Trips to our pediatrician are always a mixed bag of nerves and laughs since we have been there so often and all the staff recognize us and know our names even though it's the largest pediatrician practice in the area. Twice we've had to go straight from there to be admitted to the hospital, and two other times referred to specialists (GI and Pulmonist).
But, every time, whether he's there for a sick or well visit, he gets loved on and fought over - no joke. We'll book the appointment with one doctor and as we walk down the hall to the exam room with Cooper in my arms, the other doctors run over and stop us to talk to him and give him kisses, etc. At first it struck me as odd and bothersome because Cooper catches stuff so easily and I didn't like everyone touching him but then I figured out after a while that only the docs on the "well" side would come over and talk//touch and the ones on the "sick" side stood at the doc/nurse station and sort of talked to us from afar (they assign docs to well or sick side for the day so they don't go back and forth between well and sick kids passing germs). Anyway, on at least 2 occasions a doctor has "stolen" Cooper's appointment from another doctor even though there were no scheduling delays going on which might prevent the scheduled doc from proceeding. He's just been in there so much that he is always happy and relaxed there - smiles and giggles at everyone and only ever cries for maybe 30 seconds after getting shots and then back to his smiley self (so crazy)...and any time someone talks to him he starts babbling right back so they just eat him right up.
Today Cooper had his 6 month wellness check and he was booked with Dr.MaryEllen who just adores and gushes over Cooper - she's the one that referred/managed his hospital admissions both times and she has a baby the same age and jokes that the two of them have their prom dates all lined up now LOL. So we get there and we're waiting in an exam room when the senior partner doctor comes in and declares that as the senior partner of the office she has commandeered Cooper's appointment because she couldn't help herself! I laughed and told her she'd better get ready for Dr.MaryEllen's wrath. After she examined him and we chatted about the shots and other things she left the room and said she'll send the nurse in with the shots and Dr.MaryEllen in for a quick social visit. Dr.MaryEllen came in and gushed over Cooper and told us how mad she was that Dr.S stole Cooper's appointment from her. She said that Claire (her 6 month old DD) loved Cooper's Christmas card and can't wait for the prom. ;).
So his stats...he's 16 lbs, 3 oz, in 7th percentile for height, 25th percentile for weight, and 60th percentile for head size LOL. I told them he's either a smarty pants or has a big ego from all the attention he's getting at the doctor's office haha. He received the DTaP and flu shots today and we're delaying the Prevnar for a month at which time he'll get the 2nd flu shot.
He has the two teeth which finally pushed through over this past week - one right after the other- the 2 front bottom ones (and what a relief they're finally through the gums because he's much calmer now that they are).
Doc said the baby orajel is a waste of time/money b/c it dissipates too quickly to do any good with all the drooling they do while teething. She said the teething tabs are the best option with Tylenol for when the pain seems unbearable or if tabs not doing the trick. Now that the two bottom front teeth have popped up the doctor said the next ones that pop up shouldn't cause him as much stress/pain now that he has been through it once but there's no predicting when the next one will emerge or how it will affect him so enjoy the quiet time between now and then ;/.
Friday Cooper will visit the pediatric pulmonist for his 2nd monthly Synagis shot (RSV protection). Two doc visits in one week for Mister Cooper - both with shots - poor kid! But, I might actually get a decent night of sleep tonight and Friday night - for some reason Cooper sleeps better after getting his shots (partly b/c of getting Tylenol and partly because he's exhausted from the excitement, I think). He's been sleeping most of the time since we got home from today's appointment so I should go to sleep NOW in case he decides he is done sleeping at like 4 am LOL. Night night!
3 comments:
Sounds like you guys have a great pediatric office! I'm glad that you've at least had a very caring staff while dealing w/ all of Cooper's health challenges. :o) Merry Christmas!
We went to our new family practice in N. Ca and they are very similar :) (Jr & I are seeing the same Dr... he was my Dr as a teen and saw my brothers when they where little)! Enjoy it.. Drs who are attentive like that often catch more things then the ones who just whoosh in/out.
Hopefully now that Coop's teeth have pushed through you'll get MORE sleep since he won't be in so much pain!
Hey Julie, thanks for stopping by my blog. I linked to yours from ivillage (we're in the same playgroup although I'm not an avid poster, name is "moodymom2b"). Anyway, when I linked here the blog was in temporary disarray, glad you got it looking fantastic again.
Now I can catch up on the Christmas Eve posts. I can do this because my 2-yr old decided that after opening 3 presents, he needed a break... so we're patiently waiting for him to *get excited about the presents* again. And by the way, the wonderful sleep of my 5 mo. old Chase has already disappeared. Back to sleepless nights again... something you're all too familiar with. =)
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