Pediatrician

I should have written this yesterday but I seriously didn't have time! Imagine that my friends. A day filled with a hair cut (roughly 2hrs) then grocery shopping and lunch with friends. Not to mention catching up on laundry and cooking dinner.

Back to the subject. Tuesday after my appointment with Dr. J we walked to our appointment with our Pedi hoping to get in an out before rush hour traffic hit. We should have known in advance that appointment times don't really mean anything but after waiting for 40 min Nate left to get the car out of parking and get me a snack. I guess I should mention that the receptionist refused to let us leave or reschedule our appointment by saying, "he is almost ready". LIAR.

Finally, my time to meet with the Pedi comes and I find myself talking to a man that's probably 5'9" and has a smaller frame than I do. His personality and over confidence spilled into every word that exited his mouth. The only time I got a word in was when he was trying to find the English word for something.

He started the meeting off by asking me about my plans for childhood which I was able to utter off one sentence and then the lecturing began. The conversation then led into breastfeeding where he proceeded to mimic the act with his hand and non-existant breast... I laughed deep inside!

Despite the fact that the he treated me as a person with no knowledge, I am very glad that he is thorough with his patients. Based on the conversation we had I gather that not very many people are educated with basic health care.

Finally we started talking about day of life one for Belle. He will be attending my deliver and be in the room while I labor along with Dr. J! Crazy huh? Two doctors in the room with me plus what ever other staff needs to be there. When she is born she will be able to breastfeed immediately and then the will get her cleaned and checked out. In the US it is standard for every baby to get Vitamin K shot and Erythromycin to the eyes within 1hr of birth. Here, Belle will be getting the Vitamin K shot but Brazil does not have Erythromycin ointment, they use Silver Nitrate which can cause chemical conjunctivitis, so she won't be getting any eye ointment.

Reasoning why this is ok. Based on my prenatal care I do not have any infection present that can be transferred to Belle during birth. The reasoning the US does this routinely is based on number of people without prenatal care having infection and the potential risk it poses for the baby which include potential blindness. The blanket coverage reduces chances of infection and lawsuits with no discomfort to the infant.

All in all I believe that the Pedi will be great for us. He gave us all of his contact numbers and encouraged us to call anytime we have concerns for Belle no matter the time.

Then the time came for me to pay the receptionist. Keep in mind we had just payed Dr. J and thought surely this visit wouldn't cost more than one with her. Oh, how wrong was I? Nate had to bring me more money because remember most doctors don't take credit/debit cards. (I think it has to do with tax evasion.) As I am on the phone with Nate discussing the dilemma he instructed me to barter and throw in a few choice words. I calmly told him yes I would and then hung up the phone while laughing because there's zero chance I am going to fight with the receptionist before Belle is born when she is just doing her job.

Nate's anger about the situation still rests deep inside. He claims that he will be calling the Pedi at all hours of the night when ever he wants! Ahhhh. Love his passion but in the end we still pay nothing because insurance reimburses us 100% it's just the upfront cost that hurts. I can't imagine what he charges for being at my delivery which once again we will have to pay with cash..... dreading that day.

So now we are all ready to go and all of our ducks are in a row!

Tchau,
Sara