Thankful!

We hit another big milestone in the Redenius household this past week. We made one of our last trips to Des Moines for Sam’s doctor appointments, and we get to begin weening him off his medication! Throughout the first six months of Sam’s life, we never thought we would see the day where we would leave Dr. Young’s office in Des Moines with a good report. I probably looked like a complete fool as we left Dr. Young’s that day because I was crying happy tears as we danced our way out of that clinic.

As we were driving home from that doctor visit, I began to reflect on how thankful I am for modern medicine. Here at Redenius Chiropractic and Lake City 24 Hour Fitness, we believe in holistic health care. We believe that the body will naturally heal itself in many ways. We fully believe in the benefits of chiropractic care, therapeutic modalities, massage, nutrition, preventative healthcare, etc. However, we are also so thankful for modern medicine, and we believe that when healthcare providers from all backgrounds work together, patients can receive the best care possible.

Take, for example, when Sam was born. Yes, I delivered Sam naturally without any pain medicine or intervention, but I was SO thankful that I was at Stewart Memorial under the care of Dr. Duncan. I knew that if the delivery did not go as planned, I was under good hands that would do whatever they needed to do to keep Sam and I healthy. I wouldn't have made it through those 19 hours without the care and coaching from Dr. Duncan and Jenni Macke! I utilized chiropractic care in addition to the care Dr. Duncan gave throughout my pregnancy, and as a result, I had a very healthy pregnancy and natural delivery.

Then, when Sam was first born, I had it in my mind that “breast-fed is best.” It is the natural thing to do. Supply and demand, right? If I got nothing else right, I could surely feed Sam. Well, that didn’t happen. Despite constantly being attached to a pump, eating fatty foods, and feeding Sam all the time, I could not produce enough for him. That combined with his Laryngomalcia and GERD made feeding times a war zone. Both Sam and I would be in tears. Even though I beat myself up about it, telling myself I was a “failure,” I decided to supplement. While I continued to provide Sam with as much breastmilk as I could, once we found a formula he could tolerate with his conditions, he began to gain weight and thrive again. I thank God every day that science has given us formula that so closely mimics the benefits of breastmilk. Is breastmilk the natural, holistic way to feed your baby? Absolutely. However, for whatever reason, feeding your baby doesn’t always go as planned, and mama’s need to give themselves some grace and realize that a fed baby is a healthy baby.

Many people also do not know that the surgery Sam had was “optional.” We were told that Sam would eventually grow out of his conditions, but his case was so severe that Dr. Young highly recommended we consider it. We went home from that first visit thinking that we would do the natural thing and not put Sam through surgery if his body would eventually outgrow it. However, for the next two weeks, neither Sam nor I ate or slept. He just got worse. We decided to go through with the surgery, and again, I thank God for Dr. Young’s steady hands for modern science because once we had the surgery, Sam was able to breathe and eat easier.

After the surgery we had quite a few setbacks. It seemed like for the next four months, Sam would take one step back for every two steps forward. For every step back Sam took, though, we used both chiropractic care and modern medicine to fix it. If he had a relapse with his GERD, we would adjust his medicine and Jeff would go to work on adjusting him every day to make eating more comfortable. When he got an upper respiratory infection that landed us yet again in the ER, we ended up putting him on steroids to keep the swelling down while using essential oils, cool mist humidifiers, and “steaming” the bathroom to keep him healthy. All hands were on deck to take care of him.

Each time Sam would have a setback, I would sink into a deeper state of postpartum depression, feeling utterly sorry for myself, for Sam, and for Jeff. Dr. Young assured us, though, that we all just needed a “tincture of time.” We would have a rough couple of months, and then we would see him slowly improve. My fulltime job became feeding Sam and helping him to grow. We used a combination of holistic health care and modern medicine to keep Sam as healthy and as comfortable as we could. While I don’t think neither Jeff nor I slept or ate for those few months, Dr. Young was right. Over time, Sam got better.

