Bringing Out My Inner Mama Grizzly
I am not a fan of taking Ben to the doctor’s office. I love his pediatrician, but my husband is almost always working during appointments. And this, of course, means that I am the one who gets stuck holding Ben down and crying while he gets his shots. I dread it every single time. Does it become something you get used to, I wonder? Or am I going to cry every time he gets a shot?
Anyways, about two weeks ago, I brought him in to be checked out. He had been coughing a lot, was congested, wasn’t eating as much as normal, and was having diarrhea constantly. He wasn’t too fussy, but he wasn’t getting better, and I was concerned. My number one concern was the diarrhea. I mentioned it to two nurses and the doctor, and had even gone so far as bringing in a recently changed diaper for them to look at. (Gross, I know, but my mommy instinct was telling me that something just was not right.) It was brushed off by every single one of them. The coughing and congestion? Excessive saliva. And with that, I was sent on my way.
After five more days had gone by, and Ben was not getting any better at all, I made another appointment for him to get checked again. This time, we saw his regular pediatrician, who immediately diagnosed him with an ear infection.
Let me tell you, it was like my inner mama grizzly came out.
Now, I know that an ear infection is not the end of the world. But I was fuming. I was angrier than I have been in a long time, and it was because my poor baby was suffering, and this could have been taken care of a week ago. My mind was roaring, I was so unbelievably angry, and I was furious that this had been, somehow, inexplicably missed. How could they not see that he was sick, just brush off my concerns, let him continue to get worse for another week? ? I was on the warpath for the rest of the day, and it took all of my willpower to keep it to myself. (And all of my friends on Facebook.)
Our doctor prescribed some medicine for him, and within two days he was 110% better. He was eating more, he stopped coughing, and the diarrhea went away. The congestion… well, I’m not sure if that will ever completely go away, but it did get much better.
It did teach me a valuable lesson, though: always trust your mommy instinct. When a doctor told me that nothing was wrong, I knew that something was. I wish I had pushed a little bit harder, but it’s a lesson learned for the future. And it’s a warning to everyone out there: don’t mess with my kid!
[...] the ear infection fiasco, I swore that I would make sure to always request our regular pediatrician for each appointment. [...]