot water bottle and a towel. Lie down and relax for an hour. Afterward, carefully wash the breast with a little baking soda and water or a mild soap to get the castor oil off before baby nurses again. It can cause diarrhea otherwise. This helped so much with the pain.

7. Nurse on the affected side while lying on the opposite breast. Lie on the side that doesn’t hurt and carefully lean over to let your baby nurse on the side that hurts. Gravity helps the milk to flow. Just don’t squish the little guy/gal. Some mamas nurse on all fours but I didn’t find that too comfy and my kid didn’t like it.

8. Frozen Cabbage leaves. USE WITH CAUTION! If mama has supply issues, cabbage leaves are not a good choice. They can dry up a supply. However, mamas with oversupply may benefit from freezing some clean, green cabbage leaves and sliding them into their bra. I’ve heard it feels good and relieves the pain.

9. Grip the Nip. Wise advice from a friend. “Grasp your nipple between your thumb and middle finger. Pull your nipple out and roll it firmly back and forth between your fingers. This helps to break up any curdled milk that may dislodge from a clogged milk duct.” It really worked. Thanks Becca!!

10. Other good advice. Nurse, Hand express or pump in a hot shower. Drink lots of water. And wear looser clothing on your breasts so the milk can FLOW free, just until you’re past the worst of it. Take a look at your clothing and make sure you haven’t been wearing anything too constricting that might be causing those blocked ducts!

As with any natural remedy, the secret to it working is to start using it as soon as you feel bad, not waiting until you’re 3 or 4 days into mastitis. I’m happy to report that using these natural methods, I kicked mastitis within a few days and I didn’t have to knock out my whole immune system with antibiotics.

I’m a big believer in nourishing the body so it can fight its own battles. However, I want to be clear that I would have sought antibiotics if I hadn’t seen an improvement within 24-36 hours. Thankfully, my fever subsided within 24 hours. The red, swollen and sore feeling in my breast is almost gone 3 days later. I usually find that herbal methods work faster and more effectively for these kinds of problems than antibiotics anyway.

The mamas in my circle inform me that it’s really easy to get mastitis again once I’ve had it so I’ll be putting out that candle at night and taking a nap when I need it. I do not want to get this again!

So, I’ve learned to avoid mastitis I need –

Rest + frequent nursing = clear and hopefully mastitis-free milk ducts

Know a friend who can’t seem to kick mastitis? Please share!

 

*As always, I’ll remind you that I am not a doctor.  These are common sense remedies I use for my family, especially because they support the immune system rather than simply masking the symptoms of illness. I have taken the time to research any herbal recipes carefully myself and have consulted with my local herbalist and doctor. I encourage you to always do the same before choosing to take or administer any kind of remedy, whether herbal, prescription or off the shelf at a local drugstore.**

 

 

 

May 23
0

Easing Back into Life After Birthing a Giant (11lb, 8oz) Baby!

By | Birth Choices, Honest Mothering | 6 Comments

It’s been a while since I wrote here at OM Cafe – for good reason. A while back, we FINALLY welcomed our long expected small one into our family. He was a teensy bit late in coming – at 42.5 weeks! Consequently, he was a tad larger than my previous babies who were not so dainty themselves at 9lbs 7oz and 8lbs 4oz. After significant effort, he finally emerged from his warm, cozy mama cocoon at a whopping 11lbs 8 oz!!! He came out the natural way at home with our midwife. But it’s taken me a little longer to recover from this delivery.

So, how does a girl recover from pushing out close to 12 lbs of baby?

Well…

The phrase that I am clinging to like a mantra is one all new or new *again* mamas should learn.

Are you ready?

These are brilliant words of wisdom!

Here they are –

 

“Let it GO…”

 

Wonder how good I am at this? Ask any of my close friends how good I am about being at peace with…

  • toy grenade explosions all over the floor
  • un-washed dishes
  • an unmade bed
  • a disorganized fridge (at least not organized how I normally do it!)
  • and my pet peeve…un-scrubbed tile (it’s swept but not sanitized)

I’ll give you a hint…

I SUCK at it!!! (Don’t laugh, L!)

The thing is, if I let myself focus on all those urgent, but ultimately unimportant, things right now I’ll miss out on what I and my family need most, like…

  • rest
  • peace
  • a little exercise
  • most important – getting along with my amazing husband & bonding with my baby (nursing or holding him when he needs me) and my older kids (i.e. not freaking out about stupid stuff and letting them know THEY are more important than whether the house is perfect.)

But, I’m getting better at

  • accepting help (meals, cleaning assistance from my mother-in-law)
  • learning to be kind when things aren’t done my way (I know, should have learned this a long time ago)
  • being grateful for the sweet husband who goes beyond all normal limits to keep things running around here when I’m with the baby
  • enjoying the voices of my sweet little children who are responsible for the daily toy explosion
  • knowing my limits (limited outings, a low key schedule and not cleaning like a fiend or trying to cook elaborate meals while holding a baby)

Thankfully, I have wise people in my life to remind me about it when they drop by to offer a meal and I start to apologize for the mess. Like our friend Jason who popped in last night and said, “There are plenty of other things to stress about without worrying about that stuff.”

