bored yet?

Anyone bored yet of the frequent medical and breastfeeding posts? Yep, me too. I wish I'd have a reason to stop posting them!

So today I had to go to the base to get a new ID. Apparently mine had expired and being that I hadn't been to the base in probably 2 years, I hadn't noticed. So when I took Jason to the local clinic earlier this week for his doctor's appointment they confiscated my ID because it was expired. Nice, huh? So no more doctor's visits or any medical care (at least not without a fight) until I got it replaced. So off to the base I went. And let me tell you, gee is that fun????

When we got there Al noticed that Jason had spit up blood-tinged stuff AGAIN. He seemed happy and calm, so it didn't make sense. He had napped 2 hours in the swing, he had barely cried but 5 minutes in the car, he wasn't spitting up very much, and his diapers were returning to normal consistency. He was acting "normal". But the pediatrician (the one who wanted him on formula) had been very concerned about this last week so I figured it must be serious. So I called the pediatrician AGAIN. And AGAIN I was told that they didn't have any appointments and to go to urgent care or ER. Lovely. So, after I got my ID, Al kept Tyler with him at work (HUGE help) and I took Jason to the ER. Basically it was decided, with very little examination involved, that this is fairly normal in breastfed babies and nothing to be concerned about. I certainly had never heard of it, and obviously his pediatrician that was so concerned last week never heard of it. Apparently any bleeding I might have (even if I can't see it) that he manages to consume will come right out in spit-up or stool, but will do no harm to baby. Gee I wish I knew THAT a few weeks ago. Lovely how no one has told me this yet. Then again, I don't know who to believe anymore. Regardless he was definitely happy and NOT in pain. They said that he had no visible irritation to his throat or nose and that they could do further testing but that they felt it was unnecessary in our case and would do more harm than good. And they pretty much said to keep doing what I was doing and to ignore any doctor who tells me to put him on formula of any kind. Sooo confusing. And they said one thing that made it all better...."you are doing great mama". Sometimes you just need to hear it after so many medical professionals put so much doubt in your head.

So what have I learned? No matter whether you are a new mom or not, there is still so much to learn. What else have I learned? The medical profession obviously should be consulted when there are issues that you are concerned about, but trust your gut. Sometimes mommy knows best.