In retrospect, I don’t think we could have done it without the combination of holistic health care and modern medicine. While Sam won’t have any memories of these difficult times, I think Jeff and I will always remember the long days we had, taking Sam’s health one day at a time. We are so thankful for doctors like Dr. Duncan and Dr. Hornback with Stewart Memorial and Dr. Young with Iowa ENT. When healthcare providers from all backgrounds work together, patients receive the best care possible! Our story is just one of probably many that attests to the positive outcomes associated with preventative, natural healthcare in combination with modern medicine. We are so thankful we have both!

Have a great week!

Dr. Jeff and Jenny Redenius

Time to Rally!

Happy New Year! It’s a big day in the Redenius house. Our little man, Sam, hit the 15 lb mark today! For those of you who do not know, Sam has a condition called Laryngomalacia which, combined with severe acid reflux, makes eating and gaining weight very difficult for him. The sooner Sam can grow and gain some weight, the sooner he can outgrow this condition. After being stuck in the 14 lb range for what seemed like an eternity, we are celebrating today!

It has been a long six months. After his first surgery, we had a very long recovery period. We thought we were in the clear, and then his throat swelled closed and the reflux returned just three weeks later. Once we got his reflux under control, he developed an upper respiratory infection that closed his throat again and made his reflux even worse. After healing from that, he got the stomach flu. It never seems to end!

Each time his health would decline again, and we would land ourselves back in the hospital, I’d find myself sitting there feeling sorry for all of us.  

Why us? Why Sam?  

I can’t count how many times I sat in tears praying to God to take away his discomfort and give it to me instead. Every time I’d sit down to feed Sam, I’d pray he’d eat more than an ounce or two, and that it wouldn’t take me an hour of fighting him to do it. I’d pray for him to just take a good nap, because if he slept well, there was a much better chance he’d eat. Jeff and I

became overactive mama and papa bears, demanding everyone use Germ-X before touching him. We didn’t take him places when he should be napping because we knew that he would only eat if he slept. I stayed home from work to be with him full time. Jeff closed the clinic to make numerous trips to Des Moines. Despite everything we did to protect him, there were times when it seemed nothing we did was helping.

After this last bout of hospital visits, though, I realized we were approaching this whole thing in the wrong way. Feeling sorry for us wasn’t what I should be doing. We are so incredibly blessed to have this little boy. How could I sit there feeling sorry for myself!? We have a beautiful baby boy, who despite being given a crappy situation, is incredibly resilient and happy. 

I made this realization after calling my parents after our last hospital visit. Every time I’d call my parents to let them know Sam wasn’t doing well again, my dad would always respond with, “Okay, Sam, it’s time to rally!” This time was no different.

I thought back to all of our struggles, and I realized that every time Sam would do as Dad said-- he would rally.

Sometimes it would take continual bouncing, singing, and comfort from me. Sometimes it would take trying a new bottle. Sometimes it would just take a good nap. Sometimes it would take weeks of patience from all of us. He would always rally, though, coming out stronger than before.

No matter how many times Sam has been knocked down by something, he always greets us and the day with a smile. Even if it has taken awhile, he has been putting on weight, growing stronger than ever.

Sam’s resiliency can be a lesson for all of us in that when something is not going as we planned, we need to put on our game face and rally. What a great lesson for the start of 2018. No matter what you are going through, a new year presents you with the opportunity to rally—to come back even stronger than before.

We hope you take advantage of the opportunity a new year presents you with. There is no better time than now to choose to rally instead of give up. Whatever you are trying to overcome, we hope you choose to do as Sam has done, and work to overcome it. You will become stronger because of it! We are here to help you in any way we can!

We hope you all had a great holiday season, and we hope you choose to make the most out of any situation you are in by working to come out of it stronger than ever!

Have a great week!

