There is something that happens to every one of us the moment that we find out we are pregnant. It is hardwired in our brain. There is no stopping it, it is in our instincts, it is natural. A mothers ability to sense when something just “doesn’t feel right”, starts even before we feel that little miracle fluttering around in our womb.
Recently my 1 year old was admitted into the hospital after 32 hours of vomiting. The vomiting wasn’t happening every 3 minutes but was consistent enough to empty her belly and continue for hours after. We went to the pediatrician and were given the instructions to monitor her, try some pedialyte, and call back if it wasn’t getting any better. By that night, something felt “uneasy” within me. When she vomited in her bed for the second time in two hours I knew I needed to call, and in my gut, I knew we were heading to the hospital. Within a couple of hours we were at the hospital being admitted. She was severely dehydrated and had dangerously high levels of ketones in her body (basically her body was starting to eat its own fat).
The first instinct that something was severely wrong was felt within myself. You know that saying “if something doesn’t feel right it probably isn’t”? There is some truth to that statement. It is really known as your intuition and there is a whole scientific process that happens in your body when presented with a crossroad and you need to decide which way to go. Your intuition is knowing something but not really knowing how you came to the conclusion rationally. Like how I knew something was wrong but I could not put my finger on what exactly it might be.
Trusting your gut is part of your intuition. When you ignore your gut feelings it can leave you with an unpleasant and upset feeling in your stomach. Obviously why the term is dubbed as your gut feeling. As mothers, we have these feelings all the time! Maybe we choose a different child care setting, medicine, or don’t allow our children to do something because it just doesn’t feel right. The feeling I felt was a familiar one. When my oldest daughter was 3 she was also hospitalized and diagnosed with a non curable auto immune disease. When she was diagnosed and hospitalized I kept trying to suppress my feelings that something was seriously wrong. I made excuses for why she was having the issues she had and didn’t listen to what my gut was telling me, that something was really wrong. If I hadn’t called the doctor when I did the outcome could have been tragic. There are too many times that parents have regret over not trusting their instincts.
My advice to all mommas out there is to trust your gut. Don’t ignore your feelings because your probably onto something. Make that phone call, send an email, bring your child to the doctors, have a conversation.
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Thanks for writing this! Recently I brought my baby to the doctor because I had some concerns. I think my husband thinks I am certifiably insane, but I am trusting my gut here. Dr. Didnt really have too many answers (I didnt expect him to), but made a referral to a specialist for me so we know if something is going on or not. I feel generally better already just knowing I will get a professional opinion. But sometimes, I feel silly and wonder if I am worrying over nothing. Thanks for reiterating that it is better to be cautious than keep waiting when your gut is telling you something. It made me feel better.
Thank you for sharing AJ! I think it is always better to air on the side of caution, that way if something really was wrong we catch it before it becomes a tragic incident, Follow your intuition, if it is telling you something feels off chances are, it may be spot on!