Over here in England, children are shoveled out the door at the ripe old age of 2.5 and sent off to school. That might seem a tad young for us Americans, who are used to lolling around the house until 3 or 4, eh? But when in Rome and all that. So the girls have been in 5 day-a-week nursery since September. And they love it. They love the teachers. They love the routine. They love the class goldfish. They love the other parents coming in to read at story time. But what they don’t love, apparently, is their own mother coming to visit. My intentions were good, believe me. But by the end of it, Zoe was lying on the floor of the classroom, sobbing her eyes out. Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for, was it? Continue reading…

Here’s a quick link, in case you missed it, to Shot of Prevention’s post this week featuring yours truly. Another physician wrote in, asking for advice on dealing with families that choose not to vaccinate. And we all know how I feel about vaccines. But here is my best attempt at giving her some guidance:

“I am finding an increasing number of new patients whose parents are refusing vaccination. As I am not the medical police, I give my best advice, but continue to accept these patients into my practice. There will always be parents who are dubious about the safety of vaccinations. Any thoughts from MD’s about how you deal with patients who choose to not vaccinate their children?” Continue reading…

One of the first things they told us in medical school was that it is unethical to doctor your own family. After all, your judgment is clouded by emotion, you can’t make objective decisions, and (in my case) your mother and husband don’t believe a word you say anyway. In other words, I try really, really hard not to assume responsibility for my kid’s health. Then again, when you are on vacation in Portugal and there’s a river of green pus pouring out of your child’s eye, that antibiotic you brought along—just in case—suddenly seems mighty handy. So, okay, the truth is that most of us (doctors) can’t help ourselves when it comes to minor illnesses and injuries. But anything more than that and it’s always better to consult a professional. Which is how Eva and I found ourselves sitting in the pediatric outpatient waiting room yesterday, idly crayoning away until her name was called. Continue reading…

When I first started thinking about writing a book, my intention was simply to connect with parents, to let them know that kids are resilient and, frankly, pretty hard to completely screw up. But as a side effect, I’ve connected with so many fabulous people, in really amazing ways. Take my friend, Becky Fawcett, over at Help Us Adopt. She turned her struggle to become a mother into a life-changing boost to families who wish to adopt but simply can’t afford to. I’ve written about her before, and always with a sense of awe. She’s a bit more “household name” than this silly gal. So when she asked me to write a guest post for her blog, An Infertile Blond, I jumped at the chance. And here it is. How a pediatrician deals with the fear that her child won’t be born healthy. Fear compounded by the fact that her child is coming out of another woman’s body.  Continue reading…

It’s about time I popped back over to Shot of Prevention and gave the world my 2 cents, don’t you think. All of you should rack the deepest corners of your brains and send either myself or Christine all your how/why/when/whats of immunization. But for now, here’s this week’s post:

“Should vaccines be postponed for premature infants? I’ve been trying to do research, but I’m too sleep deprived to make any sense of it. I vaccinated my son who was full term, and I’m all for vaccines. I just didn’t know if there were exceptions for preemies.” Continue reading…

It’s happened before, so who’s to think it wouldn’t one day happen again? The girls are getting older and, as such, I’ve been more comfortable leaving them alone in the house for short stretches of time. Not like in the kitchen playing with a set of knives, mind you. But you know, watching TV– I mean, uh, reading books– while I throw on my make-up or something. But this week I lost ten years off my life, all in the name of beauty. First I heard the rhythmic “thump thump thump” and then the screams. My heart stopped and I literally flew down the flight from my bedroom to the living room. There stood one child, her eyes wide with shock, staring down at the ground floor landing. Continue reading…

When I was a little, I was one of those sickly, pale kids who wheezed in lieu of speaking and carried my own little bag of hypoallergenic treats to birthday parties. It wasn’t particularly fun. Of course, fast-forward some, um, 20 years (give or take a decade or two) and I’m a mild asthmatic with only one remaining food allergy. That stupid kiwi fruit shows up all over the place, doesn’t it? Threw me into the back of an ambulance the last time we met, the rude little furry beast. Anyway, enough about me. This is about kids. And food allergies. And what we can do to prevent them. Continue reading…

It’s been a while since I’ve rambled on and on about the dangers of latex balloons, otherwise known as the Floating Spheres of Death, hasn’t it? This doesn’t mean that I am not still waging a one-woman war against them. It just means I haven’t had any reason to write about it lately. Too busy trying to floss my kids’ teeth, if you know what I mean. (By the way, let me eat my words. They LOVE having their teeth flossed. Seriously. Who knew?) Anyway, I’m now officially the mother of 2 3-year olds. Which means last weekend was our first stab at hosting a children’s birthday party. And you know what that means, don’t you? That’s right. Did she didn’t she? You’re dying to know, aren’t you. Continue reading…

I’m at it again! Here’s today’s Shot of Prevention post featuring yours truly. Ever wondered why boys should get the HPV vaccine? Read on…

Last year I went on a cycling weekend out in California with four other women, all of us doctors. We were there to celebrate my dear friend’s recovery from breast cancer. Of course there was the usual debauchery– feather boas included– that takes place when 5 middle-aged women have left their husbands in charge of the children. But there was still a sense of sobriety, knowing why we were all there and wishing that “chemo” and “reconstructive surgery” weren’t the frequent topics of conversation that they were. And with cancer on our minds, this group of five female physicians soon found ourselves talking about—what else?—genital warts. Continue reading…

Anyone who has been reading my ramblings for awhile knows that I am somewhat obsessed with teeth. Or even pre-teeth. If you recall, several family members and pediatric colleagues made endless fun of me when the girls were babies and I insisted on wiping down their gums at bath time. But that is what you are supposed to do, aren’t you? Anyway, as you can see here, at some point I just had to deal with the fact that people were mocking my attention to my children’s dental health. I persevered, despite the laughter, carrying on with fluoride supplements (we have no fluoridated water over here in England) and little toothbrushes. Even when it nearly killed me. And then came the visit to the dentist to confirm Zoe’s “specialness.” But despite my obvious concern for the girl’s dental hygiene, I’m going to admit that our “oral health professional” has pushed it one step too far.

“Do you see how these teeth are really close together? Do you? So I’m going to send you home with some floss. Just give it a try and do your best.” Continue reading…