Breastfeeding woes

This for some may be a "too-much-information" kind of post for some. Soooo, please disregard this post if you don't want to hear about such problems. Those of you who breastfeed or have in the past keep reading cuz I need some advice or maybe even some been there done that kind of sympathy.

Jayden and I have thrush. Woe is us! She had an appointment 2 weeks ago for a cold and we had noticed her tongue was a little white. I suspected thrush but the doctor dismissed it saying it was not thrush because the white wiped away. So about 3 days ago my "girls" started itching like crazy. It progressed to mild discomfort and my skin is very irritated. Yesterday it became pretty much unbearable and totally painful to nurse. So much so everytime I nurse I feel like jumping out of my skin.

I talked to the lactation consultant and diagnosed over the phone for me so I wouldn't have to come in to get it checked out. She had me call my OBGYN who thankfully agreed to call in an RX for APNO. It's a compounded RX so only a few places in town do compounding. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to take Jayden back to the Dr and that they would agree to do the same. But nope, I guess they want their $ for the office visit!

Today we took her in and wow big suprise she has thrush too! And she has the whole fungal diaper rash thing going on too. Grrrr! If they would have listened to us 3 weeks ago we wouldn't be going through this crap right now! So I'm a little ticked but still like our Dr. I was hoping to be able to combine this with the flu shot booster that was due *tomorrow* but when I asked the nurse over the phone she said that I couldn't even do it one day early.

I took Trevor with me in hopes that maybe we could still do it and I could save the hassle going back next week. And so I played to the Doctor's sympathy and she did it! I was so happy she said that it was exactly 28 days so she could do it. I really was wanting to avoid going back again next week. Since Trevor's 2 year check in August we all have been to the Dr. way too many times. Damn, I was just sitting her counting and between all of us it's been 10 appointments* so far equalling $235 for the appointments alone, not including rx's!

Trevor of course freaked out when he got his shot. He was pretty ticked at the nurse but it was soon forgotten. With Jayden, it was the craziest thing! She didn't cry or even winced. As soon as they were done she even smiled at the nurse. They couldn't believe it. I was shocked too. On the plus side, I think Trevor is finally starting to get over his fear of elavators. Normally he screams. On the way up he whined a little but on the way down he even seemed like he enjoyed it a little bit. It will be so much easier once he completely conquers that fear.

So if anyone has any advice I'd love to hear on a personal level what worked. For myself I'm using the APNO (all-purpose-nipple-ointment) and using a vinegar/water rinse. And I'm eating massive quantities of activa yogurt. For Jayden we're using nystatin both oral drops and swabbing her cheeks and nystatin ointment for the diaper rash. In addition to that, of course we are practicing good hygiene and will be sterilizing pump parts, bottles and pacifiers. Does anyone know if the dishwasher actually sterilizes so I can avoid that step? I think it does but I'm not sure.

*Trevor 2 year, Jayden 6 months, Jayden suspected Strep, Me emergency room visit for what I thought was a foreign body in my eye and was actually conjunctivitis, Trevor knocked a bookshelf over and I thought he broke his leg, Trevor for an ear infection, Travis for conjunctivitis, Travis for a physical, Travis for a dentist appointment b/c he knocked out a filling, today's visit, plus in 2 weeks Trevor is being seen by a nutritionist for his lack of weight gain. Plus I'm probably forgetting something! Equalling a grand total of $235