Doctor office wisdom

What a day! I woke up at 2:00am this morning and was never able to get back to sleep. After spending the day in meetings that told me everything except what I needed to know, I picked up Ellie at daycare and took her to the doctor. I know from the vast amount of time I have spent in the pediatrician's office that afternoon appointments are a guaranteed minimum one hour wait. I was not disappointed. I arrived at 3:55 for my 4:10 appointment and the doctor saw us at 5:30. I cannot even begin to describe how difficult it was to contain Ellie in the waiting room. She naturally preferred the Well-Child area so she would bolt for that area every chance she got. Then the parents would spot her runny nose and mysterious red spots and glare at me for contaminating their children. And considering that I had been up since 2am and had only gotten 3 hours of sleep, not to mention that I am sick myself, I think I handled Ellie pretty well. And by handled, I mean I let her climb up on every surface in the sick child area. She rolled around on the filthy floor, tried to climb into a trashcan, and fell off a chair, somehow managing to get a huge red welt that the doctor immediately noticed (an hour later). But, the trip was worth it because my baby has a double ear infection and possibly strep throat.

I am an old pro at this, y'all. I made the appointment last Friday. The trick is to call the doctor within the first 24-48 hours of cold symptoms, but make sure to schedule the appointment for 3-5 days later. This way, you give the ear infection a chance to develop. If you take your child in too soon, they will send you away with nothing to show except a lighter pocketbook and empty promises of colds running their course in 7-10 days. Silly doctors.