Today I am thankful for...
**Disclaimer - If talking about breast feeding and booby milk isn't your cup of tea, then you might want to skip this post. However, I do include some cute animal and baby pictures to make it easier to swallow. No pun intended, but then it did make me laugh.
-My health, because I have lost it for a while. This may be too much information, but I am still breastfeeding my daughter and I developed an awful case of mastitis (infection of the breast). Just writing it makes me feel like a cow and that is before I mention the several pints of chocolate ice cream that I am consuming because I cannot swallow pills and have to put them in ice cream. 10 days of antibiotics, 4 times a day. Even I may get tired of ice cream. Then I developed an extremely stiff and sore neck, somehow related to the whole body infection thing. It has been a very painful experience.
So I have been stuck in the house with flu-like symptoms and a very sore "booby milk" dispenser. It was a beautiful day on Saturday - blue sky with mild temperatures and lots of sun and I was upset that I couldn't be outside. But there was some beautiful light inside too.
-I am also thankful for my little babe, who was an excellent sport and read lots of books on the sofa and in bed with me. She also entertained herself quite well. She has lots of friends to help.
-I am also thankful for my wonderful husband who took good care of the little babe and animals. I also want to give him a shout out for his rye sourdough bread, made from a homemade starter.
And some interesting facts about treating mastitis naturally:
-Eating raw garlic will help battle the infection. (I just can't stomach this.)
-Echinacea will help with boosting the immune system, so I am drinking lots of echinacea and elderberry tea.
-Apparently cool raw cabbage leaves help to relieve swollen breasts. So for mothers that are dealing with weaning or mastitis, grab your bra, grab some green cabbage, let your partner laugh, and then let nature provide some relief. By the time I read this, I thought I was too far gone and so did not try it. I actually asked the doctor for the antibiotics, when I don't even normally take Tylenol.
I welcome other bloggers to leave a link to their Thankful Tuesday post in the comments section below. Your posts do not need to be as revealing and embarrassing as mine.