Dr. T

Luke had his 9-month well baby visit earlier this week, and since we got in to see the "good" doctor at our pediatrician's office, all went well. (Other than the horrible, awful, no-good, very bad stick-needle-in-finger-and-then-squeeze-out-droplets-of-blood-for-5-whole-minutes test. Which indicated that the kid is anemic. But that's a whole different issue.) So imagine my surprise when I was at a Mom's group today and I mentioned the name of my "good" doctor (who will hereafter be called Dr. T), only to be met with multiple exclamations of "Oh, my goodness, I HATE that doctor!!!"

Of course, at the first chance I got, I brought the conversation back to the doctor subject and asked why the most vocal of the bunch hated the doctor. Turns out she thinks that my Dr. T is (a) vain, (b) preoccupied with her own child, and (c) not good at giving medical opinions about parenting practices. It occurred to me that reason (a) aside, (b) and (c)? Those...are kind of why I like this doctor so much.

I like that she's "preoccupied" with her own child because her child is 5 months older than Luke, which means that she has very recent experience in all these stages that we're now going through. Furthermore, she has researched every aspect of baby care TO DEATH, so when I ask her about whether my kid should get the flu vaccine, I don't just get the party line. Instead, I get an actual conversation discussing his risk factors, his protective factors, and the potential risks of the vaccine versus the strain(s) of the flu in the vaccine.

As for the whole "not good at giving (medical) opinions about parenting practices" thing? I think that's why I ask for her at every well visit. Because really, I don't go in to talk about what Luke eats or how he sleeps. I don't really need to hear about TV viewing or sock wearing or discipline or how often he should be bathed. I go in to measure his height and his weight and to get him his shots and to get a general physical check.

Of course, the conversation today DID help me realize that the one time I went in for a sick visit, I totally didn't ask for Dr. T because I had no desire to be standing there with a feverish baby, listening to her talk about the last time her baby had a cold.