someone or something you care about

Write about someone or something you care about.

So I'm trying REALLY hard to catch up in this challenge. I know the date stamp on here says the 19th... but it's actually the 22nd today. I swear by Friday I will be caught up. ;)





My boy not feeling well this weekend :(





OK. So, I'm going to write about someone AND something I care about all at once. My buddy boy who's growing up all to fast and being a parent. Being a mommy is a non-stop learning process. And once you think you've got something down, another bump in the road comes up and you have to figure out if you're going to swerve, hop over it, or ride on through. What I've come to realize is that what my mommy said is true "mommy gut trumps all" and that no two children are the same. A lot of times, I have to stop myself  from forcing my opinion on my other friends who are parents because what might have worked for C may be just the opposite for them. We can beg our babes to sleep through the night and they just may not. The doctor may advise you to let him/her to cry it out and not everyone is comfortable with that (this mom right here!). Some babes transition to the crib really easy and others would rather sleep in your bed until they are, say... 25! Every parent/child combo is different. But what you know and feel to be right as the parent is what you should trust. Definitely arm yourself with research and knowledge, but do what you have to do for your baby!

Here's a nice fat example for you. My baby boy, Caleb, had his 4 month check up a few weeks ago. Nothing is really *wrong* with KC at the moment, but we were advised to start him on Poly-Vi-Sol with Iron supplements. The reason they advised me to switch from his D-Vi-Sol supplements to the new one after his 4 month check because he is exclusively breastfed. In 2010, AAP decided that this would help to prevent children from developing anemia later in life. The problem is that Iron is a very dangerous supplement to mess with; especially in infants. Although, I didn't agree with their suggestion (because I was additionally told that breast milk had no Iron whatsoever), when I went to the store to get another bottle of the D-Vi-Sol, they were sold out, so I picked up with Poly-Vi-Sol with Iron, as suggested,  instead. A few days later C is showing lots of signs of discomfort; excessive crying, unable to nap, lack of bowel movements. Looking back, he was even having issues nursing, too. I resorted to walking around my neighborhood with my nursing cover to get him to eat that morning. I didn't immediately respond to all of this because he's been known to have an "off-day." What did clue me in to the issue with his supplement is the massive, stinky poop he produced on Sunday night! It reeked of rusty pennies and spilled out of his diaper up his shirt and into his hair. Gross. I washed him all off and the boy napped for 2.5 hours after that. It was like he couldn't relax with that junk in his system. It took a few days for him to return to normal and I'm thankful it wasn't more than just the few days of discomfort.

Happy baby has returned this morning

Now mama bear is taking over in me and I've been trying to get to the bottom of all of this. After following a portion of their advice, I've been on and off the phone with our pediatricians office with multiple nurses. Long story short, the office abides by the AAP to the freaking letter. They will not admit that the blanketed statement of "breastfed babies need the additional Iron after 4 months" may not be true for every child. The AAP also says that children should be exclusively breastfed for 6 months, too, but you know what? Not everyone can do that! In fact, many people still choose not to. So, the advice of this doctor was wrong yet again because she told me I should be supplementing formula at this point, to. What a wack-a-doodle!

Now, just a little ACTUAL information in case you're wondering. There is, in fact, iron in breast milk. It is, however, not a substantial amount. This is okay for babies under 6 months because unless the babe was premature or under weight (generally over 7.3lbs at birth) they will have enough iron stores in their body from the 3rd trimester in the womb to last for 7 months into their life if not longer. Additionally, the iron in breast milk is also more easily absorbed by the baby because of the components of whey and casein protein which make breast milk so easily digestible. Around the time that these iron stores begin to be used up, this household (and likely most infants at that tiem) will have started on solid foods which will make up for the iron he would have missed.

Moral of the story... if your mommy gut is telling you, "hey, this doctor is sounding cray cray" don't ignore it! They may have a point, but if something is giving you pause, your best bet is to look into it BEFORE taking action or just following their advice. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.