It was time that we took Micah to the doctor. He hadn't been to the doctor since he was 6 weeks old and he was overdue on some of his immunizations. Why did we take so long?...Sometimes you can be hesitant about seeing a doctor in a foreign country: treatments can differ, language barriers can be difficult, & medicines aren't the same which makes for some interesting doctor's visits.
Kami finally took Micah to the doctor's office yesterday and he received a thorough examination and check-up. Along the way, the doctor asked Kami how many meals Micah is eating. "He eats 3 meals of baby food and then still nurses as well." The doctor was not very happy and stated that we must feed him 5 meals a day. (We have often wondered why babies are so chubby here...)
Then she asked if we are feeding him meat. Kami replied, "No, not yet. Just veggies and baby cereals." (He is only 9 months old today.) The doctor was very disturbed and asked, "Do you not feed him fish and ham?" "He must have fish and ham in his diet....babies need fish and ham."
Don't get me wrong, we think very highly of this doctor. She is so kind, gentle and thorough. That's the reason we decided to take Micah to see her after we had such a great visit when we took Callie when she was sick.
Then she stated that Micah had a small ear infection but she wasn't going to give him anything for it. We had already thought he had a possible ear infection over the past few days and Kami finally insisted that we get something for the infection. She then gave us a prescription for antibiotic ear-drops. She also gave Kami a prescription for the immunizations that he needed. Whereas in the states, the doctor's offices normally have all of the immunizations in the office, here, you must go purchase them yourself at the pharmacy ($180 for the shots!). Then you take then back to the doctor's office so that she can administer the shots.
The doctor works alone and she in the only one in the office. No nurses. She answers the phone, schedules appointments, writes prescriptions, gives all shots and does all the exams.
All-in-all, it was a good visit and we are glad that Micah is healthy...although there are times where we are tempted to say..."This is our 6th child, we kinda know how to take care of him."
Until next time...
