A few weeks ago my youngest daughter, Penny, age nine months, went from a happy baby to very, very sick within a matter of hours. It just so happened that her nine month well baby check was that evening so while at the doctor, and with a 104 degree temperature, she was diagnosed with a viral infection — most likely Roseola.
With the only symptoms being a sad and sleepy baby with a very high temperature, we were sent home and said that it if it didn’t get better by Monday to give her a call. Despite Dr. Google agreeing that high fevers with no other symptoms are typically viral infections you must wait out, I just felt like it was something else.
A very long weekend later including multiple doctors visits with one resulting in a trip to the Emergency Room, Penny was diagnosed and treated for a “raging” bacterial infection. Immediately following her initial doctors appointment, even though I had no reason to think otherwise, I knew it wasn’t something viral. For some reason though, I pushed down that gut-feeling, trusting that doctors know best which turned out to be a very poor choice on my part.
Now please, please do not misunderstand- I do believe doctors know best. They devote their lives to their patients and how to take care of them best, so my pediatrician’s initial diagnosis of a viral infection was an extremely well educated one which nine times out of ten would have been accurate. That said, and as our pediatrician stated at a follow up visit, mother’s intuition trumps everything.
One of the very first lessons I remember my mom drilling into me is to trust my intuition. I have put this into practice my entire life and the only choices I regret are the ones where I didn’t follow my gut. Sometimes my intuition is wrong, but leads me to the path I was obviously meant to take. For example, I felt like I had to make a choice between my now husband and another guy I was dating many years ago. I went with the other guy (which obviously didn’t work out) but I truly believe that if I had picked my husband the timing wouldn’t have worked in our favor.
As mothers, it is imperative we follow our instincts. We need not worry if we will be looked at as though we are silly or over reacting-even if we are, we only have our child’s best interest at heart. From wondering if our kid’s school struggles are typical, to if our child’s friends are a bad influence, to that seemingly innocuous illness, our intuition is the closest thing we get to an instruction manual. We have to learn to allow that inner voice to guide us and help grow our babies, the ones who will only be a baby for so long before they are having to learn to follow their own intuition.
Have you had a similar experience where Mother’s Intuition proved true?
We’d love to hear in the comments!
I completely agree with your post! I used to think that ‘doctor’s know best’ and thought that would especially be the case for pediatricians. And even though I love ours, I don’t always agree nor allow my child to take antibiotics each time they’re prescribed, allow my child to have every x-ray recommended (especially when other alternatives are available) and always think my doctor knows what’s best for me or my child. You always have to be your child’s best advocate and can’t trust that anyone else always has his/her best interests at heart like you (the mom) does. And I know that I argue and seem quite ‘pestering’ at times, but I don’t let that bother me – it’s my job to be her advocate and always act in her best interests above all else!
Parents should definitely listen to their intuition. Unfortunately many of us have been trained to shut off that inner voice. Learning to tap into that Internal Guidance System is an essential skill for leading the life you are meant to. We are all born with an IGS, but it is easily discouraged by those who do not believe in it, or believe that we must conform. “Experts” are educated in their field, but no one knows kids better than their parents–you are their “expert” and advocate.