4-month checkup... finally

After having to delay the appointment because of snow for what seemed like forever, Sami finally had her 4-month well baby appointment at 4.5 months. She's weighing in at 14lbs 4oz, 24.5" long, with a head circumference of 15.75" - one of these days I'll find out about percentiles, but all I know is that she's doing well!

We received the OK to start solids - baby rice cereal first - so one of these days we need to pull the high chair out of the garage and start setting it up...

And with the 4-month appointment came 4-month shots. =( That's always the saddest part...

But now let me tell you about the actual pediatrician I saw... this was the first time we had to deal with this woman since we've been coming to this practice, and if I have anything to do with it, it'll be the last. She is much older than the other doctors, so I think her views on childcare maybe a little outdated in comparison to her colleagues. For example - we discussed Sami's teething, and she told me that instead of using the OraGel (that another doctor in her practice suggested we used) she said we should try the frozen teether since it's a "natural anesthesia." When I told her that Sami didn't like those because they were too cold for her mouth, she insisted that it's the only thing that would work. Yikes.

And then this same woman gave me a heart attack thinking that Sami's hips weren't aligned! She couldn't get her leg creases to match up while Sami was on her belly, so she was trying for a good 5 minutes to adjust her legs, showing me where they weren't lining up and what it could mean, and then suddenly she was just like "Oh ok, she's fine - she just moves too much!" Really?? Geesh...

And then, on my way out of the office as I was checking out, I remembered that daycare had asked for a letter from the pediatrician to administer Oragel should Sami need it, since she had had her first teething attack the other day. So I mentioned this to the receptionist, and she went back to tell the nurse. Suddenly the pediatrician I saw came storm out, almost accusatory - "You said you only gave her oragel at night!!!" I explain the situation, and she shook her head - "No, I'm not allowing this. Oragel is bad enough, I'm not going to authorize daycare to put their fingers, gloved or not, into her mouth. No, I will not give you the letter." I was floored. I mean, honestly, the last thing I expected was to receive a NO so adamantly... so I left. Chris said I should have asked for another pediatrician to autorize it since we received the OK to use Oragel from them in the first place... I'm letting it go until Sami has another bad day, and then we'll try again.

Needless to say, I will NOT be making an appointment with that particular doctor ever again. As it is, the only reason I had her this time was because I had to reschedule my previous appointment. At least the receptionist asks if we have a preference... oy, there seems to be one at every practice.