Is there a time where you felt the answers inside but didn’t know where they came from? That’s probably your gut instincts talking. There’s no need to think it over or get another opinion, you just know. It’s a feeling within your body that only you experience. Trusting your instincts is trusting yourself.
Trust your instincts. Intuition doesn’t lie. – Oprah
And to all you mommas out there, you know what’s best for your kid and you can feel it deep inside, trust that!
Here’s a little story about trusting my gut instincts after Edison was born.
We started breastfeeding shortly after Edison was born in the delivery room and he latched without any difficulty, our midwife helped thankfully. After the high of the birth was winding down and settled in our recovery room, there was a discomfort with nursing.
But was it normal pain? What it was supposed to feel like? it’s the most natural thing right? All the questions were flowing.
We went on nursing and my nipples continued to get more irritated and the intense pain with latching started to kick in.
Friday rolled around and the pediatrician stopped by to do a final check before we could be released from the hospital. I asked if he would check for a tongue tie.
The pediatrician wouldn’t even look and he went on to say “Tongue ties don’t matter and won’t cause any lasting effects, if you can’t nurse just bottle feed.” Like no discussion, end of story, don’t worry about it. Mama instincts told me a different story, there was something going on and had to get to the bottom of it.
Our first stop was to our family nurse practitioner’s office and we asked about the possible tongue tie. She confirmed that most likely he had a grade 3 posterior tie and to follow up with a IBCLC (lactation consultant) for further evaluation.
One week after birth
We got into see a lactation consultation about a week after the birth and at this point it was 10/10 pain, worse than the actual birth and I was dreading every time he nursed.
I was in literal tears every time he nursed from the toe curling pain.
If he could get latched the pained lessened some to make it manageable with breathing and relaxation techniques. Our nursing sessions were about 20-30 minutes long and were about every 30-45 minutes. Talk about exhausting!
Poor baby was exhausted from nursing and would pass out and then wake up starving and we would do this cycle all day long.
It was confirmed that there was a tongue and lip tie and recommended getting it released by a pediatric dentist. Two weeks after giving birth, the tongue and lip ties as well as buccal/cheek ties were released.
Your heart knows things that your mind can’t explain. – unknown
It was a very hard decision to make. Putting him through any pain was the last thing we wanted to do but knew this could cause lasting developmental issues if it wasn’t resolved.
We listened to our gut and did it, besides hearing his scream from the next room and daily tongue and lip stretches, it was absolutely worth it.
7 weeks post-op
Nursing was pain free! Edison was able to extract milk more efficiently from both sides. The nursing sessions had shorted and were happening every few hours. Both of us were much happier.
We did lots of other care along with this release like multiple visits to the lactation consultant, chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy and occupational therapy visits.
Biggest take away, if I hadn’t listened to my gut that something was wrong with my child’s ability to latch and drink breast milk, and had listened to that doctor in the hospital, without a doubt I would not be breastfeeding Edison right now.
The pain and exhaustion on both of us was too much to handle as a new mom to continue if we had not resolved the ties.
Slow down, listen to yourself and focus on you, you might be surprised what those gut instincts are trying to tell you.