Selecting a doctor for your baby is a very important and stressful task. I, myself, have taken my daughter to two different clinics, and she has seen five different doctors. So far we’re sticking with lucky number five. The first doctor we saw was my own pediatrician when I was growing up, so I wanted to see him. Not a good idea…not only was it awkward to admit faults to him, he didn’t work much with babies anymore. So we moved onto the next doctor….who conveniently went on maternity leave, leaving us with a substitute every time we came in.

At this point you’re thinking…wow...why so many trips to the doctor. Well first off I was a paranoid new mother, and secondly my daughter was sick a lot as a baby. We also frequented the local Emergency Room. So we’re to number three…the longest lasting one, she was amazing. She found out that our daughter was allergic to dairy, and was asthmatic. Number three really broke things down so you could understand. It wasn’t until my daughter was having constant diarrhea and she wouldn’t listen to what I thought it was, that we ended up switching clinics.

Doctor number four, he listened to me and even though he didn’t think the stomach x-ray was necessary, he did it because I asked him to. It turned out that I was right, she was actually constipated which was causing the diarrhea. He sent us to a specialist, and did some blood work, again because I asked him to. Turned out she also had some abnormalities in her blood work. Turns out that she had an immune deficiency, which made all the late night trips make sense. I knew all along that babies shouldn’t get sick that much…but it’s getting the doctor that listens.

Number five is the keeper. She is wonderful, after finding out number four’s favorite part about being a pediatrician was vaccinations…we ran! Five is completely respectful of our wishes for a more natural approach to health care, and takes everything I tell her to heart.

Don’t let a doctor make you feel stupid, or like you’re being dramatic. If you have a gut feeling, go with it. Us moms have a sixth sense when it comes to our kids, whether it be health related, or that they are doing something naughty in the other room. Don’t forget that you are employing your child’s doctor, you are in control!