I seriously LOVE our Pediatrician and I'm glad because he wasn't easy to find! Our hospital had given us a large list of doctors in the mega-city (which includes areas that most people would not even consider Toronto) and I called all of them that had OK reviews on RateMDs - over 20 doctors. Only 2 called back and one was not accepting patients! The only choice we had was whether we wanted Dr. S or Dr. L at the only practice that would accept us. Dr. S had fantastic reviews on RateMDs. She sounded amazing except that people had complained of very very delayed appointments. Dr. L had so-so reviews. Half were people saying he was cold and unfriendly and the other half were defending him. They all agreed he was very efficient.
We chose Dr. L - the cold & unfriendly guy who runs on schedule. Strange, I know, but we didn't want to ever be stuck with a sick baby in a room full of sick children for hours waiting on a late doctor.
The truth is he hasn't been cold to us at all. He's been amazing. I didn't need to take Sadie in today but I knew it wasn't going to be a big event if I did. Every single time we've been we check in and are taken directly to an exam room. I've never sat in the waiting room. Not once. The most we've ever waited for Dr. L in the room has been 10 minutes - not even. The same was true for today.
He checked her breathing to make sure her chest was clear (which is what I wanted to know), took her temperature and looked up her nose. He said that what we were doing was pretty much all that could be done. Humidifier, saline drops and nasal aspirator. I asked if it was silly to have come in and he said I was welcome to come in whenever we had a question and if I wanted she could come back in again tomorrow! I love this guy!!
Sadie is FINE. She didn't cough or sneeze once at the appointment but (of course) as soon as I brought her in I put her in her swing so I could put away some groceries and she started up again. To Stacey's point (in comments below) maybe I should wash the covers of the swing and bouncer. Maybe she is allergic to something? I'm not sure but D had mentioned it too.
Am I a paranoid Momma? A bit, yes, but not nearly what I thought I'd be! I'm hyper-sensitive to colds right now. My BBC birth club lost a little one to RSV a few weeks ago. It was so scary and heartbreaking. I can't even imagine. I am NOT looking forward to our first real cold. I hope it is a LONG way off!
JDZ: Two Moms, One Toddler
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
On our way
On our way to the doctor shortly!
I feel silly for saying this but I have NO idea what a sick baby looks/acts like. I really can't tell if she isn't feeling well or not. Shouldn't that be proof that she isn't sick and I'm just being paranoid?
Here is the crazy part of her symptoms. They kept coming and going so I wasn't sure if I should call the doctor or not but afterward I realized she coughs/sneezes/hiccups in her bouncer & swing but not at any other time. As an experiment I just put her in her bouncer and within the first minute she was sneezing, she now has the hiccups and it's causing her to choke/cry (don't worry, I just got her out). Why would that be happening?
I feel silly for saying this but I have NO idea what a sick baby looks/acts like. I really can't tell if she isn't feeling well or not. Shouldn't that be proof that she isn't sick and I'm just being paranoid?
Here is the crazy part of her symptoms. They kept coming and going so I wasn't sure if I should call the doctor or not but afterward I realized she coughs/sneezes/hiccups in her bouncer & swing but not at any other time. As an experiment I just put her in her bouncer and within the first minute she was sneezing, she now has the hiccups and it's causing her to choke/cry (don't worry, I just got her out). Why would that be happening?
Paranoid Momma
I love my December baby but can we please get through Cold and Flu season already? I'm so nervous Sadie is going to get sick!
I want the warm weather to come and for Sadie to be 3+ months. I'm hoping to avoid this with #2! I do like the fact that she'll be 6 months for the summer and 12 months for her first Christmas but otherwise it has been a pain having a newborn in the depth of winter (not even a bad one). Even now that she is almost 2 months it is still a pain. It's COLD outside and I bundle her and we go for walks but it's still worrisome.
Damn groundhog.
ETA:
I posted this because Sadie has been super stuffed up and was coughing a bit yesterday. Well she's coughing MORE this morning so I've put a call into the pediatrician. I think she is OK because she is happy, no fever and eating but I want to be cautious.
