your doctor tells you that your five month old is fat, uncoordinated and anxious!

by Travis
(Denmark)

The appointment started thirty minutes late, upon which there was no apology from the doctor for her tardiness. Due to her tardiness, our son was very cranky because he was getting hungry. The appointment began with the doctor placing a cold scope (it is winter) in our son's ears and then a cold stethoscope on his chest. This obviously made him even crankier, which I didn't have a problem with (just part of the checkup).

What I did have a problem with was the doctor's wacky comment that our son seemed "anxious with strangers". Any normal and healthy four month old would be cranky in a similar situation. She then tested his motor skills (sitting up and strength of neck) by pulling him up from a lying position by his arms. However, due to his agitation over being hungry and the cold probing session and the doctor pulling up quite quickly, our son was unable to lean forward and use his neck properly. The doctor then critiqued his ability to sit and his neck strength, stating that he was behind the average baby. She followed this comment up by lecturing us about not allowing him to sit in baby rockers all day long (something we don't do) and getting him to be active on the floor (something we do religiously).

Finally, she informed us that his weight was abnormally high and hinted that this was an issue. Not once during the appointment did she follow up one of her comments with a professional question, such as "Your baby's weight is above average; are you breast feeding or using formula?". When we took the initiative and attempted to elaborate on our feeding schedule and what we might do differently, since she hinted at his weight being an issue, she responded that she wasn't an expert in feeding and we should check with a nurse. If this was the case, why would she make an issue of his weight in the first place?

This is what I found most upsetting about the appointment and this doctor; that she kept making countless unprofessional generalizations about our son based on her assumptions and seemed content to just let me and my wife walk away from the appointment as worried first time parents for the next six months (until our next appointment, not that it will be with the same doctor).

Finally, after she gave our baby his follow-up vaccinations, we had to wait 15 minutes before we left (to ensure there were no reactions) in the cramped waiting room hallway with a screaming baby! Talk about service! I'm sure the other patients waiting with us were thrilled about this as well. Overall, it was a lovely experience!

With appreciation to: Law of attraction courses, how to apply The Law of attraction, law of attraction