See what I mean? Wise. 😉

As a friend used to say, “This too shall pass.” She meant the difficulties of small children – toys explosions, sibling rivalry, last minute diaper bombs that make us late and laundry that never ends. But, along with those things, those little moments of joy also pass – the soft, squishy baby cheeks, the accomplishments of each child that assure us of their miniature brilliance, sweet, small voices squealing in delight, the sound of their small feet thundering across their bedroom as they throw themselves fully into their game.

I don’t want to miss it. So, for now, I’m going to take the slow path to re-entering my normal activities so I can enjoy every happy moment, along with the frustrating ones. There is no race to the finish, no goal to accomplish at the end here. These precious moments are my life. It’s the life I dreamed of and it’s the life I’m going to enjoy – right now.

What are you learning to let go of?

Blessings ~

OM

For more on life after babies, check out this link. First Time Mamas: Surviving Your New Role

Mar 24
0

Windsor and St. Francis Local Phoenix, AZ Brunch Review

By | Kid Friendly, Local Restaurants | One Comment

Sometimes the parents at this house just need a break from cooking breakfast for our kids on Saturday morning. I want a break because I feel like I am carrying a huge bowling ball, strike that, a sand-filled yoga ball on my frontside. Robert needs a break because he’s been doing all the jobs I usually do but can’t because I am too huge right now to do them. So, how cool is it that the past two weekends we discovered we had gift cards (woohoo!) to two great local Central Phoenix restaurants, Windsor and St. Francis? We decided to use the cards for Saturday brunch with the kids.

We started with Windsor last weekend and followed with St. Francis today. I confess, last weekend, I fell down on the job with photos so I didn’t get pics of our Windsor breakfast. However, the menu items we chose were almost the same so pics from St. Francis will have to suffice today.

First of all, both Windsor and St. Francis try to make their menu kid friendly in the brunch hour and both succeed pretty well. Here’s what we ate.

Robert’s Eggs Benedict at St. Francis

My “American Style” breakfast at St. Francis

The kids’ gigantic pancake at St. Francis.

So, here’s a breakdown of the two restaurants.

Service: Both St. Francis and Windsor’s staffs are always very friendly and attentive. If your glass is empty, it won’t be for long. I’m always impressed that both of these establishments manage to hire people with great service oriented attitudes. They are also very kind to the kids when we bring them and take the time to address them directly. We were seated immediately at both restaurants but both took about 15 minutes to serve food. St. Francis offers a toybox for waiting kids while Windsor provides crayons and paper.

Atmosphere: Both St. Francis and Windsor have outdoor and indoor seating. By the time we arrived at Windsor last weekend, it was hopping so we sat inside in a booth. Patrons are friendly and excited about their food and usually talking animatedly so it’s a little more like eating in your favorite upscale pub. Fun energy, great for people watching (unless you’re watching your own kids!).

St. Francis has great architectural lines inside and a beautiful patio outside. The way seating is set up lends itself to a little quieter, more grown up dining experience.

Food: St. Francis and Windsor offer some similar breakfasts like pancakes, biscuits and gravy and Eggs Benedict but they are different.

St. Francis offers more options that you might want to enjoy with a cup of coffee, like scones, breads and cinnamon rolls. I was VERY tempted to get the cinnamon roll with caramel sauce. Sadly, the giant baby sharing my belly space right now didn’t even allow me room to finish my breakfast. So, next time! While St. Francis only lists Mimosas and Bloody Mary’s on their menu, I heard another patron getting the rundown on other spirited drink options.

Windsor offers a big plate of fresh donut holes that the kids loved and a bowl of quinoa and steel cut oatmeal with brown sugar, nuts, dried fruit & vanilla mascarpone that sounds enticing. Also, for those who like a little spirit with their meals (hey, it’s ALMOST noon at brunch time!), they offer a full selection of delicious sounding cocktails with ingredients like organic peaches, blackberries, cucumber and grapefruit – though not in the same drink. Also available? Their well-known $5 beer pitchers like Dales Pale ale and great local beer, Four Peaks’ Kiltlifter.

The kids liked Windsor better. While it might have had to do with their getting a little plate of hot, fresh donut holes with jelly and creme (so good!) after their breakfast, they said they liked Windsor’s pancakes better. The pancake at St. Francis is giant and filled with chocolate chips but doesn’t have much syrup on it. When we asked for more, our server returned with what appeared to be a thimble sized container of more. What can I say? Our kids like to see the syrup on their plate!

Prices: Though St. Francis offers “free” brunch for the kids, their prices are higher in general. We ordered more food at Windsor and paid less for our meal. Definitely something you notice when you’re eating out with kids. If there was any difference in quality, it was not noticeable. Also, I noticed drink prices at Windsor are about $4 less per drink than St. Francis.

However, both are great local restaurants that I recommend highly. If you’re going out for brunch this weekend, skip the chain restaurants and go support one of these terrific local spots!

Parking: Both restaurants use valet so plan for that though you might be able to park your own car at St. Francis if you get there right as they open.

