Dr. Sullivan

I just want to take a minute to rave about our pediatrician. Her name is Dr. Sullivan and we love her. We've only met her 3 times, but she is lovely. We really lucked out actually. I knew what practice I wanted to go to, but really only because of location and because it is covered by our insurance. My OB also recommended them, but that was the extent of it. They have about 10 doctors in their practice so I looked at their pictures and read their bios. I liked Dr. Sullivan's bio- she had worked at the children's hospital in Providence,RI, was an instructor at Harvard Medical School and was inducted to an honor society that only 16% of medical students get into. Mostly, I just liked her picture though. I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but sometimes when you look at someone, you know they will be a good match. We never actually got to meet her before Emma arrived, but somehow I knew she was the one.

We had an appointment today. We are seeing her frequently which is just fine with me. I think with Emma having so many things going on, she just wants to be sure she is transitioning well to being at home and having a shunt. I'm happy anytime a doctor sees her. It's one more set of eyes looking at her and, hopefully, noticing if anything seems amiss.Today, like the other visits, I was so impressed and comforted by the way she interacts with Emma and also with us. She greets us as if we've known each other for a long time. She seems genuinely happy to see us. And, maybe I've said it before, she is sooo good with Emma. I guess that you might say that she has excellent bedside manner, plus an impressive resume to back it up.

She gave Emma a good report today! She weighed in at 10 lbs 10 oz. Up 7 oz in 7 days! Dr. Sullivan was very pleased! Guess the medium flow did the trick! (Thank you Playtex for coming out with a medium flow just in the knick of time!) She wasn't too concerned about the fluid around Emma's shunt and didn't think neurosurgery would be concerned either. Did I mention that she seems to know a thing or two about shunts? Thank goodness! She said that it was still early in the healing process so the fluid wasn't too concerning especially since she doesn't have any other symptoms of an infection or some other problem. She agreed with what the neurosurgeon said on the phone too - maybe they would just have to adjust her setting so that she drains more fluid. Whatever the case, if she's not overly worried, then I don't have to be overly worried!

She examined Emma and did a little Tummy Time. Still not her favorite thing, but she is getting better. She still won't turn her head shunt side down, but she did push up on her arms and lift her head a little. She's been doing it a lot when we lie back and put her on our chests, but she doesn't usually do it when she's flat on the ground. Yea for progress! Dr. Sullivan cheered Emma on and said she was pleased.

We ended the appointment with her 2 month vaccinations. A shot in each leg and a liquid by mouth. She screamed for the shots, but calmed quickly. Before we did them, I had begun to feed her. It seems our doctors appointments always conincide with a meal time! Anyway, we started with the liquid. The nurse would squeeze a little in and then give her the binkie to make her swallow it. She started to gag on it a little though and before we knew it, everything she had eaten was flowing out of her mouth. Oh well. It covered her blanket, but at least she wasn't dressed yet. We tried again, but this time put it in a nipple and then had her suck it out. Not sure why we didn't try that from the beginning.

The doctor said she might have some side effects of the shots, but it hasn't been too bad. She's been sleepy and has been whimpering a lot, but she seems to be comforted cuddling with us. So far no screaming and no fever! Let's hope it stays that way! Thank goodness for another great check up and another GREAT doctor!