On to the next thing

Mastitis seems to be fully thwarted. I feel great. I'm so glad it came on slowly enough that I was able to treat it myself. Warm compresses of heated rice in a cloth bag was definitely the winner for me. I kept that compress on almost around the clock, as hot as I could stand it.

When I wasn't using the compress, I used cabbage leaves as a method of drawing out the infection. I'm not sure whether or not it helped.

The crowning moment of it all was yesterday morning when, just as I was really confident that I'd kicked mastitis, I realized I am battling thrush.

Yeah, you read that right.

(Not the same side so, no, I don't think there is any connection.)

For the past 24 hours I've been treating it myself, and so far it's not gotten much worse. I'm hopeful about it, which is a big deal for me since just the mention of thrush is historically enough to make me curl up in the fetal position and cry.

Maybe I'm just optimistic because it's been *so long* since I last had it and I can't remember how brutal it gets. (Hey! Seven months is, like, a record or something for me!) Or maybe it's that I've been faithfully taking a great probiotic I know has made a huge difference in my body's bacteria-yeast balance. Or maybe it's that I'm encouraged by recent home remedy triumphs. Or maybe it's just that I'm finally secure enough to know that a prescription anti-fungal cream isn't the end of the world or even a sign of incapability as a mom.

At any rate, I'm moving onward and upward.

I think.