OMG, we had to take Abigail to the ER last night. She had been miserable for two days with constipation (a nice side effect of starting solids) and woke up 3 times screaming inconsolably. We waited two and a half hours, then saw a dr who didn't even know how to fasten a diaper!!! She said to give her prune juice. I said she was allergic to prunes. She said it wouldn't be whole prunes, just the juice. (!!!) Then she said to give her Mylicon. I said that I had, and that it didn't help. She said, I swear to you, "Well, it does help." (Really? Then why has my baby had pain the last four months, and why was she screaming so much last night?) Then, as if she weren't on enough of a roll, she said I should stop nursing and give her formula because my breastmilk might be bad for her. Are you kidding me? So the answer, after much misery for my daughter and an awful wait --did I mention that the TV in the lobby was blaring a football game so loudly that my husband couldn't hear me talk, and that they refused to turn it down even though it was the middle of the night and there were five sick babies threre? -- was to give her a food she's allergic to, a medication which hasn't helped, and to give up breastfeeding and let a cow take over my daughter's nutritional needs. (No offense to anyone using formula-- it's just not right for us.) Then she sent us home. No relief at all. We are exhausted, and I am steaming!
-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02