After our daughter was born, I was on high alert. Because she has Cystic Fibrosis, there was a high likelihood that she would have a bowel blockage. So, I was looking for any clue that she may have a meconium ileus.
I struggled to breastfeed her the whole first night after she was born. I had the same problem when our son was born. Breastfeeding does not come easily for me. The nurse brought me a breast pump to help my milk come in. I didn’t think too much about it.
A few times during the first night, my daughter spat up and asperated in her sleep. Her asperation scared me. I couldn’t sleep at all that night. I tried to voice my concerns to the nurses, but they didn’t seem concerned.
When my son was born, he pooped during the first 24 hours. My daughter did not poop during that first day. I asked the nurse if we could do an x-ray to check for a bowel blockage. The doctor kept telling us that she wasn’t worried. I finally got them to order a suppository to try and get her to poop. That didn’t work.
I continued to tell the nurses and doctors that I knew she had a blockage. I felt like they just wrote me off as a hormonal mom who didn’t know what she was talking about, but I knew, in my gut, that something was wrong.
On the day we were supposed to go home, our daughter still hadn’t pooped. Finally, the pediatrician ordered an x-ray. Can you guess what they found? She had a bowel blockage. I was so frustrated. Why didn’t they listen to me? We could have started treatment earlier if they had been more proactive.
That x-ray started our journey as NICU parents. I will make a post about our time in the NICU and tell you how we resolved our daughter’s bowel blockage in another post.
I am grateful for the experience we had during this hospital stay. I learned a couple of things:
Trust Your Gut
I knew the whole time that something wasn’t right with our baby. I knew that the way she was acting was off. I knew she needed an x-ray. My gut was right, and I am glad I trusted it.
Be an Advocate for Your Child
As a parent, my husband and I know my child better than anyone else. I have to be her advocate and push when I feel like something is not right. It is better to be the “bad guy” than to be liked when it comes to my children’s health.
Here We Go Egan 
One thought on “Trust Your Gut”