Strep Throat, Antibiotics and Breast Feeding

Last week on Thursday I was feeling really run down. I thought it might be from our day at the Fountains at the Baby Class and didn't think much of it. Then Friday I woke up with a really bad sore throat. Ugh. Then came headaches and hot flashes and cold flashes, which later I realized was a fever.... not a good weekend. Monday Jorge convinced me to go to the doctor. After she took a look at my throat and seeing I had no congestion and still had a fever, she was convinced I had strep throat. But the strep test would take a week to get the results and since I had already been sick for 4 days, she wanted to start me on antibiotics as soon as possible. She said my throat looked really bad and that it was most likely strep. If it wasn't strep, the antibiotics would kill the virus anyway. Ugh--- I was dreading that she would want to put me on antibiotics! Since I'm still nursing, I'm always concerned about any medicine I take. I was even reluctant to take ibuprofen for my fever!

I asked her how safe this would be for me to take since I'm nursing. She paused and said everything affects the baby. She thought it would be best for me to stop nursing while I'm on the antibiotics (5-7 days) and give the baby formula until then. When she said this, immediately, I thought, "Ok, then I won't take the antibiotics. I'll just wait it out until I get better." I told her it was very important for me to keep breast feeding and that I would rather try something else. But then she said that not treating strep throat effectively could lead rheumatic fever, and that rheumatic fever can cause permanent heart damage! Give up breast feeding, or feel sick for who knows how much longer and risk more health problems. I know the choice was clear, but I was devastated.

I left the doctor's office with a huge lump in my throat. What do I do?????!!!! I couldn't imagine not nursing for a week! I mean, Mila's eating lots of solids, but she still nurses after every meal, as a mid-afternoon snack, before bed and during the night. She doesn't just nurse for nutrition either. She nurses for comfort and closeness. When she's fussy or upset, she nurses and cuddles and feels much better. How could I take this away? I was so not prepared for this news! My mind was racing with all the issues this would arise... Flashbacks of pumping when Mila was just born came back to me -- oh how I HATE pumping! They caused horrible clogged milk ducts too. It was torture! Not to mention that Mila doesn't take a bottle. She doesn't know what to do with it. She used to take a bottle, but it's been months since she's had one and the last time I tried giving her one about a month ago or so, she had no idea what the bottle was. She would just chew on the nipple. How would she get the formula??? And what formula would I use??? I'd have to try different ones - which would be the gentlest on her stomach? How long would it take for me to figure it out? Would she even take the formula?? Would she figure out how to use a bottle? AND that's not even the biggest problem: If I were to stop breast feeding for a week, I know for sure Mila would forget to nurse and she wouldn't take the boob again! I was sobbing at this point.

I called Jorge, who had stayed home with Mila during my appointment, and told him what the doctor had said. Immediately, he suggested calling the pediatrician to ask his opinion. He was right. My doctor is great for me, but the pediatrician knows babies best. He would know what was best for Mila. Brilliant! Why hadn't I thought of that? I left a message with the doctor's office and in the meantime, I looked up on the internet about strep, antibiotics and breastfeeding. Interestingly, everything I read were experiences from moms in my situation where the pediatrician said it was fine to continue breastfeeding. There was hope! The pediatrician returned our call an hour later and laid my fears to rest. He said that the antibiotic I would be taking is a low dose one. That, yes, it will still transfer over into the milk, but that it should have a minimal effect, maybe an upset stomach in the baby. He said he thought it was ok for me to continue breast feeding. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Although I hate the thought of her having anything transfer to her through the milk, I can't imagine the thought of suddenly not nursing anymore. It would be very difficult for both Mila and for me to stop cold turkey. Difficult physically and emotionally. I know I have to wean her at some point, but I plan to do it gradually so we can both adjust.

This experience has made me realize how important breast feeding really is to me. I didn't use to think it was that big of a deal. I almost looked forward to having to nurse anymore. But after almost having to give it up all of a sudden, I see how much it means to me. When Mila nurses and she's curled up in my lap, it's a beautiful bonding experience. I love watching her face and seeing her excitement knowing that she's getting her favorite treat. I love watching her nurse and knowing how happy it makes her. I love when she's done and she's full and ready to play. I love knowing that only I can provide her with that. Not just with that nutrition, but also with that comfort. Yes, it's a pain though when it's 1am or 4am or when I'm in the middle of doing something.... but it's not that bad. I realize I really love it. I can't imagine not having that connection with her anymore... at least not yet. I know we'll stop someday, but I'm just glad that day isn't today.

