mastitis and a quote

I've been meaning to blog for the last two weeks but honestly haven't had a minute. Today, I am sick in bed with mastitis and wanted to at least share a quote that I read last week and loved. For anyone curious as to how I deal with mastitis, since I don't like taking antibiotics unless truly necessary, what I do is: 1- rest rest rest (that means hubs stays home from work or, as is the case today, family members are in town and they help so I can stay in bed all day), 2 - I drink water water water (and sometimes water with a couple teaspoons of ACV, when I can stomach that which isn't today), 3 - hot compresses (each time before going to nurse on that side, I take a baby wash cloth and wet it, wringing out only mildly, and toss it in a ziplock. with the zip open I microwave it for 15 seconds then apply the very minute it doesn't feel like it's burning off my skin). I also take very hot showers and try to get the water to run in the area where the duct is infected, 4 - nurse as much as my little guy will nurse and mostly on that side. I usually wind up pumping the other side so I can focus on the painful side but today I couldn't find my pump so we're just winging it. 5 - last resort but it works very well, if I'm super sick and don't have the luxury of an extended rest, Cabbage. What I do here is cut a piece that is exactly the size of the pink spot or clogged duct and then I gently scrape it up with a fork. I then put the scraped up side facing down on my skin  with a little pressure (i.e. and nursing tank or night time nursing bra) and keep it there until it wilts (an hour or so before I replace it). The thing with that is, if you have a low milk volume it's not the most intelligent way to clear up mastitis because it actually can dry up your milk a bit if not applied ONLY in the spot of clogging. I don't have that problem and never have, if anything I produce slightly too much milk (but that's not really possible, since it's a supply and demand thing). This was told me by the local lactation consultant when I was just having so much milk and it seemed like 1 case of mastitis after another... but again, it does work. If I am able to stay in bed for a solid day, I get better within 24-48 hours fully. Better enough to deal with taking care of the kiddos in 24. Hope this helps someone. I've gotten mastitis multiple times during the last year of nursing so I had to get it down to a science or I would mostly have run to the doctors and dosed up on pills. Yes, I hate pain... Please remember I am not a doctor, nor am I claiming to be. These are just tried and true for me. Okay. on to the good quote.

I love this book by Elisabeth Elliot titled "Keep A Quiet Heart". It's almost like a devotional, it has tons of wisdom sprinkled through out on lots of different practical themes. Themes that are deep and also themes of giving God glory in the mundane. She's an amazing woman with a history of honoring God, Biblically, with the laying down of her life. If you don't know anything about her, I suggest you read up. Quite a woman to look up to. This quote is from the "Teaching Children" chapter of the book.

If a young person has been taught from childhood that he ought to "be something" without at the same time being shown that nothing is better then being God's servant, he may be preoccupied with ambitions and ideals he has gotten solely from the world. If his conception of "where it's at" has nothing to do with the Kingdom of God he is in for trouble when it comes time to discern the Will of God. he will be setting his limits to his obedience, defining the terms of his service. "For my sake" is a concept children can grasp much earlier than we generally suppose. Pray that God will show you how to teach your children that life is meant to be lived for God.

This quote may be controversial to some but to me it just makes sense. I consistently see the "church" setting their children up for spiritual failure. It's not uncommon to hear "life coaching" in place of calling people to the cross of Jesus. I am not unaware that God gave each of our children a precious gift and made them unique... but unto what, I ask? Unto glorifying Him! Unto giving them a crown that, in different seasons during their life before resurrection, will be laid down at His feet and ultimately making each of them into a sign and a wonder... that a selfish human would actually live by the standard of Jesus... even though they fail, time in and time out, they set their hearts to love Jesus in action and deed, not with words. I am not very good with consistently portraying this to my children and I fall into the trap of western thought all too often, but I have a parenting goal and that is to instill in my children to live a life of "loving Jesus" the way that He defines it. Again, I encourage any of you to get some of Elisabeth Elliot's books. She is not shy about the standard of her life, which is the Word of God.

And back on the topic of mastitis, I'd love to hear what any of you have had success with in terms of natural home remedies for it.