Living WIth a Pediatrician

So, DH is a pediatrician. He is not officially our little girl's pediatrician, but he's still the first line of defense. This has its many advantages and disadvantages.

On the plus side:

1. And this is the biggest one - he can tell me when something is worth worrying about, or more often, completely normal. Bumps, rashes, odd stools, whatever. Being able to text DH about a poop question is pretty handy. How many other people send their DH's messages that say, "poop has been getting runnier all day, should I be worried?" and get a response, "Probably just from her cold. As long as they aren't more frequent, no need to worry."

2. Medicine: He can tell me when to up the dose on Zantac or whether this is an appropriate occasion for Tylenol. He even ran out to get Motrin when she first started teething because she was now officially six months old and he thought it would help more. When it says, "consult pediatrician," he's very handy.

3. He has connections. Need an appointment? No problem. Just want someone to take a quick peak into the ears? Just swing by the office. Want to weigh her? Come by around lunch time. He can get a prescription or an extra bulb syringe or just a second opinion about mundane baby stuff.

The downside:

1. He sees really, really sick babies. This means that a) He tells me about them, which makes me sad and concerned and b) He tends to jump to conclusions sometimes and worry about a worst-case-scenario that would have never crossed my mind. It's kind of like on our honeymoon when my legs hurt from wearing heels all day the day before and he was all worried about blood clots. It can stress me out.

2. No rule bending: If it says for 9-months and older, then we wait until she's 9 months. I wanted to try giving her some puffs or other finger foods, but no dice. He says she's fine and there's no hurry and I know he's right, but still. No snuggling in bed or bumpers or loveys or mirrors in the car...you get the idea.

3. He works a lot. His practice is very busy and he works on rotation with the other physicians to cover the hospital, too. When he's on call, he attends c-sections and has to go in when a child comes into the ER and has to be admitted. He works some weekends and a lot of holidays.

There are plenty more, I'm sure, but those are the first things that come to mind. In general, I feel very blessed to have an "expert" in the house. He also says that Sprout and I have made him a better doctor in a lot of ways. I hope that's true. Maybe some of our struggles help other mommies get better help and advice from their pediatrician!