Healing - slowly, but healing

Some of you know about the struggles I've faced this time around (to be
differentiated from the struggles I faced the other times!): blood blisters
on both nipples by day one, scabbing to both nipples by day three, plugged
duct turned mastitis by day four, recurrent plugged duct in same location,
vasoconstriction, crack running halfway around the base of the nipple on
that same difficult side....

Well, my nipples healed, thanks to Soothies gel discs; the recurrent plugged
duct is troublesome but staying moderately managed, and I'm pleased to say
that the crack at the base of my nipple is healed now down to roughly 1/8"
long. Latch-on doesn't hurt particularly anymore (thank *god*) and I hope
that within another couple of days the crack will be healed entirely.

I've been applying All-Purpose Nipple Ointment to the crack after every
feed, and more recently, took a Soothie and cut a hole for my nipple, so
that the gel contacted the cracked area, rather than pressing my nipple into
my breast and missing the injury entirely. I think this has helped. If
nothing else, it's kept my bra from pressing my nipple into my breast. It's
been over a month now since the crack appeared, if I remember correctly, and
it's taken all this time to heal. BUT it has healed.

And the G-baby has gained, as of August 29 (one month to the day from her
birth) 2 lbs 10 oz. She's not suffering for want of food!

--angela