So my friend Jessica has really gotten me thinking about Pediatricians. This is somewhat embarrassing being a nurse and all however I have not chosen a pediatrician and I don't know what makes a good pediatrician. I obviously don't want them to throw antibiotics at my child no matter what the illness, and I would love a christian MD, I would like to be able to trust the wisdom of my ped. It is sad that you can't trust a doc to do what is in the best interest of the pt. instead of simply doing what is mainstream and convenient for them. That is where being a nurse comes in handy, I work with hundreds of docs and see them make the simple and convenient decision daily...hourly... way to often!
If you don't mind sharing:
What Pediatrician do you see?
How did you choose?
Why do you like them?
And if you care to share any info you have on vaccinations, do you vaccinate on the recommended schedule? Do you get every vaccination offered or do you pick and choose? Please help this clueless mom to be.
Forget-Me-Not Thoughts
1 month ago
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4 comments:
Ooooh. I love talking about this stuff.
We go to Dr. Janning. He's with Summit Pediatrics in Crestview Hills. He's awesome! Not only do we appreciate his manner with our children (he's laid back. good with them in a non-overwhelming way), we also value his stance on letting the parent be the parent. Dr. Janning is, I believe, fairly mainstream. But he always treats us with respect and consideration when we present him with our reasons for not wanting to go mainstream in many areas of our children's health. For instance, I've heard of pediatricians who refuse to see patients if their parents want to veer from the traditional vaccination schedule. Dr. Janning is quick to let us know that he is pro-vaccine and thinks the traditional schedule is best, but he is completely willing to let us call the shots, assuming that we've done our homework. He would never offer up alternative methods freely (or at least he hasn't with us), but he allows us the freedom to choose. While I wouldn't say that Dr. J is great about finding alternatives to antibiotics (and he seemed to have to force himself to hold back a laugh when I suggested breast milk in one of my children's infected ears), he seems sympathetic to us not wanting to overdo it with them.
We do not vaccinate according to the traditional schedule. We delay for at least a year (while making sure to take proper precautions like limiting their exposure to large groups of children and being committed to breast feeding (antibodies!) for at least the first year, hopefully longer. So far, Libby has only had the DTaP vaccine. While the pertussis component seems to be one of the most controversial of them all, whooping cough scares me quite a bit for newborns. So we vaccinate our big kids to protect our little babes. I'm conflicted about other vaccines. We may do more at a later time, but we're being cautious about it all. I feel so under-educated about the whole topic. I wish I knew more. I wish I had more facts instead of scary stories from each side of the debate.
I like the Sears book on Vaccines. The Sears are still quite pro-vaccine, but the book offered up-to-date facts on all of the vaccines, along with what seemed to be fairly unbiased pros and cons.
I don't have any reason to believe that Dr. Janning is a Christian. He is certainly kind and gentle with the little ones and he seems to even calm me when we visit.
I hope you find the perfect doctor!
Firstly, don't stop blogging about pregnancy. I just commented something similar to Kim, but it makes a great record and we don't get tired of hearing about it, no matter how much you feel like it's all you talk about.
I take the girls to Dr Pappas. Here is their site - http://nkypg.com/index.html.
I like him pretty well, but I have had to be more assertive with the practice than I like. I don't love the nurses and assistants, but I do love Dr. Pappas. I did vaccinate on the regular schedule, but Dr Pappas is good about explaining anything you need to know. I tend to be more natural than what he usually sees or recommends (I breastfeed for a year, I don't give the kids supplemental vitamins or flouride, I rejected a hormone/steroid cream that I didn't want Evie to have), but he is very encouraging of what I want to do. I just take the good and leave the bad.
He is very good about not prescribing an antibiotic. In fact, Elise has only ever had one once and it was after four days of vomiting and she was getting weak. Most of the time, he just tells me to ride it out and she'll be fine. And he's usually right. He was also really great about keeping tabs on her when she was a preemie. He called on the 4th day just to see how she was doing.
I won't say that I agree with him entirely, but I don't think the "perfect" m.d. exists. I just appreciate that he respects my decisions.
We go to Dr. Stowers but he jsut got a new doc in who I like even better because she's female and very motherly. Her name is Dr. Steffen.
I like their practice because it's just the two of them and they are very interested in the best thing for kids. Not that they're perfect but they don't over diagnose purposfully and are very willing to srpend time answering questions. Dr. Stowers purposfully keeps nurses on that breast fed their children to answer any questions. And Dr. Steffen actually noticed I had my hair cut the last time we were in! I like little details that show they remember people. :-) ANyway, it is in Burlington so it would be a treck for you but then again it is 25 minutes away for me now too.
As far as vaccinations I totally agree with Melissa, I feel like there are only scary stories for both sides. Do some research and trust that God will give you the wisdom to make a choice. I think the research is to sketchy right now on both sides and some decisions of parenting are best made and then given to Him for sustaining. :-)
After talking with Melissa, I spent today reading the vaccine book and think it is great, but I still don't know exactly what I am going to do. I still need to call pediatricians and do some more research. So many decisions!Good luck, I feel your pain.
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