We've all been there. At some point in your adventure of parenting the child complains of some ailment, and you are faced with the decision every parent dreads: To go or not to go to the doctor.
UGH! When my kids were babies, I used to wish for a digital readout somewhere on their bodies. Something that would say, "YES - sick enough" or "NO - don't go" so that I would know for sure. Little kids seem to have a runny nose or a cough as a constant companion. They tend to be little wiggling mucus factories, and as the mom somehow we are supposed to know if the fluids squirting out are something to warrant a trip to the doctor's office or not.
Now, if there was a fever involved that helped narrow the choices. But sometimes there was simply general irritability from the child, and no fever. Crying, awake all night, no appetite, and now the adult is sleep deprived trying to make a rational decision. No fun.
My mom rarely took me to the doctor. And, by rarely I mean never. In fact, I remember being old enough to have to fill out the forms at the school, and asking mom what to put under "family physician". Her response? "Just put Dr. Smith, there is always a Smith".
With that as my background, I had a natural resistance of going to the doctor for every little thing. Even when my kids were infants. But, my firstborn provided a great learning curve. He was a very busy baby. Very curious, and very strong. Timeline: He was about 5 months old or so, and we had been dealing with an irritable baby for a couple of days. He felt warm, so I did the temp check…. and it was 104.5! I panicked - called the pediatrician - got right in… and, it was nothing. He just runs a high fever when he is sick. I couldn't tell 'cuz he was still going strong….
My second child? She was an easy baby - not as intense as the first. But, with her if she hit a fever of 99.9, she was down for the count. I had to learn all over again how to "read" her. Even a low grade temp could mean she was pretty sick - but there was no way to tell if it was severe or not, 'cuz she would droop right away. And, we all know that if you take them to the doctor you run the risk of being exposed to every other living germ on the planet that is at the doctor office. Yuck!
I will say that we have always had super good doctors for the kids. Doctors that will listen to me, and not think that I am some crazy person dreaming up symptoms in my kids. And, as they aged, and we got to know the doctor better - there were times that I could call in with what was happening - and they knew our situation well enough that if I suspected strep or an ear infection, it probably was one. That was nice - not to have to try and convince someone every time.
My advice (for what it is worth) - TRUST your mothering instincts. If something doesn't feel "right" with your child - take them in no matter what your friend, or your mom, or the internet tells you. You know your kid best. And, likewise, remember that the doctor is only human. Don't be afraid to ask questions of the doctor for what they are doing and why. You HAVE to be the advocate for your child.
The whole going to the doctor thing does get easier as the kids get old enough to talk about what hurts or what doesn't. With teenagers and young adults you can have a bit of a discussion with them to decide if the doctor visit is truly necessary. I had to take my youngest in just last week. Sore throat that had lasted for several days, and then she spiked a fever of 102. Yup. In we went - with strong instructions to not touch ANYTHING. (and WASH, WASH, WASH as soon as you get back home!)
One final moment of transparency… just to add insult to injury…. and more reasons for me to withdraw my application for mother of the year…. I had instances with both of the older children where they had actually broken/fractured a bone - but, I didn't take them in right away because I wasn't convinced that they were really hurt. Waited a couple of days with each of them before going in for the x-ray. Yeah…. not a proud parenting moment there. But, I am happy to report that by the third child when the elbow was bending the wrong direction, I was quick to take her - I didn't second guess myself at all with that.
Here's hoping that your summer remains a healthy one!
No comments:
Post a Comment