@#$#@% Pediatrician!

As I mentioned yesterday, Kaelyn had been sick all weekend. She started with a cough earlier in the week and by Sunday, she was running a low fever and saying "ouch" after every cough. I was up until 2:30 am with her coughing and vomiting last night. Her fever was up to 102 degrees this morning.

I called the pediatrician's office and left a message with the nurse. They called back an hour later and wanted to know what Kaelyn's symptoms were. After I told her, she replied that they were really busy and a bad cough was going around and to call back if her fever got worse. In other words, just wait it out, you worrisome mother, and quit bothering us!

I had to go to Columbia anyway, so I decided to go by the local Convenience Care clinic, which isn't very convenient by the way. After paying $100 (for both Kaelyn and Kate) and waiting 45 minutes, I am told that the wait will be another two hours. Try keeping two sick kids calm in a waiting room for three hours! They told me I could leave and come back. Back to the car we went, and I drove around town, letting the girls nap.

An hour later, we returned to the clinic, and got right in. They must have remembered us. By this time, both girls are feeling so crappy that they have both crawled on the exam table and laid down. Kate was looking worse by the minute, nose running, miserable little cough, and rubbing at her ears. Kaelyn gets checked out and yep, infection in both ears and her throat is raw. They run a strep test and it is positive. Kate has a fever and her ears are red too. The kind doctor prescribes antibiotics for both of them and we are on our way home.

All of this to say, always trust the mother's gut instinct. I knew my babies were sick. Really sick. But the pediatrician's nurse made me doubt myself which almost caused me to put off getting medical care for them. That would have likely meant a trip to the emergency room in the middle of the night tonight when Kaelyn's ears started aching.

But all is well and I am learning to trust myself and my knowledge about my own children, which is what parenting is all about.