- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Preemies
Pediatrician vent.... advice needed!
His pedi has seen him since he's been home from the NICU - I never interviewed her beforehand, but she is with the practice that my family has gone to so I was hoping for the best. Anyways, she has seen him 3 times now and everytime we go over his sleep schedule and what he is eating and how often. I originally was nursing and/or pumping, but had to supplement with formula - Enfamil Premium - same as he got in the NICU. Then after 6 weeks I stopped nursing/pumping and he has been on all formula. Well at our last appt - his 2 month check up I mentioned that he had been spitting up a lot. The Dr said "well then I guess the next step is to try soy formula".... I was kind of caught off guard and didn't say anything, but the more I thought about it, I thought that was really stupid. Why is the one and only step to try soy??! Why not the other formulas made for spitting up? So anyways, I decide to try Enfamil AR (for spitting up) that worked better, but when he did spit up it was chunkier and he got more upset. So then I tried using 1 part Enfamil AR to 2 parts Enfamil Premium (the original one he was on) and that was working well. So I called the DR last week to make sure that mixing these formulas was okay.... I didn't want to just assume it was.
I called and had to leave a detailed message with the nurse....that was at about 1pm. I didn't get a call back until 7pm and of course I missed it! So I got a voice mail from the DR herself saying, "Well he really should be on the Premie formula until 9 months of age, but if the AR is helping you can continue to mix them. If you have any other questions I will be here tomorrow."
Instantly ticked me off! He NEVER was on premie formula! Not even in the NICU since he wasn't that small. Not only did they not get my message right/or read it right.... in the 6 hrs it took for her to call back she didn't even look at his chart! I had already told her 3x he previously was on the premium. I can understand Premium getting confused with Premie I guess, but she should've looked up his chart at least. And just the whole idea that she obviously isn't very in tune with her patients really irked me.
So, I have been spending the whole day trying to find other pediatricians. And let me tell you, it is NOT easy! We live in a more rural area, but want a pediatrician that is affiliated with the hospital we delivered at since they have a level 3 NICU - which is 45 min away. I found one pedi at a bigger practice about 30 minutes away and I think she is honestly my favorite so far - I like the bigger practices - more drs to bounce ideas off of, but not very close to us if we need a sick appt. The other one I found is a team of 2 doctors who seem to be brothers - about 15 minutes away. they got good reviews and are closer, but there are only 2 of them.
2 questions here....Do you think I am overreacting for wanting to switch his current pedi because of the above situation? And which of the 2 new pedis would you tend to lean towards?
Sorry about the looonng post!! And thanks for any insight!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Pediatrician vent.... advice needed!
If you want to switch pedis, I would definitely do it. It is clear that you aren't confident in her consultations - rightfully so! If you stay with her, you are just going to doubt all of her advice/recommendations/concerns. Best for you and your LO to have a pedi you trust. Is there another pedi in that same practice you can switch to? We did this when DS first came home from the NICU. We had our first appt. with a pedi that was highly rated in the area. She SUCKED! At first she was very nice and welcoming. But then when I started inquiring about vaccines and doing a delayed schedule, she ripped me a new one about how that is the most ridiculous thing and just because I saw some actress talking about autism and vaccines on Oprah, doesn't mean I should believe her. DH and I were livid. We realized that we didn't know all the info about vaccines and certainly weren't trying to be trendy, but we were asking for advice, not a lecture. So we chose a different pedi in the same practice, that is also highly regarded. He is our primary pedi and luckily, we have only had to see the mean pedi once in 13 months.
If you do want to switch, I would go with the 2 doctors that are closer. In the first year, babies go to the doctor ALL the time. We have had weeks were we have gone 2-3 times. One time we even went twice in the same day.
ditto what the other ladies said. switch. you can't trust people who don't seem to care about your lo. (or are too busy to care)
we had a problem with the in-network clinic doctor that saw wren when we first moved here. (issues with vaccination- not really the same origin of the problem, but it lead to the same result.) they didn't return our calls, no one had a clue what was going on, it was a constant game of bounce the call and phone tag... all while wren was sick-ish and we were worried she was getting the flu or something!!! (they initially cleared her after the first visit- then said we needed a follow up with an x-ray, then wouldn't schedule the appointment!) ARG!
i know with insurance it can be a problem.. but we ended up finding a pedi that was actually closer to us and seemed to care about our daughter individually.. i think oftentimes the big clinics can get overwhelmed with their large patient load. (i do most all of my own research, so i usually have an opinion about things before i go and see the doctor.) this has worked out well. the doc isn't my fave (he's older and kinda gruff), but he's kindhearted and attentive and knowledgeable. and i have a great working relationship with his nurses- who i deal with at least monthly for synagis.
Would you mind telling me where you are located?
We had a VERY similar experience with *our* Pedi at our DS 2 month appt. Ours even went as far as to ask me if I was nursing when she has been told repeatedly that I am a breast cancer survivor and had a double mastectomy! The NICU drs and nurses didn't seem to have a problem remembering (or at least checking the chart!).
Thanks everyone! I think I knew what to do, but needed the reassurance = )
I'll be calling to set up interviews today.
grtpyr2 - The Dr we currently have is in Naperville, but we live 25 min west of there. Where were you going? That is ridiculous!!
OMG I just made an appt to meet with them next Tues! How funny!! Good to know someone recommends them!!!
Which Dr in particular do you see?
We made the appt with Dr Pamela Persak. This is the office that is a little far from us, but I'm thinking it might be worth the drive anyways. I'd rather drive a little further if it means a better/more intimate doctor. And it makes me feel even better that the NICU doctor/nurses recommended them!
That was another one of my criteria actually... I delivered at Edwards even though it is not one of the closest hospitals to us because they have an awesome NICU so I want the Pedi we use to also be affiliated with that hospital. Just out of curiosity did you also deliver at Edwards?
Thanks for all your help!
Gotcha. I went to DuPage Medical Group at Rollingridge - it's in Naperville off of rte. 59. Not sure about the high risk thing since I wasn't high risk until I went into labor, but they are a really big practice.... I'm guessing they prob do. They were really nice though - just fyi = )
Thanks I just recently moved to aurora so I need to find doctors out that way but it's so hard to find one you like. However after what happened with my last pergnancy I don't think I could ever go back to my previous OB they just missed to many warning signs.