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August 5, 2005
Stazi had her 18-month checkup yesterday. We just switched to a new pediatrician, so it was a bigger deal than usual. The whole family went along. Keith wanted to get a chance to evaluate the new doctor, and we also wanted Zeke to get the opportunity to see the doctor and get to know her, even though his next checkup won't be for another six months or so.
We switched because, obviously, I wasn't happy with our old pediatrician. Mostly it was a problem of attitude, or bedside manner, whatever you want to call it. He always talked directly to Keith and I, and rarely addressed the kids personally. He rarely used the kids' names. He just didn't really seem like a "kid person" to me, and if that's true, boy is he in the wrong profession.
The other thing that really bugged me is that Keith and I generally like to limit the number of shots that the kids get in one visit to no more than two. We just feel that more than two shots is unnecessarily traumatic and taxing to the system. This is partially based on the fact that Keith got several immunizations in one day when he joined the Navy, and felt like crap on toast for the next week or so. I mean, neither of us would want to get three or four shots in one day; why should we inflict that on our kids? I've always told all of our doctors' offices over the years that we're more than happy to bring the kids back in a few weeks specifically to get caught up with immunizations. We're not anti-vaccination; far from it. We just don't like to do too many all at once.
The previous pediatrician threw a little snit fit the first time we mentioned this. He looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, and then he sighed deeply and said, "Well, can I ask you WHY in the WORLD you wouldn't want to get all the shots today?" I explained to him more or less what I said in the previous paragraph. He then recited what I'm sure he's said to dozens of other parents he's trying to talk into something: "Well, all I can say is that if they were my kids, I'd have it done." (Note: He does not have kids.) He then proceeded to tell us that it doesn't really bother the kids to have so many shots in one day and four shots doesn't really hurt worse than one or two. So I didn't really appreciate the condescending attitude, to put it mildly. Actually I was tempted to grab the nearest hypodermic needle and shove it into his arm five or six times and say, "What's the problem? It's not supposed to hurt, right?" Asshole.
So I finally got sick of putting up with this crap and went through the rigamarole of getting the kids' files transferred to a new pediatrician. We found the new one based on a recommendation I got from one of the other moms at Zeke's preschool.
My first impression is that I like her. She's got the right combination of friendliness and no-nonsense-ness that really appeals to me. She made eye contact with Stazi, called her by her name, and treated her like a real live human being. The thing with restricting shots didn't come up, because I decided that since these are the last three shots until Stazi has to go to kindergarten, we may as well get it over with in one visit, but in general I felt that she took us seriously and interacted well with the kids. Also she did not give me any crap about Stazi still breastfeeding.
Anyway, the verdict is that Stazi is still healthy as a horse. She's 75th percentile in height and 60th in weight and 75th in head circumference. Her motor skills are great, she's talking enough to satisfy the doctor, and we don't have to come back to the doctor's office until February, when she turns 2.
All in all, it was a good visit.
Posted by Jan at August 5, 2005 9:48 AM
Comments
i'm amazed you're still breastfeeding! Awesome! did your last doc give you grief about that?
Posted by: christine at August 17, 2005 9:29 AM