{"id":3066,"date":"2012-05-05T14:09:02","date_gmt":"2012-05-05T12:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/zaparents-blog\/?p=3066"},"modified":"2022-06-15T21:31:13","modified_gmt":"2022-06-15T19:31:13","slug":"a-mothers-instinct-is-never-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/parenting\/moms-mothers-single-mothers-being-a-mom\/a-mothers-instinct-is-never-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"A mother\u2019s instinct is never wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"

A woman I worked for many years ago spoke of \u201cfeeling things in her waters\u201d \u2013 and it\u2019s a notion I only fully got to grips with when I became a mom. In the runup to the birth of my first child, I was given truckloads of advice from all directions \u2013 but the piece of advice that stuck the most was to ignore all the advice and follow my gut. And it\u2019s the one that\u2019s worked the best for me.<\/p>\n

Two examples in the last few weeks have proven this right yet again. I had promised my boys a sleepover at their beloved grandparents on the Sunday night before the public holiday. Matthew (my youngest) woke up from his afternoon nap that day unusually grumpy and clingy, and I treated a mild temperature with some Calpol \u2013 and he bounced back. My gut was saying that I shouldn\u2019t let him sleep out \u2013 but my suggestion that they stay home was met with roars of disapproval from both sides of the age spectrum \u2013 so I let them go.<\/p>\n

What happened? At 4am my mom-in-law called to say that Matthew had been crying inconsolably since 2am, and that I should come and fetch him because he \u201cwas not good\u201d. I tore out of bed, screamed across to fetch him, heart pounding all the way and imagining the worst. He stopped when I got there, and had calmed down by the time we got home, enough for me to decide to take him to the doctor later in the morning, rather than braving Casualty. Turns out he had infections in both ears. If that situation arises again \u2013 I will make sure he stays home.<\/p>\n

This week when my gut shouted out, I listened to it. Daniel had earache, and my husband took him to our doctor. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic for his ear, which I pretty much expected. When the pharmacist dispensed 28 adult-sized tablets, my husband asked if that was right \u2013 surely that was an adult medication, and an adult dose. \u201cIt\u2019s what the doctor prescribed,\u201d the pharmacist said. \u201cAre you really sure that this is for a five year old child?\u201d my husband asked, pointing to Daniel who was with him. \u201cYes, it\u2019s fine,\u201d the pharmacist continued \u2013 and handed over the Augmentin, with the instruction that Daniel take two large tablets, twice a day for 7 days.<\/p>\n

When I heard this, all sorts of alarm bells rang. When I got home and saw this lot, I BBM\u2019d the doctor, to confirm that this actually was what he wanted.\u00a0 To cut a long story short, the doctor prescribed the adult version of the drug instead of the paediatric one, and the pharmacist dispensed it, in spite of my husband querying it. My instinct refused to accept that. Questioning the doctor and the pharmacist because of my \u201cwaters\u201d having their own storm of panic saved my son a great deal of suffering – he would have had severe diarrhea, would probably have dehydrated, and his immune system would have been severely compromised by an antibiotic dose four times what he required.<\/p>\n

So \u2013 if there\u2019s any advice I can give to any mom or dad out there when it comes to parenting, it\u2019s to listen to your instinct. If anyone tells you otherwise, make sure you are completely happy with how they convince you. In my experience, your instinct will always be right.<\/p>\n

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