I’m not sure why this is happening to me so many more times than it did with Ben and Jack. But twice since I’ve been back from Florida I’ve had a two clogged milk ducts. That makes three total. With Jack and Ben I only had one each.

I’ve read that if you don’t feed regularly it can happen. I’m pretty sure my feeding schedule is not regular. Sometimes I use formula, sometimes I breast feed, I go a long period in the afternoon when I pick up the older kids without pumping or breast feeding. I don’t think about it that much and perhaps I should. Or as Adam says, I could just stop breast feeding all together.

The first one I could see because there was a huge white spot on my nipple. It was painful and made my boob lumpy, but when I pumped, it umlumped me a bit. Within a few days of worry, hot showers and continuously putting cabbage leaves in my bra, it passed. There is still a white spot, but the boob produces well and now causes no pain.

Yes, cabbage leaves, people. My sister told me about it. It works. But I have no idea why. And neither does anyone on the internet. She also told me to take a needle to that white spot and pick it out. I just didn’t have the courage for that.

Yesterday the other boob started acting up. I woke up in pain. It was lumpy and I could not find any white dot. I still had the head of cabbage, so I put leaves in my bra all day. I tried a shower so hot that my skin was pink afterwards. I even laid down downstairs on my stomach for an hour while Adam put the older kids to bed with my boob soaking in a bowl of hot water.

It was sore all day and I went to bed last night in pain and not feeling well, thinking I’d need to call the doctor in the morning. It was probably infected. More mastitis. And more Augmentin. I was too tired to think about how tired that medicine made me last time.

I nurse Sam at 2am on the clogged breast, and changed the cabbage leaf. In the morning it was still sore, but less so. I nursed again, then pumped. Then, after reading on the internet to take some medicine that reduced inflammation, I very happily found my prescription ibuprofen left over from the twins c-section. Took that and a nap with the twins in the morning. Rest was another thing important to unclogging a milk duct. I had to giggle at that suggestion.

Even less lumpy and painful now. I think I’ve managed to avoid a trip to the doctor and more antibiotics. If so, I promise to drink alcohol every night in celebration of my freedom…