I want the warm weather to come and for Sadie to be 3+ months. I'm hoping to avoid this with #2! I do like the fact that she'll be 6 months for the summer and 12 months for her first Christmas but otherwise it has been a pain having a newborn in the depth of winter (not even a bad one). Even now that she is almost 2 months it is still a pain. It's COLD outside and I bundle her and we go for walks but it's still worrisome.
Damn groundhog.
ETA:
I posted this because Sadie has been super stuffed up and was coughing a bit yesterday. Well she's coughing MORE this morning so I've put a call into the pediatrician. I think she is OK because she is happy, no fever and eating but I want to be cautious.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Monthly Visitor
No...not AF... but at this point I kinda wish it was. My "monthly visitor" is viral conjunctivitis - AKA - PINK EYE! It is the craziest thing ever. December, January and now February.
December: I was still pregnant and slightly freaked out so I called telehealth (nurse hotline) to ask what I should do. They ran through the 101 questions needed to assess my situation and came to the conclusion that I was fine and it wasn't pink eye. They told me to go to my doctor in 7 days if it hadn't cleared. It's important to note that "the nurses" are complete alarmists and in my experience offer little advice other than "Go to the emergency room".
January: Woke up to another "Pink Eye". We figured it was just lack of sleep and still relying on the nurses advice figured it was nothing to be concerned about. UNTIL it turned scary looking and D started to freak out that I needed to go and see someone. Since going to the doctor for pink eye is like going for a scraped knee I decided to go to my optometrist (I was overdue anyway). Optometrist: Pink Eye and sent me to my doctor. Doctor: an inconclusive "I don't think it is pink eye" but gave me a prescription to fill if it got worse. It didn't.
February: Now I'm pissed off. It's back AGAIN. This time I went and filled the previous months prescription but my doctor had said she was certain (if it was pink eye) that it was viral which antibiotics would not help. I'm aware I'm using antibiotics when I potentially shouldn't be but I'm at my wits end at this point. I'm so worried I'm going to give this to Sadie and I'm suffering another week of obsessive hand washing and distance from my daughters face.
So, WTH? Do I have Pink Eye or not?
December: I was still pregnant and slightly freaked out so I called telehealth (nurse hotline) to ask what I should do. They ran through the 101 questions needed to assess my situation and came to the conclusion that I was fine and it wasn't pink eye. They told me to go to my doctor in 7 days if it hadn't cleared. It's important to note that "the nurses" are complete alarmists and in my experience offer little advice other than "Go to the emergency room".
January: Woke up to another "Pink Eye". We figured it was just lack of sleep and still relying on the nurses advice figured it was nothing to be concerned about. UNTIL it turned scary looking and D started to freak out that I needed to go and see someone. Since going to the doctor for pink eye is like going for a scraped knee I decided to go to my optometrist (I was overdue anyway). Optometrist: Pink Eye and sent me to my doctor. Doctor: an inconclusive "I don't think it is pink eye" but gave me a prescription to fill if it got worse. It didn't.
February: Now I'm pissed off. It's back AGAIN. This time I went and filled the previous months prescription but my doctor had said she was certain (if it was pink eye) that it was viral which antibiotics would not help. I'm aware I'm using antibiotics when I potentially shouldn't be but I'm at my wits end at this point. I'm so worried I'm going to give this to Sadie and I'm suffering another week of obsessive hand washing and distance from my daughters face.
So, WTH? Do I have Pink Eye or not?
- redness of the eyes - YES
- eye pain - NO
- blurred vision - NO
- sensitivity to light - NO
- burning or itching of the eye - NO
- a scratchy feeling in the eye - NO
- a discharge that may be watery or may contain pus - 3rd time only and just a little bit of watery discharge
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Quick!
Boo boo is napping and I think I may have a few minutes before she realizes I'm doing something for myself! Soooo...
Randoms:
DSR: Good points for both sides of my DSR question. I think we're going to wait a bit before joining but will join. I had forgotten about sharing medical info. That is worth it.
