I always knew that one of my jobs as a mom would be to advocate for my children. I just didn't think that it would start so soon!
When I was pregnant, Tom and I did a lot of research on things we'd need once E was here, one of which was a pediatrician. We found a practice that was RAVED about, we even attended a new parent's night there to get a feel for it. It seemed like a great fit, and so we scheduled our newborn appointment there.
Trouble was, we've since learned that we were lied to TWICE at the new parents night, and the doctor we were assigned to (same person who lied to us) was horrible. The advice she gave us at our first appointment was not only bad, but it was wrong, and it was impossible to get answers for questions I asked. I brought Tom with me to our next appointment a week later, because although I was pretty sure I wasn't crazy, you never know with postpartum hormones!
The good news (?) was that he felt the same way, so that meant I wasn't just new mom crazy! The bad news was this doctor was not only making me doubt every instinct I had as a mom, I felt like the advice she was giving us was hurting baby E. (He lost weight between his first two appointments and yet she was telling us he was eating too much).
So I asked to switch doctors. Apparently that's an odd request, and not usually done at this practice, but I pressed and got us on another doctor's schedule. Last Friday we had an appointment with the new doctor, and I immediately knew I had made the right decision. This doctor did everything I would hope a doctor would do. She listened to my questions and gave me straight answers. She wasn't alarmist and put me at ease about a lot of things. In short, I liked her, and I trusted her. And she immediately made me feel more relaxed and confident as a mom. Exactly what a doctor should do in my opinion.
I mentioned last week that E is a little peanut. The good news is that he did gain weight this month since his last appointment. Not as much as an average baby gains, but the doctor said he was still within a good range, and as long as he keeps gaining, he's doing okay. It's also not indicative of how tall or big he'll eventually be either. So even though his height is in the 3rd percentile, he could still end up tall later in life.
In general she said he looks great, is hitting milestone, and is pretty much a normal little baby!
To show how much of a difference having a supportive doctor makes, after the appointment instead of putting an unhappy baby in the car seat and racing home, I fed him in the car because I knew he was hungry. And then hung out for a bit because I knew if I put him in his seat too early he'd spit up. And then we went to target and when he started crying, instead of freaking out and hoping he'd stop crying, I took him out of the stroller and held him, because I knew that's what he wanted and would stop his crying. And when we got home we had a happy baby and a happy mom!
