Why It's Important to Trust Your Motherly Instincts
Last week Macks developed a cough. Both of my girls have had a cough on and off for weeks, so I just figured that he had the same and brushed it off as a cold. Over night the cough seemed to get a little bit worse and he seemed very congested. I checked his temperature and it was normal and he wasn't acting fussy, but something deep down told me I needed to take him to the doctor.
As soon as the doctor walked into the room I told her that I was pretty sure that I thought it was "just a cold," but I wanted to be sure because at seven weeks old his immune system isn't all that strong. She checked his ears, nose, and throat all before checking his chest to check out his breathing.
She stayed on his chest for a while before telling me to move him onto his stomach to check his breathing from his back. As soon as she put the stethoscope on his back she immediately told me that his chest was congested and that they needed to run some tests. "Why don't you sit down and feed him, you are going to be here a while." is what she told me before she left the room to get the nurse.
As tears started streaming down my face, I sat down thinking how awful it was that I figured it was just a cold when he really was much sicker than that. A few minutes later the nurse came in to check his oxygen levels and run a few more tests to try to figure out why his breathing was so labored.
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After 30 minutes of sitting in the room alone with Macks and letting every possibility flow through my mind, the doctor came in telling me that he has bronchiolitis. They wanted to do a breathing treatment on him right away to see if that helped his chest and then after that she would do another check on him and decide what needs to be done from there.
I sat in the chair with Macks on my lap as the mask was put over his face to make sure he was getting the medicine from the nebulizer. So many thoughts were going through my mind, but most of all it was that I was so thankful that I took him to the doctor. I honestly thought that it was only a cold, but it was that nagging feeling deep down inside that told me to take him in.
That nagging feeling is one that all women inherit when they become mothers. A mother is the one that knows her child the best, so it seems obvious that she would know what is best for them too. Trusting my motherly instincts has always proven to be successful for me and this time was no different.
I thought that taking him to the doctor was me overreacting to his cough, but it proved to be just what he needed. Thankfully taking him to the doctor early was just the thing to keep his bronchiolitis from getting too serious. And four days later, he is doing incredibly better. Proof that the nagging feeling you get is not something to ignore.
- By Lauren Jimeson
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