Pediatricians

I've had a few people ask me for a recommendation for pediatricians. Although I absolutely love love love mine, I don't recommend him because I dislike dislike dislike the receptionists at his office (all but one). And well that's not a big enough reason to leave his office its a good enough reason not to start there. I can't, in good conscience, recommend to my friends, a long hold time, when your baby is screaming its head off in pain, a vindictive receptionist who doesn't ask the nurse to return your call until the end of the day because she doesn't like your tone or, (and this one is my favorites) the receptionist who refuses to call the nurse to the reception area so she can have the doctor sign the sports physical that is due the next morning, even though the nurse is expecting you, but instead insists that she will forward the message on, and the form will be signed and ready for pick up in 5 days. (In that case the nurse called me 20 minutes after I left the office to say the form was ready). Another reason I wouldn't recommend my pediatrician's office is because it is filthy, or at least it feels that way. I'm sure it's not as bad as I imagine, but it just seems gross. I have a hard time allowing my kids to touch anything in the waiting room. And they can just forget about sitting in the little chairs at the table that probably only gets wiped twice a month. On the plus side, I never have to wait very long in that office. 15 minutes tops with an average of about 5 minutes. 

So since I can't recommend my pediatrician, I thought I would compile a list of the things I've come to realize are very important when seeking medical attention for your child and hope that helps you with whichever doctor you end up with.

1) Never leave your child. I know this sounds basic, but I wish someone would've told me this a long time ago. Never leave your child in the care a a medical provider if you don't absolutely have to and even then I would question it. When I was a young, naive foster parent, I made this mistake of falling for the "this might be a little painful, so you may want to step out so he blames us and not you" line...... WHAT?!?!?! I think about that now and to this day I can't believe 1) that I went along with that and 2) that I allowed that painful and 100% unnecessary procedure to be done. Lesson learned, never ever again. And that brings us to number 2.

2) Never allow a procedure or anything you are uncomfortable with happen to your child, until you are comfortable with it. If you don't know why something is recommended or prescribed ASK QUESTIONS, and keep asking until you do know. Don't be embarrassed or feel like you are pestering. That's your baby, it is your job to protect and care for them and you can't do that without the facts.

3) Trust your gut. I've taken my children to get medical attention against the better judgement of some very intelligent/experienced family and friends. Sometimes as a parent, you know when your child is off and when a cough isn't just a cough or when a rash isn't just a rash. Trust yourself.

4) It's not just physical. Choose a health care provider that shares similar values or at least aligns with you on the big stuff. If you don't vaccinate, chose a pediatrician that supports that, same with extended breastfeeding, medical intervention, and education. But at the same time I caution you on choosing a pediatrician that won't tell you what you don't want to hear. I've probably told you this story before but here it goes again. One time I was convinced that my child had a ear infection because his ears stunk. Our pediatrician looked at his ears and did not find any infection. I asked the doctor what should be done about his stinky ears. He simply said "stop smelling them". I know it sounds silly, but I really appreciated that he wasn't influenced by what my reaction would be. He didn't entertain the idea of prescribing something just to ease my concerns. I really like that my doctor errs on the side of "lets not medicate and watch it", He says things like "I could prescribe a steroid cream for his skin, but the rash is going to go away in 3-4 days whether I do or not." For me, it's very important not to medicate if I don't have to.

So those are my thoughts and the lessons I've learned taking lots of kids to the doctors. Hope that helps.