Mainstream Meets Holistic

When I became a new parent I took on a responsibility greater than any that I have ever come across, and I am no longer just talking cloth diapers and recycling.  With the advice from experienced parents, the wealth of information available on the internet and the guidance from my child's doctor, it is my job to take it all in and decide what I feel is right and then use it for my child's health and well being. This is easier said than done.

I struggled with this up until last week.  What I was finding was that the advice given from my family and friends on raising Luna was of huge value to me. It was tried and true and it made sense.  The internet was hit or miss and sometimes made matters more confusing then they had to be, but it was an option. Her doctor gave solid advice, but there were always some things that left me feeling unsettled. This is never a good place to be as a mom, especially when your child's primary care physician is supposed to help guide you all the way through you through adolescence.

When you are choosing a doctor for your child your options seem endless, but in reality your options are very limited.  Mainstream doctors all seem to have similar views on raising a healthy baby. Their views have helped raise millions of healthy babies so how can I argue? Choosing mainstream is the norm for most parents and it works.

I had been challenging that norm since the beginning of my pregnancy. It seemed like following mainstream was the right direction, but I never felt good about my decision. I was always left with too many unanswered questions.  After much contemplation, I finally decided that I had to make a change. My doctor had told me to buy vitamins for Luna. He wrote down the brand name and told me she should be taking them every day. This brand was the #1 doctor recommended brand.  I read the label, "artificial colors and sweeteners".  Really? There is no part of that that seems right. How could I trust a doctor that thought putting artificial anything in my babies body was okay? Other decisions that he (mainstream) made for her were out of my league, but this I could understand. That was when I started to look for an alternative. 

I needed to find someone that I could trust and that I felt confident was giving me the guidence that I truly felt was right. Making the decision to step away from this norm is like being found alone on a deserted island.  You lose the support of society and that is a very scary place. With help from a friend, I was lucky to find someone who shared my views where mainstream and holistic methods meet in the middle. I have never walked out of a doctor appoinment (even for myself) feeling like "that actually makes sense". I don't disagree with the mainstream medical world at all, it does have its place, but I feel that holistic medicine can play an equally important role in the growth and development of a child (or anyone) and it will with mine. It was also amazing how closely related this doctors views were with the advice that was given to me by my friends and family who were raising children 30+ years ago. We may have lost something in the middle there.  I finally feel 100% confident that I am doing the right thing for my daughter and that is a good feeling.