Munchhausen bi-mommy

There is a funny balance between being a concerned mother and being the frequent flier at your pediatrician's office.  I find myself being of the latter kind.  I don't hesitate to pick up the phone and bug the kid's doc, in fact I am on a first name basis with the reception crew.  I know that they are annoyed by what some would call my "new mommy syndrome".  My husband says that I see pneumonia in every cold, and a genetic disorder in every growing pain.  I probably am over cautious when it comes to my babies, but they are my babies and I make no apologies.  I will gladly shell out that co-pay in exchange for some peace of mind.

So, when recently Bodhi Mae caught a cold and developed a nasty cough on the tail end of our family vacation I knew we were going to end up at the doctor's office.  Her cough worsened and she started sounding wheezy while in the air.  As soon as our plane landed I called the pediatrician and got her in.  

Let me first say that I love the kids doctors.  They are always open!  24 hours a day, 7 days a week!  They even have a mini E.R., so if the kids need IV fluids I can go there rather than the hospital emergency room.  This was a Saturday so it was wonderful to not have to worry about taking her to a walk-in clinic but to be able to see one of her regular doctors.

Taking Bo in I wondered if this was another case of my over reacting.  Would they tell me it was nothing but a cold and tsk, tsk, at my over reaction.  We have been sick in this family one way or another since October and I was starting to worry that they might think I am a Munchhausen mommy with these kids.  Like I said, my co pays are keeping this office open.

Well, as it turned out Bodhi had bronchitis and was really very ill.  Her doctor spent quite a bit of time listening to her lungs and turned to me and surveying me over his glasses said in the most condescending and disapproving tone, "This baby has bronchitis!  She is very sick!"

Well, no sh*t!  Huh, I brought her in on a weekend after traveling for hours for the fun of it.  This is exactly what I wanted to be doing after being away for 9 days and dragging two kids through two airports.  Why do you think I brought her in if it wasn't for thinking that she was probably really sick.  

 He then informed me that she had a fever and to be honest I couldn't tell.  It was 100.2 and the best part is if I had called and given them her symptoms and told them her temp they would have told me to watch her and that her temp was within the normal range- call them back if it went over 101.  Where is my happy medium?

My rant boils down to this- you are either too concerned and they wonder if you are a problem mommy, the over-reactor, or you are not doing enough and your kid is going to fade away under your care.  So, over reacting mommy signing off in the hopes that my kids can stay healthy long enough for me to forget what the inside of my pediatrician's office looks like.