This blog post includes information on the first two doctor appointments we had for Owen within the first two weeks of him being born. If you are new here, the purpose of these posts are to document my journey, as an anaphylactic mom, raising my son Owen. You can read my first post in this series on the blog as well.
Two Day Appointment:
Owen’s first doctor appointment was two days after he came home from the hospital. This appointment was fairly quick. The nurse and lactation consultant checked Owen’s weight to make sure that he had gained weight since I was exclusively breastfeeding. They also checked my stitches, gave me a questionnaire to screen for postpartum depression, and helped give breastfeeding tips. No allergies were discussed at this point.
Two Week Appointment:
The second appointment was Owen’s two week appointment with the pediatrician from the hospital. We intended to only see him for the first visit, then switch to a pediatrician that I had researched, and was much closer to our home.
At this first visit, I wanted to inform the pediatrician of my having anaphylaxis to peanuts, along with a number of other allergies. I also wanted to know whether we should be seeing an allergist for Owen because of my history, or if he, as our pediatrician, would be able to help us navigate questions and feeding Owen.
When it came time for us to ask questions at the appointment, I started off by saying that I was anaphylaxis to peanuts, to which he responded “Well that’s a big bummer” in a sarcastic tone. It rubbed me the wrong way, but I get those responses a lot (just not usually from doctors). I asked whether or not we should consider seeing an allergist with Owen because of my history, but he just kind of shrugged the question off. He didn’t seem too interested or to care too much about the fact that I had allergies. I was hoping for some sort of information or guidance, so I left disappointed.
* If I hadn’t already researched and decided on another pediatrician, I would have pushed back a little more to ask for a more definite answer or more information.
At this point, I was grateful that Owen was breastfeeding well and didn’t seem to have any issues that would point to allergies.
I’ll be writing the next blog post soon (I’m a little behind with the posts, as you can tell I’m sharing about his two-week appointment when he’s a week away from 6 months – yikes!).
Please comment below if you have any questions or would like to share your thoughts!
Love and blessings,
Cait
Keep up the good work Mama!