Pediatrician Appt - 2/2/06

Astrid saw her pediatrician today for a routine checkup and another round of vaccinations. Today the waiting room was bursting with children of all ages and their parents. They tend to overbook and it's not uncommon to wait an hour before they call your name (as was the case today). A few of the older, more hyper kids found it difficult to wait quietly for so long, so they chased each other around the table in the center of the room. One kid had his arm extended and hand made into a fist as he shouted, "Thunder punch!" while the girl he was chasing screamed each time he caught up with her. No matter how many times each parent reminded their kid not run or be loud, their kids continued to run and be loud.

Each time I have a doctor's appointment I feel we're just part of the masses in a factory environment. As soon as Astrid's name is called we go to another room and wait some more. A nurse comes in to measure Astrid and weigh her, and then we wait some more for the doctor. After about 5 minutes of checking her ears and bottom, bending her legs and listening to her chest, the doctor is always in a rush back out the door. (And there are 2 doctors and we never know which one we will get. I would rather have a single doctor we see each and every time.) Then we wait some more for a nurse to return to administer the shots.

I'm thinking of switching doctors so that we receive more personalized attention and don't have such a long wait at each appointment. Anyone know of an excellent pediatrician in Los Angeles?

The good news is that Astrid is a healthy baby. Her measurements/weight are:

Height - 29 inches (90th percentile)
Weight - 20 lbs & 13 oz (75th percentile)
Head - 17 1/2 inches (75th percentile)

I had the doctor recheck the weight since I thought he made a mistake. Last time we were there Astrid's weight was in the 90th percentile, and since then she's gained a pound; but overall she dropped down to the 75th percentile (meaning she weighs more than 75% of the children her age). I guess it's the crawling and the switch to solids (vs. a formula only diet that is high in calories).

He said Astrid is the size of a one year old already (at 9 months) and doesn't need formula any longer. That goes against everything that I've read that says you need to supplement a baby's diet with formula until they're at least one year old, so that they get enough nutrition and fat to develop normally. He warned that keeping a baby on a bottle could ruin her teeth and lead to something called "bottle rot." So from today on we will just give Astrid a bottle at night, and during the day she will eat only solids and we will try to get her to use a sippy cup for water.

Uwe and I are still concerned with her eyes sometimes still being a bit cross-eyed. It's gotten better, but rather then moving her right eye to look at something to her far right, Astrid moves her head to the right instead. The pediatrician recommended we see a specialist to have her eyes checked. He said they can tighten the eye muscles and it's a relatively easy surgery but they won't do it until the child is at least one year old because of the complications of anesthesia. I am opposed to surgery at this point and would rather have some sort of physical therapy to correct her lazy eye.

Astrid took her shots really well. She cried when she realized she was getting poked by a needle, so I squeezed her hand to avert her attention. After the 3 shots were over I scooped her up in my arms and gave her lots of hugs and kisses.

We have to go back in a 3 months when Astrid is 1 years old, for yet another round of vaccinations.