A good Dr is hard to come by

Little P turned a month yesterday! I didn’t notice because of the massive epidemic in our house. She is a little ball of angry sick baby. This morning I did get a couple smiles when big sister and I took a bath  with her. Its the first time she has felt better in a bit. Today was her one month well child checkup at her doctors office. Because of our experience so far at this pedi this was going to be their last chance. If we weren’t happy after this visit we would find a new doctor.

This office has been less than supportive about our parenting choices (which isn’t really new to me, I don’t expect to find a Dr fully supportive of my choices) I do however expect to find a doctor that isn’t going to deceive me to get me in an attempt to get me to comply. This office has also given less than accurate information regarding breastfeeding (I was told at her 2 week WCC that by tandem nursing I am risking the new baby starving, and that we dodged a bullet when P was gaining weight). The pedi was also not aware of the states policy of banking newborns genetic information when the newborn screening was done being processed. They freaked out when we wanted to pay to have P tested by a private company because of this policy. The Dr  I saw that day tried to tell me that the testing was mandated, I informed her that nothing short of a court order would make me allow the state to genetically test my daughter. They also tested her for jaundice at her two weeks for some reason, and when they called me with the test results they explained that her level was within the range of normal and she does not have jaundice. What I need to do to get rid of this jaundice she doesn’t have is by feeding her often to flush it out (yeah still processing that one).

Every time I have a bad experience I take note of it so we can make a good decision regarding her care. So when P had this apnea episode the pedi visit left a lot to be desired. At the follow up er visit I brought up the concerns that we have. Little P has a tremor in her right leg and chin,  I know that tremors can be completely normal and be a sign of a immature nervous system in newborns. However P has some other risk factors of a neurological problem, #1 during pregnancy she turned breech over and over after being turned vertex by the chiropractor (at least once a week). #2 before I weaned off my medication I took seroquel, which can also cause neurological issues. #3 When you factor in the apnea, all of these things combined are reasons to test further. When I brought this up at her er followup the Dr did not respond to my concerns, or acknowledge that I even mentioned it.

At today’s WCC visit I again brought up the potential for neurological issues, and again there was a complete lack of acknowledgment of me even opening my mouth. After I let the Dr know that we would not be vaccinating at this visit, that we delay vaccines until at least 12m he let us know that he would respect my decision. However, he is greatly concerned because there is an epidemic of pertussis in my state and many others. That he recommends that I keep my daughter safe by vaccinating her against pertussis. I responded that it was my understanding that in the areas where there are pertussis outbreaks that these outbreaks are occurring overwhelmingly in vaccinated children (80-90%). He responded that no vaccine is 100%. I let him know that we would STILL not be vaccinating until at least 12 months, that taking all of the data into consideration the risk still doesn’t outweigh the benefit, that the potential documented side effects do not justify the risk at this point.

At the end of the visit he asked if I had any other concerns. I responded that the apnea was a big concern for us, that I was aware there was no treatment for apnea. However I was concerned, and wanted to explore the idea of  testing further to find out if there is an underlying issue. He responds “In reviewing her file it was my understanding that it was determined that the apnea was reflux related, am I right?” I responded that I wasn’t aware that it was possible to determine that at this point. He stammered that it wasn’t, and rambled about it not happening again in the last 4 days. At this point I was done talking to him, it was obvious that we needed a pediatrician that wasn’t going to try to deceive me to put my mind at rest (and shut me up). I would have respected him being upfront and saying that he wasn’t going to test further at this point because there has only been one incidence, that he wants to wait and see if it happens again. Not to try to make me think that they aren’t testing because they already know that it happened because of the reflux.

I don’t expect that my pediatrician agree with every choice I make. I however do not think it is unreasonable for me to ask that I be able to trust that they will not attempt to deceive me. How am I supposed to know in the future, when it really matters they are being honest when they haven’t always been? Also I expect when I raise a concern for it to be addressed and not flat out ignored. So needless to say, we will be looking for another Dr at this point.

And here are my poor sick kids:

Miss M

And little Miss P

P’s stats from today, one month

Weight: 11lbs 6oz (9lbs 1oz @ birth)

Height: 21 2/4 in (20.5 @ birth)

Breastmilk is turning my baby into a chunk!