dear parker,guess what you get for your 2 month birthday? vaccinations! luckily mom read an article in the june issue of parents about "taking the sting out of shots" and got you some EMLA cream that should help ease the pain. she's also going to dip your pacifier in sugar water (that she's making herself since bentonville pediatrics does not have sugar water, boo). it was actually quite an ordeal getting the EMLA cream, but i think it will be worth it.
actually, the whole doctor experience has been quite an ordeal. a little background...
1 week old appointment: bentonville pediatrics. overcrowded--james had to sit in a little kids' chair across the room. transparent walls--we could hear kids screaming in other rooms. the baby sitting next to us had an (obvious) tumor in her brain and said the doctor's just realized what it was. the mom almost cried when she was telling me about it. i told myself i could put up with the waiting room madness if the pediatrician was good. and he was.
as i was making parker's next appointment, the receptionist told me parker's pediatrician was moving to africa indefinitely. beautiful.
next day: drive around rogers interviewing pediatricians and family doctors. decide i like the atmosphere and idea of a family practice, especially if parker does not have any major problems.
1 month well baby checkup: take parker to the new family practice doctor. he is nice, has kids, etc. he asks how everything is going and i say great, blah blah. he questions if parker is sleeping through the night and of course i say no because parker is 4 weeks old! doctor recommends i read babywise. what?? i did not ask for a recommendation on baby literature/parenting philosophies. and it's not even the fact that he gave me a recommendation because i appreciate advice, but the book is pretty controversial (more in a later entry) and i don't want a super opinionated doctor. again, i tell myself i can put up with it because i don't want to doctor hop, but seriously.
and then he tells me he does not have all of the recommended vaccinations in his office, namely the hib vacine. apparently he's had it on order for 2 years, but the drug companies do not make enough for family practices. he affirms that no one in nwa can get the hib vaccine except the health dept. i specifically ask if the ped. clinics can get it and he says no.
that afternoon: i call bentonville ped. to see if they have the vaccine and of course they do. now family doctor has not only told me i need to read babywise but also lied to me. perhaps an honest mistake. btw, he also made a joke that his daughter was chubs because she got the "short and fat" gene from her dad. not that i need a doctor who is super fit, but you'd think doctors would try to take good care of themselves instead of simply blaming it on genes.
this monday: call bentonville ped. to get a prescription for EMLA cream. they are too short on staff to have a nurse or doctor talk to me and the secretary has never heard of the cream.
tuesday: get a call back. they "do not ever give prescriptions for EMLA cream." apparently they hear babies scream and cry all day so they are desensitized to pain.
tuesday afternoon: call family practice doc to get a prescription for it. "no problem!" thank you! too bad i'm still probably not coming back to you. but i appreciate it.
today: the test. will EMLA and sugar water help?
(btw, the generic brand of the cream is only $10 for 30 uses! i'll take it for 33 cents/application).
3 comments:
My mom said she nursed us through our vaccinations...I didn't do that, but she said it worked well. I've never heard of EMLA cream. Let us know how it works. Norah has not had the HIB vaccine because our doctor's office is out too.
And as for Babywise...BAH! I hated that book. I liked the Baby Book by Dr Sears.s
Hey Silvy,
It sounds like you have had quite the ordeal with finding the right doctor for Parker. We ended up switching to a family doctor because it is just easier to all go to the same doctor and our family doctor is open on Saturdays and Sundays. You will find that sickness doesn't take a vacation on the weekends. While I was at the dentist with Calvin this morning I actually read an interesting article in Parents magazine about soothing the pain when we prick and stick our babies and they mentioned the EMLA cream, is that how you heard about the cream? When you use the cream does it matter where you put it on them? Meaning do you have to put it on where they will give the shot? Because it says it can take up to an hour to work and some doctors give shots in the arm while others do the thighs. I can say for both boys I nursed them right afterwards the doctor should be willing to let you sit in their office for a little bit while you nurse him I also had Lucas hold them while getting the shot so that way I wouldn't be the "bad" guy I know this sounds mean to the dad but if you can nurse your baby and have that close contact with him then it usually helps, something dads unfortunately can't do. I am sure you will find what works best for you and Parker just remeber that a moms love is always the best cure for any ailment and of course ice cream when he is older :)
Luckily, Aidan rarely cried for any of his shots so far. And, if he did, it was only for a minute. He never acted like his legs hurt and would always just sleep more the day of the shots. Some babies react a lot to them and others don't. I was initially worried about how Aidan would respond, but after a few times it was much easier to go and know a little bit better how he would handle it. When he got older, they gave him a small sucker to lick while they did it and getting that taken away was worse for him than getting any shot. :)
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