Doctor's appointment

This morning was Juliana's first appointment with the pediatrician out here. I was very nervous, because I didn't know what to expect and she still isn't feeling good, so I had a list of questions. It's hard to leave behind such an amazing family doctor that you trust completely and have to start fresh (that doctor would be Claudia, the BEST!).

I had to take a cab to the Kinder Clinic, since I had no idea where it was and didn't want to bother trying to find it on my own this time. The two women at the front desk were sweet, helpful and very accommodating. There were three children ahead of Juliana, but the doctor still managed to see her within five minutes of her scheduled appointment. He was very good with Juliana...patient, gentle and obviously loves children. He took the time to explain to me more about his practice, other doctors that would be on-call should I need to bring Juliana to someone after hours, and plans for upcoming immunizations. He also put her on some medication to clear up her congestion and the beginning of two ear infections. What I liked most was that he decided to take a minimalist approach and use the mildest medications first in order to avoid side effects...something we were doing with Claudia as well. Although the medications out here address the same problems, they aren't exactly Tylenol or NyQuil, so he didn't want them to bother her stomach. Another big difference? When you check out, the nurses give the medications and instructions to you right there, instead of having to get a script and take it to a pharmacy. Thank God for that, because that would have been another difficult task!!!!

So, what amazed me the most about this doctor was how concerned he was about Juliana. In the middle of our conversation, she became very upset out of the blue and started crying. I couldn't figure out what was wrong and she wouldn't eat or drink anything. We went into the waiting room to get a dose of medication (same thing as Tylenol) to calm her down and then the doctor came out to check on her and finish our conversation. Then, late this afternoon, he called me just to make sure she was doing all right...surprising! I'm just glad it went well and that I don't have to continue searching for another doctor. In the near future, she will start to get some immunizations, ugh!! That's hard enough as it is, so at least we can go to a clinic that's comfortable and friendly.

After a long nap this afternoon, Juliana was in a good mood and very playful. She's been so sick lately, so it was nice to see her smiling face and hear her laughing so much!! Check out the adorable pictures :-)