Rash

After having introduced Mila to avocados on Monday -- which she loved -- we gave it to her again the next day. After you've introduced a food, you're supposed to continue giving them the same food for 3-5 days to see if they develop any allergic reactions to it. So far, we've had no problems. But on day 2 of having avocados,  Mila developed a rash! It was all over her chest and her back and in all her chubby rolls. Could it be an allergic reaction to the avocados?

We took her to the pediatrician to check it out, and he said he didn't think it was an allergy. He said he thought it might be a virus. Bizzare! A virus in the form of a rash? He said all we could do was keep an eye on it. He couldn't do much else. If she had a fever over 102, than we should go back. He said he thought the rash would probably get worse before it got better.

The next day, just as he said, the rash got worse and went from splotchy to all-over red. Poor thing! It didn't seem to bother her though, it just looked irritated. It was better by the third day, and then practically all gone by the fourth. We're going to try avocados again next week and keep an eye out to see if she has another reaction, just in case. I hope it's not an allergy though -- I can't imagine not being able to have guacamole!!!

Mila Recommends: Humidifier

Mila and I are doing much better from our cold. Mila's feeling better than I am, though. I'm still dealing with some post nasal drip that's affecting my voice and makes me sound like I'm all congested. But I'm doing alright.

So. While Mila was sick, we took her to the doctor because she developed a little cough and we wanted to make sure it wasn't anything serious. Doctor said it was fine, that it was just part of her cold and to get a humidifier and use saline drops in her nose to break up the mucus. We'd been doing the saline drops, along with the my favorite nasal aspirator (which, by the way, was the VERY BEST THING EVER when your child is sick with a runny nose! That thing got all the boogers!!! Loved it! Thank you again, Karina!!!) But we hadn't gotten a humidifier yet. We kept reading how hard they were to clean and we'd been looking for a good one. We struggled with several bad nights with Mila and her cold until finally, after one night with Mila having such a hard time breathing because she was so congested, we brought her into the bathroom and turned on the hot water and let her breathe in the steam. That helped so much!! The very next day, Jorge went out and bought a simple Vicks Warm Mist Humidifier. And from that night on, Mila was sleeping so much better! It helped sooo much! I couldn't believe it! I'd never used a humidifier before and I had no idea how helpful it would be. It even helped me when I got really congested too! Why, oh why, didn't we get this sooner????

I remember being terribly sick with a cold when I was pregnant with Mila and not being able to take any cold medicines sucked! I would cover up my nose with my blanket and breathe in the warm air and that helped so much... I could've totally used a humidifier then. Ugh, where have you been all my life?! 

The Vicks Warm Humidifier worked great. It stayed on all night like we wanted and warmed up a medium-sized room very well. It is hard to clean though. After one use, the heating element had gotten this brown crust on it that was impossible to scrub off. We would clean it every day as much as possible. For $30, it did what we needed it to do and it was totally worth it. From what we've read, all humidifiers are super hard to clean anyway, so if it does get too dirty, we can just get another one. And considering that we won't be using it too often, hopefully it won't get too dirty too soon. 

If you've got a recommendation for one that you use, that's easy to clean, I'd love to hear it! :)

We Caught a Cold :(

Mila and I are sick with a cold... ughhhhhhh. Mila started with a runny nose on Tuesday and it's turned into a full, blown-out cold. And now I seem to have caught it as well. I should have expected it though -- she's been sneezing all over me for a few days now. And as if it wasn't hard enough to take care of a sick, fussy, teething baby, now I'm feeling run down and congested as well. Thank God for my wonderful husband who's here to take care of us! It sucks that we're sick for the long holiday weekend, though. But at least he's here to keep us company. And just his presence makes both Mila and I feel better. So that's the bright side. I love you, my husband! :)

My mom also came over today and she made us some chicken soup and played with Mila so Jorge and I could get some cleaning done. I know I'm sick, but if I lie down I know I'll just focus on being sick. If I keep busy then I'm be distracted. Thanks for coming over, Mami. The chicken soup was delicious and totally hit the spot. Te quiero! :)

Here's hoping we get better soon!

First Sniffles

Mila's had a few boogers here and there for the past week. Just a couple of the dry crusty ones. I figured she was just developing them, cuz everyone has boogers, right? Well last night they started getting worse. Now she has the full-on sniffles!! She's snorting a lot and I hear congestion. Last night we woke up and found her with her nose smushed up against her mattress, snorting, trying to breathe! Ugh, it broke my heart! Poor baby!

I called the pediatrician and he said it could be a cold or allergies. We weren't sure what it was so we cancelled our Tuesday playgroup and our Wednesday Mommy and Me class this week just to be safe. The pediatrician said if it's a cold it would last 3-5 days. Sound like forever!
We have her 4-month check up this week, hopefully she's feeling better by then! Get well soon my little girl!