I burned my boob.

Spoiler alert: This post contains TOO MUCH PERSONAL INFORMATION, so proceed at your own risk.

Yes, I did, in fact, burn my breast. Scalded it, actually. With a bowl of chicken noodle soup I was heating up in our over-the-stove microwave. On a day I had stayed home from work with a sore throat. On a day I was only wearing a cheap little tank top since I was going to be home all day anyway.

On my 490th day of nursing.

Yes, my nearly undressed boob made a perfect landing spot for scalding hot chicken broth. I have a neat little 4x4inch burn that is smack-dab, dead-center right on the working portion of a nursing mama's breast.

And, yes, it is very painful to nurse an easily distracted toddler with teeth on a burned and peeling nipple.

The scientific and curious side of me wanted to take pictures of it every day to document the various healing stages. It is, after all, a very curious part of your body to burn. However, the holidays pretty much ruined that prospect because there was no way I was going to leave a camera with pictures of my undressed torso lying around a house with teenage brothers-in-law. Nope. No Way. Not Ever.

I did learn (via a very helpful phone call to my Emergency Department Director Friend) that the skin of your nipple and areola differs from the skin on the rest of your body, and is much less likely to blister (especially if you've been nursing for a year and a half already). Quite fascinating.

I have written and re-written this post nearly ten times because I wanted to share my story with my other nursing buddies out there, and could not find a single other nursing mama online who had burned her breast and wanted to share her story. There's lots of general information out there about burns in general. But I was looking for comfort and camaraderie and support, and it was nowhere to be found.

So, if you're a nursing mama and have run across this post, know that I completely empathize with you. Be sure you get medical attention. Pump if you need to. And know this: It will not hurt as much tomorrow as it hurts today. It will heal much more quickly than you think.

And, everyone, please, be really careful when you're pulling hot things out of the microwave. Trust me, I know.