First Post - Motherly Instincts

Hi All,  Welcome to my first post!!!   Since I'm a new mommy, I thought I'd write about my first experience in trusting my motherly instincts and learning to trust them and keeping faith while doing so. 

Here it goes!

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My dear Eli was our miracle.  After years of trying to conceive, we were finally blessed with this handsome little man.

The reality is that once you have a baby, it’s easy peasy after that... I mean, all anyone ever says is that babies just Eat, Poop, and Sleep, right? Although they do EPS, we quickly learned there is so much more to them!  As a first time mom, I looked to my seasoned mommies and asked questions, "Are they supposed to breathe that way?", "Why do they jerk so much when they sleep?"  My husband (from here on out, i'll simply refer to him as Husband) and I asked so many "silly" questions. 

After just a week of no sleep and watching every breath, you get to learn your baby's personality almost immediately.  What's normal or not normal for them.  I strictly breastfed during Eli's first week.  It was something I always wanted to do and envisioned this beautiful bonding time with my baby.  However, reality was not so nice.  I found that he wouldn't latch on correctly, therefore, injuring me.  I talked to Lactation Consultants MULTIPLE times and just couldn't get it right.  Then the scariest night, thus far, happened.  His blood sugar dropped so low that he was extremely unresponsive. Husband and I took him to the ER twice in one night... and that's when we found that he was not getting enough food.

Now I tell you this story as background to my REAL story about Motherly Instincts.

Once we decided to bottle feed Eli, we found another slough of problems.  When feeding, he would only take one or two gulps before pushing bottle out of his mouth, turning red, excessive spitting up, holding his breath, and making weird noises when trying to get his breath back.  This went on for a week... and I didn't wanna come across as an overzealous first-time mommy so I was hesitant to mention it to anyone.   I finally talked to the doctor and she quickly prescribed Anti-Re flux medication.  I have no problem with giving my child medication, if it's truly needed and other alternatives have been looked at - which was NOT the case here. This made me VERY uncomfortable.

Two days later, I was still very uncomfortable and told my Husband that I was going to change his formula to see if this was the problem.  So Eli went from a Milk-Based Formula to Soy and his symptoms remained - no change.  After doing some online research and talking with a couple of friends, I decided to buy a Hypo-Allergenic Formula, Enfamil's Nutramigen.

Now mind you, I never saw any allergy symptoms, per se (i.e., bloody bowels, etc.).  But my GUT told me he had a sensitive tummy and I needed to try this and thank God I DID! After what we went through during the first week, I was adamant to follow my instincts. Immediately following the first feeding with the new formula, we saw a dramatic difference.  Eli is eating well, not holding his breath, and seemed VERY comfortable.   Alleluia!

So mommies, listen to your gut... no one knows your child better than you.  I know this post was long but I share because I feel compelled to share our story in the hopes it can help new parents out there.  Now tell me your stories of following your instincts... I'd love to hear!

DISCLAIMER: This post is strictly a recount of my story and does not reflect any bias against Western Medical Treatments. I have full confidence and respect for our Medical Doctors.