Hours and information:

Windsor‘s brunch is 9am-1pm Saturday and Sunday. Windsor’s website.

St. Francis‘ website says they serve brunch on Sunday from 10:30 am -1:30 pm but they serve brunch on Saturday too. Info at  St. Francis website.

St. Francis on Urbanspoon

Mar 12
0

Healing – A Decision and Process

By | Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Spirit | 5 Comments

Today I am thinking about how to heal from pain in a healthy way. I actually borrowed my title from Scott Savage, a friend and the author of The Joshua Collective blog. You’ll see his name in my writing from time to time because he also happens to be the pastor at Crash, a group of service oriented followers of Christ among whom I’m grateful to be counted. Anyway, I digress.

A few months ago at Crash, Scott talked about forgiveness and how it can change our lives. He talked about the true definition of forgiveness and whether or not it’s always appropriate to reconcile with the forgiven person (it’s not, btw – think abuse etc). It was a very powerful conversation for me – so maybe I’ll talk about that sometime. But today, I want to share a phrase he used that has rung in my ears ever since.

He said, “Forgiveness is both a decision and a process.”

As I mulled over those words, it occurred to me the last part of the sentence applies to far more than just forgiveness. Since then, the phrase has re-attached itself to something else in my life, the concept of healing. Healing – “is both a decision and a process.”

Healing has been a significant part of my life the last several years. In that past 6 years, my brother, mom and dad all died of cancer. Healing from pain that profound has been a long process. Many of you know that I had a severe miscarriage last year. I’m not going to recount that all right now but suffice it to say, it was a scary experience for me and I felt very grateful to still be here in the end.

I determined immediately afterward that I would be open both to the grief and the healing I wanted to experience as a result. Part of me wanted to be authentic and part of me wanted to speed the process. (After all, as a mom, I didn’t have time to wallow in grief, right?) From time to time, I’ve shared what it’s been like to recover from the loss of our baby and deal with the “scary” factor of being pregnant after such a traumatic miscarriage.

So, that was the “decision” part. I’ve often heard people say that the only part of life we control is our response to it. The decision to seek healing was within my control.

What I wasn’t as prepared for was the “process” of healing – which has at times smacked me in the face like a ton of bricks.

There have been odd moments like when I reached my 11 week mark in the new pregnancy (the week of pregnancy in which I’d last miscarried) and realized it coincided with the due date of the baby I’d lost. Ugh. Or the wedding where I suddenly found myself gulping back huge sobs as I happily squeezed the chunky little rolls of my dear friend’s baby. Most recently, I surprised myself by bursting into tears at the feeling of practice contractions squeezing my belly. The last time I felt those labor pains, my baby was dead and I feared I might be joining him or her.

For a while, I stopped writing about these things because I didn’t want to seem to be drawing attention to myself and because I don’t have a pat answer for how to resolve those feelings.

But my experiences and the support of friends over the last few weeks has convinced me that sharing is not only a good thing, it’s part of the healing I so want to have.

A few weeks ago, I did an incredibly (un?)-acrobatic move (for which I’m not currently in shape!) in the bathroom of a hotel room that literally landed me on my bum for a week and limited my ability to walk or do basic tasks for several more. During that time, several friends and my mother in law supported me with love and help in the form of meals, healing herb teas, help cleaning and words of encouragement.

In the meantime, I had a chance to sit quietly and face the fear I’d been unsure of how to resolve. Somehow, just sitting there, being honest about how I felt and letting myself grieve quietly healed my heart in a way I cannot explain. Allowing friends to express their kindness so sweetly left me feeling surrounded and safe.

Finally, last week, my honest answer to a friend who asked how I was feeling about the upcoming birth of my new little baby resulted in an eye opening response from her. I had been hoping to “overcome” my anxiety before labor and go in feeling strong and utterly fearless.

But she said, “It would be strange if you didn’t feel a little fear after what you went through. Instead, why not acknowledge it as part of your experience? It doesn’t mean you’re weak. Just human.” Her words helped me to know that feeling fear doesn’t necessarily mean I’m “not dealing” with it.

Those little moments of help, of support and of wise words from friends reiterated what I’ve been starting to believe about healing.

Healing takes different lengths of time and different forms for all of us. I think it’s possible to become lost in grief or to pretend that our experiences haven’t affected us. I have seen this happen but that’s not what I want for me. For me, healing has taken the form of being open to those tears when they come but also being determined to get up and move as soon as I recover even a little strength. I pray when I feel afraid and ask for courage. And, not least, I’m learning to share honestly with those who love me about how those experiences are still changing me – and letting those friends strengthen me when I’m not sure I have any strength left.

I don’t know what healing you might be seeking in your life right now but I hope just knowing that you are not alone in looking for it will be encouraging to you. Decide you want to heal, pray, share with those who love you – and be open to the process of healing that will surely follow.

With love…

Monna

p.s. if you’re looking for more information about healing from Miscarriage, I’ve written quite a bit about it. Start with Recovering from Miscarriage, One Month Later.

I share my story in the hope that it will make you feel less alone. Please pass it on if you know of someone who it might encourage.

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