I was devastated. Indie was still suffering but lucky for her I wasn’t the type to give up even in the face of defeat. I needed her out of pain. I came across someone discussing in a forum a similar situation where she had found a specialist who had changed her child’s life. I contacted her and luckily the paediatric gastroenterologist was only a few hours from where I lived. I contacted him and made an appointment.
“When he saw us, he said we were very lucky because if it was any later, Indie’s oesophagus would have been permanently damaged and her incoming teeth would have rotted from the acid.”
He was disgusted about everything we had been through and how the system had failed us. He gave her an adult strength medication for her GERD as she was far beyond a mild strength treatment.
“It worked and she was like a new child completely. Experiencing this new child made me feel robbed of the peace we should have had from day one.”
Indie had three interrelated problems, which is why doctors struggled to identify any cause. Removing the dairy and soy (CMPA), then reducing air intake with the TT and LTs corrected, and finally neutralising the GERD. Now she’s older and eats solid foods, we have eliminated her trigger foods for her GERD so she ceased taking the medication.
If only the ties were identified and corrected from day one, we could have simply avoided dairy and she could have had a normal breastfeeding and sleeping experience.
So back to baby Indie’s sleep… After she was healed (around the 1 year old mark), her pattern of sleeping (or shall I say lack thereof) was now ingrained. She was not crying or in pain but her body was so accustomed to not sleeping she stayed awake until 1:30am every night and continued to wake after 30-45 minutes. This is what a fresh newborn sleep cycle looks like. I was extremely sleep deprived – a walking zombie.
My friends with kids the same age would complain about their lack of sleep and I would just laugh and not even bother to discuss our family’s level of sleep deprivation. I didn’t have the strength to socialise so my interactions were barely ever face to face at this time.
“There were no mum groups for us. Not a chance.”
I researched everything to do with babies and found attachment parenting had huge benefits over all other styles. The science tell us that co-sleeping and attachment style practices are outstanding for the child’s development, however I personally could not co-sleep with Indie. I am the lightest sleeper you could ever imagine. Any distractions close to me keep me awake. I can even hear people down the street talking and walking! So once Indie’s health was improved and I didn’t need to worry about her choking on spew in bed, I moved her out of our bedroom so I could finally get some rest.
“This is when I started to do something that got Indie to sleep and I found the benefits were backed by lots of science and there wasn’t anything available like it.”
This is what led to the development of the Koola Doll. I cannot discuss the doll and what it does until the production is complete and it is made available to the public.
If there are no more alarming economic problems between now and then – The Koola Doll will be available around the end of January. The pandemic caused a lot of delays in the final development phase and production. Originally it was planned to be ready long ago. Now I am accustomed to not getting my heart set on a particular date.
Once I have it in ready for purchase, I will announce everywhere the functions and features that make this doll so special, and publish the second part of my journey on how and why I developed the doll.
Don’t miss the announcement. Click here and you will be the first to be alerted before anyone else.
“I cannot wait until I can tell you the second part of this journey. I wish I could publish it right here right today as The Natural Parent Magazine had planned for originally.”
I have been working for 4 years to bring the Koola Doll to the world. I could do with Aussie Mums’ support for the second half of this journey.
Also, any mums going through similar struggles and want to connect, please do.
Much love to you all,
Peta xo
The Koola Mum
Inventor of the Koola Doll.
Visit koolababy.com to find out more, and keep up to date via their Facebook and Instagram pages.
