Change is hard. Not everyone wants to embrace it, but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet to do what’s best for you and yours. Like all parents, we don’t trust just anyone with our daughter. I am very careful about who watches her, and who she spends time with.
So, understandably, when it comes to her health and happiness, I could not just trust any random pediatrician.
With the arrival of baby wagon coming up fast, we were not sure where to go for pediatrician advice, and because we were one of the first of our group of friends to have a baby, we were hesitant to ask other parents just yet. My OB suggested offhand the Dr. that most of her nurses used, mentioning they were very happy with her, so her name is the one we used at the hospital.
And really, at the hospital, she was wonderful, and we were excited to take the journey with her.
But unfortunately, the amazing service we received in the hospital changed drastically once we went home and were coming to her office for appointments. The wait times were atrocious, we are talking half an hour to 45 minutes in the waiting room and another 30-45 minutes in the exam room. Top that with increasingly low stock on vaccinations, putting our kiddo way behind, and not actually seeing the Dr, but a slew of nurse practitioners, and we decided it was time to find someone else.
I remember my favorite pediatrician from when I was a kid, everything from his bright and airy kid-friendly office to his joking demeanor. Even though we moved around Southern Ca quite a bit, we always managed to come into him, even when he was an hour or more away. I knew that I wanted that comfort and confidence in a healthcare provider for my kiddo as well.
Enter our friend Lynn, who was really happy with the service from her pediatrician, and had told me about her on a number of occasions. I had been hemming and hawing about finding someone new for a while and was a bit at a loss as to how to proceed. The thought of looking at reviews was daunting and seemed like a strange way to choose someone new. We did some Yelp and social media research, as well as went to our insurance website and looked at reviews there, and at who accepted our insurance. Dr. S had come up all over our area and had great reviews. Couple those with the glowing reference from Lynn and we decided to take the plunge and go for a visit.
This dr. stayed open an hour and a half late just so that we could come meet her with Baby Wagon! Talk about service. Immediately, the office felt more homey, with a bunch of toys and colorful murals, and when we were brought back to the exam rooms, we found that each had themes with a different children’s character. A huge departure from the cold, bare offices of our previous pediatrician. Immediately we started talking about hiking and camping, with her full approval. Then we handed her the vaccination record… “Oh. Wow. She is SO behind” We knew at that point we had made the right choice and she began scheduling us to help get back on track, without traumatizing Baby Wagon with a ton of shots at once.
Since we switched, I have felt absolutely none of the guilt that I thought I would, and feel super secure in the new Doctors capable hands. We are so happy that we took a calculated risk and stepped out of our complacency zone to try someone new.
Inspiring post