Guest Post: Breastfeeding Saved My Son's Life

Hi! I am Sasha and I write about my life abundant with my husband and 7 children over at One Rich Mother.  Below is a post I originally featured on my blog and is re-posted here with my permission.  I adore the Dulce and feel honored that she would share my writing with her much loved readers.  I hope mine and my son's story helps to strengthen your own commitment to the beauty and importance of the nursing relationship. 

Breastfeeding Saved My Son's Life.

Or at least I believe so, let me explain.
Our son was born on a gorgeous June day in 2006 weighing 8 pounds 7 ounces and was 21 inches long.  He was quiet at birth but even without the strong "Hello Word It's ME!" cry that you usually hear our baby seemed perfectly healthy and took to nursing like a champ from moment one.  So it took everyone by surprise that by the time he was 6 months old he had not grown as expected.  He was a chubby little guy, but he had hardly grown in length at all.

Our son 6 months old

(sorry about the photo quality we had a really bad camera at the time)

Our pediatrician ran some test and our son was given that dreaded label no parent wants to hear "Failure to Thrive".  That night as we were preparing for bed we got a call for us to go to the children's hospital.  Our son's blood work had came back and his sodium was dangerously low, our pediatrician sounded so worried over the phone.  I asked if we could wait until tomorrow.  Her response?  "No, you dont understand how serious this is, you have to leave now, just put him in the car and go now."  We were terrified.

Once at the children hospital we were entered into a whole new world of doctors and specialist and something always in the background going beep.  We never did figure out what caused his low sodium levels but now after the birth of the twins I suspect he also had Pseudohypoaldosteronism just a less sever case. 

The doctors at the children's hospital were also concerned about our baby's lack of growth and that is when the real roller-coaster started.  We tested for one disease after another and still it remained a mystery.  Finally they suspected a brain tumor and we were told he would need a MRI. 

As you probably already know you have to lay completely still to have a MRI done so for a little guy, like our son was, you have to sedate them so they will not move during the test.  This would be the first test that either my husband or I would not be able to hold him through and it was breaking our hearts.  We went to the little waiting room they have down the hall from the machine and held him until the medication did its work and he was "under".  Handing him off to the nurse that came to get him for the MRI was one of the hardest things I had ever done up to that point in my life.

We sat nervously in the room holding hands.  My husband suggested cards, I said no, my heart wouldn't let me do anything but crave my little boy back in my arms.  Finally after an agonizingly long wait the door to the room was flung open by a frazzled nurse who quickly barked a rather unexpected question "You still breastfeed right?"  Confused I answered her yes and she grabbed me by the arm and started rushing me down the hall.  In tears I walked into a room to see my little boy motionless on the table with a team of doctors and nurses surrounding him and alarms going off everywhere.  The nurse told me to nurse my baby "You cant pick him up but lean over him and let him nuzzle you."  Crying almost hysteric I did as she told me to.  For just a moment he made no response but then his head turned to me and he made a soft little grunting noise as I put my nipple into his mouth.  He was too weak to suckle but he began to breath softly and then, like magic, the alarms stopped and everything calmed down.  I became aware that the room of doctors and nurses slowly started thinning out with several of them shaking their heads in amazement "I cant believe that worked, she was right."  The nurse just grinned as she double checked machines and straightened things back up and with a wink said "Of course I was."

Yes, she was right and I thank God for that angel of mercy and whoever it was that taught her to be so wise about the nursing relationship.  Breastfeeding is more than just a way to give your baby food, it is an unimaginable bond between mother and child.  Something so powerful that even the feel of my breast and the smell of me, his mother, was enough to, I believe, save my son's life.

*Our son did not have a tumor.  Almost a month later it was discovered my sons failure to grow as expected was due to him having Growth Hormone Deficiency, also known as Pituitary Dwarfism.

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I am so honored and grateful to Sasha for sharing her beautiful story.  If you haven't yet checked out her blog, please do, and don't forget to like her on Facebook!  Her writings are lovely reflections of the richness of love in her heart and family.  <3