rails against prejudice

[pippadaisy[$]]

... against large families.

I have four children. Ages 6 and under. Now, every medical professional we see is aware of that fact, even if they are medical professionals who don't treat more than one of my kids.

Now, some of them, like my pediatrician's office are more than willing to help out with appointments, allowing me to deviate from the standard switch-offs between pediatrician and nurse practitioner so I can take two children to physicals at the same time. Every time I go to a doctor appointment, I either have to get G to work from home or schlep all four, which is no treat for either me OR the doctor, both of whom end up shouting over the din of the chaos my kids create. And the pediatric dentist schedules all four at the same time, and has two hygenists just for us, next to each other. That way I can be there for both kids getting worked on and only deal with two others.

Both boys have vaccines that need to be done in the allergist's office. You'd figure they'd let me bring them both at once, right? No. They want me to book SEPARATE appointments.

Now, for starters, the last time we did this, it took over FOUR HOURS to get it done. FOUR HOURS. Most kids (especially mine) do not want to play with Mommy for four hours. Mommy is boring and won't do crashes right and colors too neatly and just isn't a KID. Not to mention that's two afternoons or mornings I'd need G home since I can't bring the other kids along... GAH!

On top of that, I was informed that my kids will "each want Mommy's full attention" because, you know, I have four kids but know NOTHING about parenting or anything else, apparently.

I realize that larger families are no longer quite the norm. And I realize that a lot of families have both parents working, so odds are these appointments are usually with the other kids in school or daycare. But for those of us who ARE home with more than two children and don't have back-up babysitting available, we are doing the best we can. If you expect us to make appointments during our working spouse's workday, then we have to figure out what to do with the remaining kids. And we'd appreciate a little bit of HELP in getting them there.

More...

[mtomm[$]]

I'm kind of giggling here. I don't consider it a family large until at least 6 kids!

But I do sympathize with you and consider my three large enough.

[wivabef]

Oh, Pippa! I'm so sorry!

Is there another allergist you can go to?

I would consider saying "book my appointments simultaneously or I'm taking my large chunk of your business elsewhere."

I changed pediatricians for that reason. I told them with 4 doctors, I should be able to get them in at the same time. They would not comply. So I went bye bye.

Now I have a very nice pediatrician. She's a half hour away (her emergency office is nearby ...Nighttime Peds...a nearby facility for sudden illness) and she always lets me have both girls at the same time.

How very silly of that allergist. You should write and tell them as much.

[cristina1]

That's just crazy. I book appointments together all the time. Any doctor that thinks we have nothing better to do than hire sitters and run to doctors needs to wake up.

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

Hell, even the Dentist schedules me and Hubby together, back-to-back with the hygenist and dentist, for our six-month exams.

[pippadaisy[$]]

It's the office staff (isn't it always???)

I LOVE the allergist. She's terrific with the kids, makes sure their asthma is totally under control, and turns my forms around in hours when I need them done (not like the ped's office, which requires a WEEK). But yes, it's annoying. And she's from the old country, so she OUGHT to know what it's like.

[wivabef]

tell the allergist so the office staff will hear it from her.