BF: I have not yet given up on breastfeeding. I won't be exclusively breastfeeding but Sadie does receive a BF appetizer before every meal (except the two late night). I was on Fenugreek & Blessed Thistle but switched to the medication Domperidone. It has worked really well and my supply is way up. Sadie even chokes on my boob now (too much milk) however she still will not take an entire feeding. We're working on it. The good news is that her latch has never suffered. She's good on the boob it's just that the boob isn't good to her. It pisses her off because she's used to the flow of the bottle and when my milk slows she starts to kick and punch me. At least she's not screaming and turning purple like she did in the early days. Hard work has paid off.
The BAD news is that she's farting up a storm. Her gas is sooo bad and I think it is my fault. I had a kick of craving Dairy and ate so many yogurts and so much ice cream. I don't know if that's what did it but if she's already taking milk protein with formula than she shouldn't she be used to it? We've been using gas drops sparingly when it gets bad. I'll mention it at her 2 month appointment.
Attachment: Sadie is starting to get really clingy. I was at my dads on Monday and he seemed disheartened by her behavior. I felt awful about it. She's very fussy with him now and she's even fussy with D. She'll take a bottle from someone else but quickly turns to crying and squirming until I hold her. It's nice to know we're close but it's also extremely tiring because it means I rarely get a good break.
Crazy Grandma: My mom has not met Sadie. She's "going to try" to see her when she comes down to Southern Ontario for a trade show at the end of April. Sadie will be 4 months by then. I don't get it. I can't understand why she hasn't been yet and It hurts a lot. I'm not sure what I can do to change this situation. I've asked my mom several times to come down. I begged her to come and help our first week home because I was having bad nightmares. I also begged her to come down for the start of my time at home without D. She kept saying she'd come but never did. You'd think I'd be used to her rejection but it's hard. I keep hoping she'll change...
Google Reader: Ok, so people kept telling me to use Google reader and I'm just now setting it up. I'm almost done and it is so great. I'll be able to read so many more blogs now! I can't keep up otherwise. I have no time to surf like I used to!!!
OK boo boo is up now. Here are some pictures before I go:
Randoms:
DSR: Good points for both sides of my DSR question. I think we're going to wait a bit before joining but will join. I had forgotten about sharing medical info. That is worth it.
BF: I have not yet given up on breastfeeding. I won't be exclusively breastfeeding but Sadie does receive a BF appetizer before every meal (except the two late night). I was on Fenugreek & Blessed Thistle but switched to the medication Domperidone. It has worked really well and my supply is way up. Sadie even chokes on my boob now (too much milk) however she still will not take an entire feeding. We're working on it. The good news is that her latch has never suffered. She's good on the boob it's just that the boob isn't good to her. It pisses her off because she's used to the flow of the bottle and when my milk slows she starts to kick and punch me. At least she's not screaming and turning purple like she did in the early days. Hard work has paid off.
The BAD news is that she's farting up a storm. Her gas is sooo bad and I think it is my fault. I had a kick of craving Dairy and ate so many yogurts and so much ice cream. I don't know if that's what did it but if she's already taking milk protein with formula than she shouldn't she be used to it? We've been using gas drops sparingly when it gets bad. I'll mention it at her 2 month appointment.
Attachment: Sadie is starting to get really clingy. I was at my dads on Monday and he seemed disheartened by her behavior. I felt awful about it. She's very fussy with him now and she's even fussy with D. She'll take a bottle from someone else but quickly turns to crying and squirming until I hold her. It's nice to know we're close but it's also extremely tiring because it means I rarely get a good break.
Crazy Grandma: My mom has not met Sadie. She's "going to try" to see her when she comes down to Southern Ontario for a trade show at the end of April. Sadie will be 4 months by then. I don't get it. I can't understand why she hasn't been yet and It hurts a lot. I'm not sure what I can do to change this situation. I've asked my mom several times to come down. I begged her to come and help our first week home because I was having bad nightmares. I also begged her to come down for the start of my time at home without D. She kept saying she'd come but never did. You'd think I'd be used to her rejection but it's hard. I keep hoping she'll change...
Google Reader: Ok, so people kept telling me to use Google reader and I'm just now setting it up. I'm almost done and it is so great. I'll be able to read so many more blogs now! I can't keep up otherwise. I have no time to surf like I used to!!!
OK boo boo is up now. Here are some pictures before I go:
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