10. He agreed to see Helen when I was nothing short of desperate for a pediatrician who would manage her jaundice at home. Really, I was a crazed woman on the phone. Looking back, I can't believe he agreed to take us into his practice, but he did, and I am still grateful.
9. He appreciates Connor's love of body art. He even has temporary tattoos in his office! When we went into the office to see if Connor had an ear infection, Dr. B. started the visit by admiring the 2 tattoos Connor had on his arms and the two tattoo band-aids he had on his skinned knees. His caring about Connor's beloved tattoos earned him major points with Connor.
8. His office is next to a playground. So, when Connor begs to go with me to one of Helen's appointments, I can send he and Ed or his au pair across the street to play. There's also a library across the street in case of inclement weather.
7. One of his partners is in a mom's group I just joined. Whoa boy is it going to be hard not to pester her for free medical advice.
6. He has an actual syndrome named after him. That's just cool.
5. He talks to me as if I am an educated adult who can read and understand information. He even seems to understand that we are partners in my children's care. He doesn't pretend to guess what I'm thinking and doesn't give a flip that my kids weren't born in a hospital. I appreciate this all...a lot.
4. He didn't give me any grief about not giving my kid a vaccine developed in the last couple of years that replaced a vaccine that was discontinued because of side effects not discovered until it was made widely available. In fact, he said "You do a good job managing your kid's care. It doesn't bother me a bit to skip this one."
3. He always tells me Helen is perfect.
2. Upon weighing Connor for the first time I pre-emtively said "he's skinny" and Dr. B. responded "fat never did anybody any good".
But, the number one reason that I love my kids' pediatrician is that dropping his name got me an appointment FIVE weeks early with a pediatric gasstroenterologist, which if nothing else, will at least make me feel as if I've left no stone unturned in my search for sleep for me and Helen. Please, gastro dude, find a magic bullet to end this nighttime pain!
Excuse me while I go simultaneously celebrate the upcoming appointment (Wednesday) and beat my head in the wall for waiting 26 months to find this nice man. If you don't like your pediatrician - run, don't walk - to a new one. My only regret is I didn't do it sooner.
Elaine
Elaine - That was a great post. But WTF do you mean that you joined a new Mom's group? You'd better not like them more than us. Had a good visit with our ped today too, even though the news wasn't good.
ReplyDeleteHey Elaine: Which vaccine did you not do?
ReplyDeleteI don't do the rotavirus vaccine. It wasn't on the market when our toddlers were infants - and it can only be given to infants - which is why we weren't confronted with it before.
ReplyDeleteThis website says everyone should get it http://pediatrics.about.com/od/immunizations/p/06_rotateq.htm
You can also find tons of articles that say this about the last vaccine "An earlier oral rotavirus vaccine sold by Wyeth was pulled from the market in 1999 after it was linked to a rare, life-threatening type of bowel obstruction known as intussusception. " http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23944370/
I consider my kids to be at almost no risk of contracting rotavirus, so I figure it's OK to be cautious about a new vaccine.