Bella complains a lot about her little tummy hurting. At only two weeks old, the doctor prescribed her Gaviscon for acid reflux. After scouring the pharmacy for what seemed like an eternity with an overeager but completely ignorant sales clerk, I asked the pharmacist where I could find it. It turns out it doesn’t even come in baby (or even kid sized) doses. She calculated, based on Bella’s weight (about 6 lbs), how much of the adult medication to give her. It was “cool mint” flavored. I was hesitant to drug my tiny infant with such, but I was desperate to relieve her pain. We tried it but it only exacerbated the problem so we stopped. After that, Amor didn’t want to even chance giving her the second medication the Doc had suggested. One night, she was hurting so bad, it made me cry, so finally, I gave in and gave her baby Tylenol to ease her pain. Coincidentally, that was the same night little Brooksies got choked on spit-up so severely that we called for emergency assistance. The next morning, I took them both to a different doctor. She said not to administer any more Tylenol, as that could mask a fever, and prescribed Zantac for both of them. She also suggested giving Bella Simethicone for gas. So back to the pharmacy we went! That night, my sister-in-law, Tia came over to visit and help with the babies. She had been talking to her mother (my mother-in-law, Abuela), who had suggested giving the babies chamomile tea. I balked at the idea for several reasons:
1. I’ve always heard that you should never feed babies anything other than breast milk or formula.
2. If the baby drinks tea, her stomach may feel full of something that has no nutrients and resist
eating real food.
3. Babies who are fed food other than mom’s milk are more likely to develop allergies later.
4. You should never give your baby supplements without consulting with your doctor.
5. Could someone who lives over 3,000 miles away, whom I’ve never even met know what’s best for my babies?
6. And finally – If chamomile is safe and effective, why hadn’t the doctor or any other
professional I had seen suggested it?
Bella and Brooks took the prescription drug for about one week, during which time, Amor and Tia kept pressuring me to try using the tea. Finally, I did a little online research to see if it was safe. The results were mixed. The mommy forums were divided between posts claiming it was a miracle cure and those saying it was very dangerous. I could been contaminated if you don’t buy the right brand from the right country. It could cause severe allergic reaction. It could interact with other drugs in your baby’s system. Unsure of what to do, I prayed for guidance. During my extensive research, I came across the official recommendation from the FDA. It said that this herb has not been tested for safety and therefore should not be given to infants. That article reminded me of a different article I’d read earlier that very day. It was titled “11 Banned Food Ingredients Still Allowed in the U.S.” and had explained that these foods had been banned in many parts of the world because they are known to be unsafe. Although the article was not political, I remembered thinking, “It’s because the FDA is so corrupt. All these food companies who make millions of dollars have their lobbyists scratching the backs of Washington fat cats.” I had an epiphany. Drug companies are in bed with them too. And that was the answer to #6 on my list. Drug companies invent medicine. There is profit in studying, selling, and promoting that medicine. There’s no profit in studying an age old, time tested, traditional cure. I wonder what kind of kick backs my infant’s doctors are getting for prescribing all that medication. Altogether, my little baby, who weighed less than 6lbs, who was less than 3 weeks old had been given 5 man-made drugs, and I was afraid that tea was dangerous? How ignorant.
We gave Bella a very small amount of plain, unsweetened Chamomile tea that night. She loved the taste of it and took it well. It seemed to help, at least better than anything else we’d tried. Over the next few days, we increased from a few tenths of a milliliter to a few teaspoons before and after feedings. It certainly wasn’t a cure-all. She still spit up and had some pain, but it wasn’t nearly as severe. I am so thankful to Abuela and Tia for the idea and Amor for pushing me on it. I am also very grateful to the Lord for giving me the revelation. I told Amor, “I realized I was being an American idiot.” His reply: “I realized that too.”
Double Talk Quote: I was manually entering feeding information into my phone’s baby app, which we use to keep track of feeding time & amounts and diapering types for each baby. I said out loud, but to myself, “no that’s not right, he fed for 20 minutes from the left side.” Amor chimed in, to make a joke, “I fed him from the right side for 15 minutes last night.” I said, “did you enter it in?” He started laughing. I laughed too, realizing that that wasn’t the way he measured how much they ate (he bottle fed them, so the quantity would be measured in oz, not time). It was days later when it dawned on me that he couldn’t have fed him from the right side either! Hello.
Relatable: “American Idiot” by Green Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAJDP6edeVU
*Please don’t misunderstand: I Love the USA, just not everything that happens in the USA*
Bible Verse: Romans 13:1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Word that has Lost its meaning: Boring
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