Diagnosis

Joseph and I have been sick for about 10 days now. He's definitely getting better, but I was getting worse. This morning I woke with (another) raging headache and my teeth were killing me! I wasn't sure whether to call the doctor or the dentist, but it turned out that I have a sinus infection. Apparently your sinuses can push on your gums when they stuff up.

So now I'm on antibiotics in case it's bacterial (I think since I've had the cold 10 days they felt it must be). The doctor said that babies don't get sinus infections, so Joseph shouldn't be suffering.

Antibiotics can cause thrush (yeast infection in the breast) which can then transfer to the baby's mouth and it's just a big awful mess of passing infection back and forth. The way we're trying to prevent that from happening is by taking probiotics. Apparently they put good flora back in your gut.

Oh, and for breastfeeding moms, there is a great book that tells about the safety of many medications call Breastfeeding and Medication by Dr. Hale. Your local LLL leader should have a copy and be able to look up any meds you have questions about. Mine were great today while I was trying to figure this all out, especially after talking to a pharmacist who told me that I should stop breastfeeding while I took them (for 14 days). Um, right. I did tell the doc that I was breastfeeding but he seemed to be more of a specialist in diabetes from the info in his room, so I didn't really trust him, either! I called my leaders, and learned that it was an "L2" drug. "L1" being the most tested and safe. So that's pretty good. Very little should get to Joseph, and no adverse affects have been recorded in breastfeeding children.

Anyway, now I should be on the mend! And hopefully the probiotics will ward off any thrush. I'm so happy I have my LLL leaders to help me.