As a nervous new mom, it was important to me to feel a connection with our pediatrician. I chose another woman who is a mother to young boys. I would probably ask her to be my best friend if that wasn’t completely creepy.
Thankfully, she’s an excellent doctor.
But I love that I can talk to her and that we can relate as parents. She tells me what she would do if her children were in my kids’ position.
I’ve told my breast feeding story before on this blog, so some of this won’t be anything new.
Both Hudson and Hayes were jaundiced when they came home from the hospital. We spent two weeks with each baby going to the lactation consultant and the pediatrician daily for heel pricks and weight checks. The fear that you’re starving your baby is so overwhelming and scary and watching your baby continue to lose weight is so sad.
After lots of tears (from me and my babies), I felt defeated. I looked at our pediatrician and said, “I’m so tired of doing this to them. I want them to be full and I want them to gain weight. What else can I do?”
And she said, “Let’s give him a bottle.”
I fed Hudson a bottle of formula right there in her office, and he did great. She sent me home with more formula and told me to come back the next day. She encouraged me to continue to nurse at each feeding, but to supplement to make sure they were getting something.
The next day, Hudson was back to his birth weight. And a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.
Her advice to just give him a bottle was so simple, but it’s like I needed her permission to do it.
Over the years she has encouraged me to follow my gut. She takes a no-nonsense approach to parenting, and I always appreciate her little bits of insight when we’re discussing a behavioral issue or how to approach teaching our boys to sleep in a big boy bed.
What’s the best advice your pediatrician has given you?
