Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi absolutely adores being a mom to her three children, and she's been having a ball since welcoming her youngest son Angelo in May.
But that doesn't mean mom life is always fun or pretty. Snooki revealed that she suffered from mastitis when Angelo was 4 weeks old. It was painful and miserable, as mastitis often is.
Mastitis is an inflammation of breast tissue, often involving infection, that can occur in women who are breastfeeding or have recently breastfed.
Snooki posted about hers on Instagram Stories:
“Felt the onset of mastitis starting … had the worst chills and fever the other night & ive been pumping and feeding my boobs off all day. Jesus take the wheel.”
The 31-year-old has also been open about other aspects of motherhood, from hospital undies to pooping on the table. It’s real out here, and she doesn’t shy away from sharing any of it!
Snooki gave birth to her youngest child, Angelo James Lavalle, on May 30. She has shared tons of photos and stories from life with baby Angelo since then, and she truly spares no detail!
When Angelo was about a month old, Snooki revealed that she was suffering from mastitis.
Mastitis is an inflammation of breast tissue, and it most commonly affects women who are breastfeeding. It's painful, and it can sometimes cause fever and chills due to infection.
That's exactly what it was like for Snooki.
"Felt the onset of mastitis starting … had the worst chills and fever the other night & ive been pumping and feeding my boobs off all day," she wrote on her Instagram story. "Jesus take the wheel."
Fully draining milk from the breasts is one way to relieve the pain of mastitis, so Snooki was right on track with that method!
Breastfeeding problems are not the only aspect of mom life that Snooki has opened up about.
Around the same time that she posted about her mastitis, she shared a clip of her post-baby body in the mirror. She tagged her personal trainer and wrote that she was planning to start working out the next week.
When she was just four days postpartum, Snooki wrote about how excited she was to start working out again.
"Still healing but can’t wait to jump back into the gym hardcore this summer! Time to be a fit mawma again for my nuggets," she wrote.
She received backlash at the time. Critics said that she was promoting the idea that women have to "snap back" right after birth, which can be harmful.
But Snooki defended herself:
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but don’t attack me for wanting to become strong and fit again after my pregnancy," she wrote.
"My boobs are leaking and pulsating, my butthole is sore and my cramps are unbearable & I’m still wearing a diaper the size of Texas," she said.
"I’m allowed to look on the bright side of things and want to get back into shape. Don’t punish me for that."
Fair enough! Even in her workout photo, Snooki is still showing off her hospital underwear underneath her leggings. Real.
Snooki has also continued to post positive and honest selfies throughout her postpartum journey.
It's now summertime, which means it's officially bathing suit photo time. (OK, it was always bathing suit photo time.)
In one recent post, Snooki shouted out her own swimsuit line for being flattering to her postpartum body.
"Ready for the weekend Thank you to my SNOOKINI’S for covering up this mawma’s post partum body & trouble areas," she wrote.
Being a working mom ain't easy, but Snooki adores her role as a "mawma." She recently showed off a new tattoo that she got for her three children.
Hopefully by now, her mastitis has cleared up completely!
