Isaac's 2 Month Appointment

After having a baby, all mother's are faced with the agonizing decision of finding the right pediatrician. "They" (the internet and baby books) tell pregnant women to start interviewing pediatricians at about 6 months pregnant so they can find the "right" one (i.e., one that meshes with their child-rearing philosophy [HA! it's impossible to have that until you have kids! but "they" don't tell you that...], one that is nice and smart, has a good, clean waiting room, etc, etc).  Well, after doing that whole process in Minneapolis with Sadie, and I did really like my pediatrician in Maple Grove, that mindset of finding the right person quickly went out the window when we kept moving (not to mention, who has that kind of time?? And, who needs that added stress??).  As many of you know, you are going to the doctor ever few days, weeks then months, basically living their as the baby grows into a toddler.  When we moved to Herndon we actually went to 2 different pediatricians in 2 different offices (Sadie's 6 month and 9 month or something I can't even remember - we only lived there for 6 months!), then in Houston we went to 2 different pediatricians again in 6 months.  The reality is that I didn't like any of them, and I felt like I might as well keep trying until I get it right - I can always go somewhere else or not follow the doctor's advice if I'm skeptical (and get a 2nd opinion).  Thank goodness I had this experience with Sadie since now with Isaac we are on his 2nd pediatrician, and this one doesn't speak any English...

I got a little off topic here. The whole point of my post is that Isaac is a happy and healthy baby! He weighs 12.4 pounds (50%) and his length is 22.4 inches (25%) at 2.5 months.  This is "muy muy bien" for any baby and especially for my preemie. (and for the record, Sadie weighed 12.5 pounds at 4 months!!!)

 
Now, I'm sure you are thinking, so what is the pediatrician like? What is going to the doctor like in Antofagasta? I have explained a little bit about the doctor's in Chile in previous posts about Santiago.  I would like to say, however, that Antofagasta is much different than Santiago.  It's more "real South America" as Steve and I like to call it.  For example, in the US and even in Santiago, I had to make my appointment with my pediatrician weeks, sometimes months in advance in order to get a time that worked with everyone's schedules.  Well, here, my pediatrician only takes appointments for the following day.  So, for example, if you want to go to the ped on Tuesday, you better call first thing in the morning on Monday otherwise you are out of luck and all the appointments will be taken.  If you call and they are all filled, you have to call back again the next day for the following day.  They then give 3 people the same time (ie., 3 people at 2pm, 3 people at 2:30pm, 3 people at 3pm, and so on).  So, I had my nana call to make my appointment since I didn't know what I was doing.  I called about 20 times in the morning and just kept getting a busy signal.  So I tried again and again.  Finally I got through and yelled at Carmen and she came running downstairs to get the phone from me.  No, I'm not kidding.  About any of this.

So, then you arrive about 15 minutes beforehand and based on the order you arrive is when you will see the doctor.  I arrived second for my time slot, so I got to see the doctor in theory at 2:40pm (my appt was 2:30).  In reality, I was in and out by 3:15pm, which was pretty good, but that also means that my ped was behind.  My dear dear American friend who is basically fluent in Spanish (lived here for 5 years and married a Chilean!) came with me and helped fill the gaps.  It was her pediatrician, which was so nice since she knew the process and the people.  The "office" is literally a tiny desk out front (there is a common waiting area for all the offices on the whole floor) and then one room that is the exam room/doctor's office.

I mentioned in a previous post that everything in Chile is departmentalized when it comes to medical care - meaning that if your doctor needs to take blood from you then you go to a special lab that only does blood/urine testing, and if you need to get a vaccine you go to a place that only does shots (these places can be in different buildings and they don't take appointments- you just show up and take a number).  So, as a newborn, Isaac has to get tons of shots every few months, so we went to the special vaccine office and got our shots.  It was actually a good experience - we were the only people there (again it is one tiny desk in front of one exam room where the shots are administered.  So strange, but this is how it's done.  My friend recommended this place, and I was glad she did.  Isaac got all the shots he would normally get in the US as Chile's and the US' schedules are very similar (although, they don't nationally recommend rotovirus, which is recommended in the US, so I went ahead and had the doctor "prescribe" it anyway - yes you have to get a prescription or "receta" for the vaccines that you take with you).

Two other interesting facts:
-They recommend getting an X-ray of babies' hips at 3 months to check for displasia (as in it is common practice)    
- The free vaccines here (ie, covered by the Chilean govt) have mercury in them.  Mercury is used as a preservative in vaccines, but has been banned in the US by the FDA for many years.  Notably, however, it has not been shown to cause any harm.  Regardless, they do have the option of purchasing the mercury-free vaccines at an added charge, which is what we did.  And by added charge, I mean about 10 times the price of the free vaccine (the free ones are not actually free but a very low price).