Taco Bell Causes Mastitis (Only Kidding)

Tuesday Night....as in LAST Tuesday Night:

Taco Bell.  That's right.  I'm eatin' it.

And it's after midnight, too.  I'm officially on "fourthmeal" time.

AND I'm supposed to be working.  Like environmental contract work type of working.  And technically I DID work for a little bit.  I'm just not doing it right now.  Because I really just want to go to bed after the Aquarium bartending shift that I just had.  But I have to pump my boobs, so I'm pumping.  Therefore I can't go to bed just yet.  So here we are.  :)

So what I'm trying to say is.....that whole blog I wrote yesterday about fitness?  Yeah, I'm crapping all over that blog right about now with my Taco Bell and my Guinness.  Did I mention I was drinking a Guinness?

I DID run 4 miles last night after my bartending shift, though (while watching The Men Tell All episode of "The Bachelorette").  Does that cancel out tonight or cancel out stuff from before?  Do I need to cancel out tonight by working out tomorrow?  My friend Stacie did mention going running together with our double joggers in the morning.  Hmmm.......

Totally what Stacie and I look like while pushing our double joggers.

P.S.  I totally can't wait for the new show, "Bachelor In Paradise".  Talk about trash TV.  That show is going to be REALITY GARBAGE SERVED STRAIGHT-UP ON A PLATTER and I CAN'T WAIT.

A lot of bodily fluids and bits of "crazy" are going to be passed around this cast.

Lucas would rather stab himself in the eye with a fork than watch something like that.  I don't blame him, but I still eat it up when I can.  What can I say - it's a guilty pleasure.

So besides losing baby weight (which I AM working on despite tonight's poor choices), I've also been working towards paying off some bills, so I've been working my bartending jobs quite a bit lately.  Ever since I joined up as a bartender with the aquarium, I've been working probably 3x as much as before.  There are more aquarium shifts than Hunter shifts, because there are only two official bartenders to fill the event shifts, though there are other staff members who can also do it if/when needed.  It's good because I enjoy what I do and bartending shifts mean money in my pocket, but it's bad because it can be exhausting going back and forth between the two facility schedules when you've got two little ones at home.  Toss in one or two environmental contracting gigs in on top of that, and it means you're not sleeping for at least a week.  This next week is one of those weeks for me.

There were almost two straight weeks a short time ago where I had NOTHING.......no bartending gigs, no environmental projects, no appointments or engagements of any kind......and it was pure bliss.  The kids and I hung out with my mom a lot, I heavy-duty cleaned the house, I organized things and I took care of things that normally get put on the backburner.  I even think I took a power nap in there at least once.  And I could actually live that way all the time if I wanted to......no bartending shifts or environmental projects ever again.....but that would also mean I would be BROKE.  Lucas makes plenty of money for the two of us, but he's also extremely responsible with his money.  Aka he doesn't indulge on things, at least not often.  He's not cheap, just level-headed and really super responsible and reliable.  Very unlike me, who buys things on a whim or on a good vibe. Or just because it's food.

Thursday.....over a week later:

Remember how I said the next week was going to be busy for me?  Well it WAS for sure.  I spent every spare moment working on my environmental project, which meant staying up until 2am most nights.  And then on Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday, I spent the entire day at my mom's house with my laptop so that I could work while having an extra hand watching the kids.  I sent everything out yesterday evening and just had a little tweak to do today, but now it's OUT and I've submitted my invoice.  BOOM.

Not so boomerific........I have mastitis!  UGH!!  For those who don't know:   

Mastitis is an infection of the breast tissue that results in breast pain, swelling, warmth and redness of the breast. If you have mastitis, you might also experience fever and chills.  

I know that's right.  Yesterday afternoon I started to notice that my left boob was sore.  I also noticed I was REALLY thirsty all day and REALLY tired when bedtime rolled around.  I figured I had a slightly clogged duct (since my boob didn't have any hard spots to indicate a super clogged duct) and that I was just overtired from my week.  NOPE.  This morning I woke up to flu-like symptoms and a boob that felt like razor blades and fire demons were trying to escape.  And it kind of looks like fire demons are trying to escape, as red as it is.  I had planned on cleaning the house this morning since I've neglected it the past two weeks, but since I felt AWFUL I loaded up the kids and headed to my mom's instead.  I called the doc and got an antibiotic called in, which I started right away.  My fever has gone down (I'm at 99.1 now) and I feel better than I did this morning, but I still feel like crap.  This is when pre-kids, I would lay on the couch in my PJs all day and watch chick flicks.  But alas, that hasn't happened!

I have to let Lucy nurse from it at least every two hours (or else pump) to try to help it heal.  OMG.  Nothing like handing a boob that hurts with the slightest touch to a baby who's going to suck on it, pull on it, push on it, kick it and dramatically pop off of it by yanking her head to the side.  HOLY BATMAN.

My boob looks NOTHING like this, just feels like this.  But HOLY HELL THAT POOR WOMAN.

This isn't my first rodeo with searing pain while breastfeeding, though it is for a new reason.  For those who have been following my blog since I started it two years ago, you'll remember how I was puzzled about some pain I was having while breastfeeding, and how I thought I'd hit the jackpot by internet-diagnosing Delano with a posterior tongue tie.  It all worked out in the end, and I know this too will pass.  But crap.

So I've managed to maintain my weight at 132 pounds lately, which means I've only got three more pounds to go before I'm back in the 120s!  I was going to start running again today (I haven't been running due to work) but there's NO WAY I'm bouncing this boob on a treadmill.  So MAYBE tomorrow and hopefully FOR SURE this weekend.  I was told I'd be feeling better in 24-48 hours, so let's aim for 24!

I hear Delano in his room, awake from his nap.  Guess I'll go get him.  Lucy napped all of 20 minutes this afternoon, so she's been swinging around in my lap this whole time.  Oh and she turned 7 months old yesterday, y'all!