I Don't Know What I Would Have Done Without It
by Barbara Dehn - 09th February 2008
“I don’t know what I would have done without it.” Those are the words I heard from a mom who told me about her experience with a specialty formula for her baby. In my line of work, this is a story that is uncommon, yet familiar: a precious newborn has difficulty digesting breast milk, which leads to diarrhea and weight loss. The parents are frantic, the baby is miserable, and the pediatricians are scrambling to try to find the cause and find a way to provide nourishment to the baby. This mother described the sleepless nights, up rocking and walking the baby, who was crying and would finally drop off to sleep exhausted. Thankfully, this is rare, yet when it does happen, what is a parent to do? She said that the baby ultimately made the decision for her, as he continued throwing up and having diarrhea.
What happened next, is they went to the pediatrician’s office and were given a specialty formula, which the baby gulped down, burped contentedly and fell into a deep and peaceful sleep. The mom told me that she cried in relief that night, when her baby was able to eat and sleep. And the diarrhea and vomiting stopped.
In this case, mom did want to breastfeed and consequently was left with mixed feelings: sadness that she couldn't breastfeed, happiness that she found a solution, and frustration that things didn't work out the way she wanted to.
There are parents all across the country that have had a similar experience and needed a specialty formula for their baby. And in these and many other situations, parents do what’s best for their child. As this mom told me later, she was disappointed that the experience she wanted didn’t work out, but she was grateful that there were safe alternatives for her baby.
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