We know what we are talking about

Girly has gone and caught herself some type of rare illness (or, rather, a common illness with a rare complication. Semantics.) Regardless, I thought it was worth a brief reminder that parents should trust themselves when it comes to the health of our children.

Our daycare provider called last week to say that our girl's eyes were yellow. Not that she had yellow gunky eyes, but rather that the whites of her eyes were yellow. Uh Oh. I work in the health care field and instantly knew this was a problem, but I think most parents would draw the same conclusion. I promptly called our pediatrician's office and, 4 hours later, their triage nurse informed me this was normal and to push fluids.

I begged to differ.

I knew she needed lab work and fortunately had the contacts to make it happen without our pediatrician's office, but it was frustrating nonetheless. We got the tests we needed and our pediatrician was very responsive the next day and got Girly some additional tests very promptly. No harm was done by the fact that she wasn't seen right away, but things might not have been the same for another family.

My point is this: you know your child better than anyone else does. If something seems very unusual or very wrong, it may very well be. It is okay to NICELY persist in getting your child seen if you really think they need it. I always think that a nice, understanding parent is taken more seriously than a parent who rants and raves unnecessarily. It is worth the cost of an office co-pay to have your concerns addressed. And, if you find that your doctor's office just isn't responsive to your concerns, maybe it is time to find a new doctor. There are so many good ones out there - it has to be one of the most important things you can do for your child.

Another side point: take your immunization card to all of your well-visits to get updated. I have done this only sporadically and forgot it at our last visit. Even though Girly has been immunized on the regular schedule, I wasn't sure exactly what shots she had. It would have been helpful to know and I will do a better job next time.