Dr. Jeff and Jenny Redenius

Pregnancy, Babies, and Chiropractic

For most of us, the most traumatic thing our bodies will ever endure is when we are born. It is a good thing we have no recollection of how we entered into the world, because our journey through the birth canal is quite traumatic on our bodies. Just think, our little guy, Sam, spent over 19 hours being pushed and contracted through the birth canal, only to be pushed out into a bright, dry, and cold environment. 

Not only is the birthing process tough on babies, it is tough on the mommy, too. Being a mom is wonderful, and what our bodies do in the nine months leading up to birth is amazing. Even though it is amazing, the process is hard on our bodies. We endure back pain, nausea, fatigue, headaches, aversion to smells, odd cravings, leg cramps, etc. etc. etc. for nine full months before enduring the labor and delivery. Personally, the 19 hours I spent having a natural labor and delivery opened my eyes to what our bodies are capable of. 

So, what can we do to help mommies and babies in this process? 

While good nutrition, rest, exercise, etc. all leads to a healthier pregnancy and a healthy baby, mom's should also consider how chiropractic can help both them and their baby. 

Chiropractic can help moms with low back pain, sciatic nerve pain, headaches, and muscle cramps just to name a few things. Additionally, chiropractic can help position the baby into the ideal position for delivery. 

Once a baby is born, chiropractic can help a mom recover more quickly--getting back to her normal self in a shorter amount of time. Chiropractic can also help a newborn recover from the traumatic birth experience. Chiropractic can relieve the pressure that is put on the spinal cord and neck of a newborn who makes the trip through the birth canal. Chiropractic can also help babies with ear aches, colic, and digestive issues to to name a few things. 

If you are pregnant, a new mom, or know of someone that is pregnant or has just delivered, encourage them to seek out chiropractic care today!

We hope you have a great week!

Dr. Jeff and Jenny Redenius

Lessons From a Newborn

It has been awhile since we have done a blog post primarily because our lives have been a little busy lately! On July 13th, we welcomed our sweet baby boy, Samuel (Sam) Thomas Redenius. Now that Sam has been around for a few weeks, we are all beginning to adapt to life with a newborn. While we are a little sleep-deprived, life with Sam has been so exciting. We'd like to share a few lessons we've learned from a 6-week old that may apply to your life, too. (Photo credit to Stewart Memorial Hospital)

Here are some lessons we've learned:

1) Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. Sam definitely loves to eat, but he also knows when to stop. He has more will power than his mommy, for sure.

2) Gaze at everything with wonder. Sam could be looking at a rock, and he looks at it as if it is the most engaging thing he's ever seen. His curiosity is refreshing, and we think everyone could use some more child-like curiosity and wonder and awe in their life. Sam has taught us that even the smallest details are worth noticing. Currently, he loves going outside and looking at the leaves on trees.

3) Speak up for what you want and need. Sam definitely isn't afraid to let us know when he needs something, even if it is just to be snuggled. As we get older, we sometimes forget to take care of ourselves. We've learned from him that it is important that you speak up for what you need in your life and then take time to take care of it.

4) Smile. Have you ever seen a newborn smile for the first time? It is one of the most wonderful things you will ever see. Smiling is such a simple act that we forget to do. Sam could have had the worst night--keeping mommy and daddy up all night with him--yet he always smiles in the morning. Seeing Sam smile is a good reminder that no matter what the circumstance, a smile can make it a little better.

5) The human body is amazing. Having Sam has reaffirmed our belief that the human body is amazing. Going through a natural childbirth allowed us to really learn what the human body is capable of doing. Watching Sam grow SO quickly in such a short amount of time reminds us of how much our bodies grow, develop, and change every day. We are all miracles!

We hope you all have had a wonderful summer! Just a reminder that with the new school year comes harvest season, athletics, and cooler weather! Remember to stop in to get regular adjustments to make sure you are the healthiest you can be!

Have a great week!

Dr. Jeff and Jenny Redenius