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My Least Favorite Part about Moving
As Fall settles in, I am facing my least favorite part about moving to a new town: finding new care providers. Now, not only do we need to find care providers for myself and Brian, we also need to find them for Rosie.
This is hard. Take dentists. I grew up in Ann Arbor, MI, which has a dental school and a very strong community of dentists and orthodontists. I went to the same pediatric dentist -and the same dental hygienists- up until I was 23. I never had a cavity, and was so proud to be up on their wall of Polaroid photos of kids who had no cavities. I'm unlikely to see anything like that wall in this post-9-11 era of paranoia, which makes me sad, and I know my standards are high.
In Albuquerque, I had a pretty good network of other moms to consult due to MOMs and a meetup group I joined. Every care provider I went to was recommended by someone. The first dentist I took Rosie to was nice, but their equipment was antiquated and they gave Rosie Princess stickers that had nothing to do with teeth. Then I connected with a family dentist that could do her teeth and ours, that Rosie loved. That was great. But it only lasted the two years we were there.
Back in Ann Arbor for a year, it was easy to get recommendations from friends I trusted. Again, we found a family dentist that worked for us. Now we have to find a new one. Or... more than one.
In Ann Arbor, we also had a pediatrician we loved (Liberty Pediatrics). loved love loved. In Albuquerque, the first pediatrician we tried was recommended by many, had convenient hours, but had a sterile environment with few toys or things on the walls or ceiling to engage the kids attention. For the first time, Rosie expressed fear at the doctor's office. We tried another recommended pediatrician (Dr. Han), and liked his office and his demeanor better. I'm thinking possibly I'm going to visit the pediatrician's office before taking Rosie there at all.
I have a recommendation for doctors for me and Brian that seems solid, but I also need to find a chiropractor. Hate shopping for those - they vary all over the place. I never found one I liked in Albuquerque. I go to see Dr Greg Peroff of Synergy Chiropractic whenever I'm back in Ann Arbor. It took me three or four tries to find him.
Also, Brian and I like to go to a couples counselor. This is a second marriage for both of us, and we want it to last our lifetimes. Communication stays open more with a counselor involved, and they help us be more aware of our selves too. Again, in Albuquerque, we never found one we liked. But we only tried one office, as I recall. In Ann Arbor, we had two great counselors in a little office in a house on Kingsley. Past experience trying to find a personal counselor absolutely sucked, but I know we do better with a couples counselor, so we just have to bite the bullet and try some.
Sigh.
Any advice? How do you find new care providers?
This is hard. Take dentists. I grew up in Ann Arbor, MI, which has a dental school and a very strong community of dentists and orthodontists. I went to the same pediatric dentist -and the same dental hygienists- up until I was 23. I never had a cavity, and was so proud to be up on their wall of Polaroid photos of kids who had no cavities. I'm unlikely to see anything like that wall in this post-9-11 era of paranoia, which makes me sad, and I know my standards are high.
In Albuquerque, I had a pretty good network of other moms to consult due to MOMs and a meetup group I joined. Every care provider I went to was recommended by someone. The first dentist I took Rosie to was nice, but their equipment was antiquated and they gave Rosie Princess stickers that had nothing to do with teeth. Then I connected with a family dentist that could do her teeth and ours, that Rosie loved. That was great. But it only lasted the two years we were there.
Back in Ann Arbor for a year, it was easy to get recommendations from friends I trusted. Again, we found a family dentist that worked for us. Now we have to find a new one. Or... more than one.
In Ann Arbor, we also had a pediatrician we loved (Liberty Pediatrics). loved love loved. In Albuquerque, the first pediatrician we tried was recommended by many, had convenient hours, but had a sterile environment with few toys or things on the walls or ceiling to engage the kids attention. For the first time, Rosie expressed fear at the doctor's office. We tried another recommended pediatrician (Dr. Han), and liked his office and his demeanor better. I'm thinking possibly I'm going to visit the pediatrician's office before taking Rosie there at all.
I have a recommendation for doctors for me and Brian that seems solid, but I also need to find a chiropractor. Hate shopping for those - they vary all over the place. I never found one I liked in Albuquerque. I go to see Dr Greg Peroff of Synergy Chiropractic whenever I'm back in Ann Arbor. It took me three or four tries to find him.
Also, Brian and I like to go to a couples counselor. This is a second marriage for both of us, and we want it to last our lifetimes. Communication stays open more with a counselor involved, and they help us be more aware of our selves too. Again, in Albuquerque, we never found one we liked. But we only tried one office, as I recall. In Ann Arbor, we had two great counselors in a little office in a house on Kingsley. Past experience trying to find a personal counselor absolutely sucked, but I know we do better with a couples counselor, so we just have to bite the bullet and try some.
Sigh.
Any advice? How do you find new care providers?
no subject
I don't remember where you are moving to, but if you drop me a line, I can see if I know anyone in the town you are moving to. Sure, it's a long shot, but stranger things have happened? Networking, networking, networking.
no subject
Newsflash: such a chore!
(I have lucked out on doctors in this area. This one, even though I am presenting as a female with mental illness, treats me like I own my body and have a brain. Although I am going to have to yell at him today because at my last appointment, he implied a link between "promiscuity" and spider bites.
(My trauma is finding a cosmetologist who doesn't freak out that I want to keep hair long, or cut it counter to my expressed wishes "for my own good." Wish me luck!)
Re: Newsflash: such a chore!
And I haven't forgotten the idea of us talking on the phone sometime. I do want that to happen.