The Yeastie Beasties Attack!

Fans. The always dreaded has descended: Julie and Clara have thrush. For the uninitiated or otherwise not in the know, thrush is a fungus that babies get it in their mouths--and then pass on to their mothers' nipples. It goes back and forth and back and forth and back and forth unless both the baby and the mother are treated at the same time. In short, it's awesome. For the mother, it means nursing and pumping are painful. For the baby, it means that nursing might become painful, jar food won't be so appealing because it will kind of burn apparently, and a special kind of diaper rash might set in as the yeast moves through the digestive tract all out of control like. Clara is teething and so has been biting Julie now and again while nursing and so Julie didn't think anything of the pain she was feeling while nursing Clara, but it wasn't getting better, and Clara wasn't biting that often. Then, we noticed Clara had a red pinprick looking diaper rash that wasn't going away. In retrospect we would note that she no likey the peaches we tried out on her this weekend (and she is a great little eater), and that she was gassy and her naps were a mess, and she was waking up early. Julie also thought she'd maybe glimpsed some white residue in Clara's mouth which Julie chalked up to milk after nursing, only because thrush hadn't entered the transom of her mind. But Julie pieced this altogether this morning as she was debating whether to push Clara's scheduled flu shot booster and after a flurry of phone calls to the lactation consultant, Dr. Harrington, and Julie's midwife, we had consensus on thrush.

So, now, Clara's got an oral anti-fungal some such that we put in a Dixie cup, and apply all over her mouth paintbrush like, after every feeding, and an anti-fungul cream we put on her girl parts three times a day. Julie has to apply a solution of water and vinegar to her nipples (Readers, nothing will stop us from bringing you all the news--and now, you have proof) after each nurse or pump with a separate cotton ball for each side and let it air dry, then she applies the same cream that Clara has for her girl parts, and then she puts new breast pads in each time. We also have to steralize the bottles and pump parts in boiling water each night. Fans, we have to do this for TWO WEEKS. As we have noted, thrush. Is. Awesome.

Oh, and B. Bird got that flu shot booster and she made not a peep! She was all "Oh excuse me what? Oh a shot? Um, I have a FUNGUS in my mouth. I am a WARRIOR BABY! Shots do not bother me. What else have you got? And give me back my pants."