Google It Sweetie

I'm not a go-to-the-doctor kind of gal, so when we began this baby making journey I took an OB-GYN referral from the sperm bank. Thank you very much, she turned out to be an awesome doctor and I hope to be seeing her for the rest of my days. Let's face it, she's seen all there is to see under this hood and I'm fine with not going through those jitters with someone new.

Before they let us go on the tour at the hospital we had to have our pediatrician picked out. Again, I took a referral from our OB. I didn't go on a million interviews and ask a million questions. I didn't have the time and I just figured that my luck had been good the first time why would it not hold out on this one? I can't stand the thought of being that over-read mother that thinks everyone is out to get her.

We finally got to meet our doctor on the 2nd day home from the hospital. We drove up to the doctor's mid-century style office building and walked inside. Immediately I was transported back in time. Memories of flipping through Highlights magazines while waiting to see our old country doctor flooded my mind. I mean, this place is a blast from the past, complete with teak partitions with stained glass inserts in the waiting room and peeling yellow vinyl stools in the exam rooms.

I tried to keep an open mind when the assistant asked me to put our daughter on the ancient enameled scale. I'm all for recycling and I love going to the flea market to find an old treasure cherished by someone long before I was born. The doctor came in to the room in a whirl and we were off. She gave us the basic info we needed, checked out our daughter and sent our tired asses on our way. Good enough for me.

I knew she was not the most progressive doctor but maybe that didn't matter. I just wanted to make sure we could break up the vaccine schedule and she agreed. When I asked her questions she looked at me weird but I just assumed that she thought I was a nervous-nelly new mom with a list of silly questions. Things seemed to be going along swimmingly until the last visit when I asked her about drinking a green drink that contained astragalus. The container said to consult your physician if you are pregnant or nursing so I thought I better consult her before just going ahead.

"Astragalus? What's that?"

"It's a Chinese herb...root actually"

"What is it for? Is this an energy drink?"

"No it is a green drink. You know, with dried grasses and vegetables. Astragalus is an immunity booster."

"I don't know, you should Google it sweetie. Find out if there are any side effects"

Call me crazy but in this day and age, I don't know many folks who DON'T "Google it sweetie" before they start asking questions. I consulted my doctor like I was instructed to do and she told me to "Google it sweetie". Just when my faith in western medicine was improving...