We switched peds--SOOO happy!

[beenwaitingalongtime]

Before DD was born, I interviewed both a holistic ped & a reg. ped. I liked that the regular peds office was open 7d/wk and even as late as 9pm some nights. 2 of the peds I met were very nice and seemed to be open to delayed/selective vax...but didn't accept patients that did not vax 'for the safety of our other patients.' They had medical priveliges at the hospital I was delivering at.
The holistic ped was very sweet and I liked that her office was not medicalized, but very relaxing and laid-back. She's both an eastern and western medical dr. so tries the natural approach first, but feels standard med has its place for certain emergencies, as well. She costs a bit more and I was anxious about venturing into medical treatment that was diff. than what I knew. She did not have privilages at my hospital and wouldn't be able to see DD till after she came home w/ us.
Once DD was born and developed severe jaundice due to an AB incompatibility, I went w/ the ped who could see DD in the hospital. Both of them were great in there and even helped us to fight to get DD's bili lights moved into my room so she could be w/ us.
Since then, the peds have been great--I really couldn't complain and highly recommend them to my more mainstream friends. I was never fully confident in their medical advice, though. If the ped recommended we start on solids, I had to search online first to see if this was correct. When he discussed the few vaxes he'd feel 'nervous' about not using on DD, I was unsure. When the office suggested giving DD Tylenol before her shots, I thought 'there has to be something more natural than that' Again, no real complaints, but I was still very doubtful about the recommendations made to me--and I disliked how focused on 'shots' the office was. We'd walk in and the nurse would comment on DD's happy demeanor, then say 'She wont be smiling for long, once we get those shots in her.' We'd go to leave the office after our appt. and the nurse would chase us down saying we'd forgotten to get her shots. After telling her we were delaying them, she'd look at us like we were crazy. I also felt frustrated over having to make my own suggestions for alt. treatments, separating vaxes, etc. instead of being able to rely on the ped to offer these suggestions. It was like I had to become an expert on ea. issue before going into the office.
So...a few wks ago, I told the ped we'd come back in a week to start DD's shots--but chickened out. I called the holistic ped instead and set up an appt.
BOY AM I GLAD I DID THAT! In the end, she still felt as though the 2 shots would be helpful (hib and prevnar) but thought the others weren't necessary now, if at all. She suggested doing one now (the hib because it has less reaction in kids) and another in a few weeks. (Our reg ped would NEVER have suggested doing them seperately.) She spent 2 hrs. with us, discussing the basics, as well as asking questions about ME--what's my sked. like, am I resting during the day (ha!), am I taking out time for myself, would I like to try some herbs to boost my milk supply. Wow!
She also had a 'slow and steady' approach to just about everything, including intro. new foods (even 1 every few wks. was good to her to even better identify if there're any food allergies).
She found some small labial adhesions that our other ped never mentioned--and gave us calendula ointment for it, instead of a Rx estrogen cream. She gave us organic warming vapor rub to help w/ DD's stuffiness, and another organic ointment (starts w/ an 'a') to rub onto DD's bumps and bruises (yet another thing the 1st ped suggested Tylenol for) after seeing how active she was and foreseeing many of them in her near future.
I left with a blend of fenugreek for my milk supply, along with some fennel so it doesn't upset my tummy.
DD still got her first vax--hib (which I was prepared to start anyway) and I left feeling confident in what we had just done. I KNOW I would've been guilt-ridden and unsure of myself if I just followed w/ the reg peds suggestions.
So...long story short (too late) I'm SO glad we took a step into the unknown. I feel confident in our new dr's knowledge and ability to offer natural alternatives to the typical prescriptions most dr's suggest. I left feeling more knowledgeable than when I entered and feeling as tho we'd done something really good for DD. Yay!

(And it didn't hurt that she went online before we left to check out my HC DH told her that I was barely sleeping because I'm always sewing, so she wanted to see what it was that I was doing. She asked if my dipes were anything like FBs (what's this?!?! knowledge about CDs?!?!) and suggested adding my biz cards/brochures to the display she had of some other WAHM items, like swaddling blankets.)

[titania]

that is fantastic!!! i so wish we had someone like that here. good for you for following your instincts and doing what you belive to be best. great news!

[GrandIsp]

That's awesome! Where do you live and I want one of those peds too!

By the way, look into Prevnar more before you go with it. I'm not convinced that it's necessary (not that I'm an expert!). I kinda agree with the Hib, but I've heard Prevnar isn't really on the top of many lists for usefullness or reliability. Have you seen the book: "What your children's doctor may not tell you about vaccinations" by Stephanie Cave? She helps sort through the vax maze...it's still hard to make the decsions, but at least she helps add some objectivity.

[OneFabMama]

That is really great. I'd love to look into that for us as well.

How do you find more natual Drs in your area?

[mercy589]

I'm so jealous!! How did you find a DR like that? Really, how did you go about finding her? What is she called?

[LoveSunshine]

That is awesome that you found such a great pedi! We are waiting on our insurance to add our youngest DS, and then we're out of his pedi's office like shout!

[beenwaitingalongtime]

She's called a Holistic Pediatrician--I THINK I found her thru my local birthing center's website. I was looking on there for doulas and found a listing of all sorts of more 'natural' service providers from chiropractors to acupuncturists to homeopathic doctors. After I got her name, I THINK I saw her mentioned on MDC's ped recommendation section 'find your tribe' I think it was called. Then my nurse friends who heard I was looking for an alternative pediatrician all mentioned her.