Is Hypochondria Hereditary?

I have a tendency (as does my sister - no offense) to think that every little symptom could indicate serious illness. We're pretty self-aware on this issue and have, for better or worse, married men who like to talk us off our little ledges. However, after Wyatt's cranky night, extra goopy eyes and a seriously cranky morning, I decided I should take him to the doctor. I was kind of worried his ears were bothering him and the fact that he screamed every time I laid him down wasn't helping. So we got an afternoon appointment with peds. Now let me say, I truly appreciate our free medical care as part of military life. I know it saves us tons of money every year (of course, it's all a part of the extraordinary "compensation package", but I digress...) and I appreciate that they were willing to see us same-day. Luckily, we got an appointment with the doctor I actually like up there(I'll call her Dr. Helpful); the one who's not Wyatt's "primary care manager" (I'll call him Dr. Sucks). After Dr. Helpful's evaluation of the situation, I decided that Dr. Sucks should just be renamed the primary neglect manager.

It turns out that yes, Wyatt has blocked tearducts (which aren't a big deal), but apparently the fact that his eyes have been producing copious amounts of foul-looking goop for months should have raised some flags. Too bad Dr. Sucks told me it was "no big deal" when I brought it up at every appointment. Dr. Helpful told us that the goop is a sign the kiddo needs a course of antibiotic ointment so an infection doesn't settle in. HA! Wyatt's eyes practically sent out engraved invitations to all infections in the local area saying, "hey, my parents are ignoring this issue, so come on over and stay a while." I feel horrible. It's not like he's seemed miserable or anything, but HONESTLY how could I be so naive as to not force the issue with Dr. Sucks? Let me just say that Jeff was actually able to go with us to the appointment today, so as I walked over to the pharmacy to pick up the medicine, he walked straight to the counter where you change the PCM. Hopefully that'll take care of the issue. And oh yeah, I mentioned Dr. Sucks's reaction/lack of treatment today during our appointment and Dr. Helpful was very professional but not surprised. She also offered to rebook our 4-month well-baby so we can see her instead of Dr. Sucks. It's nice to know that there's a pediatrician up there who's looking out for the well-being of my baby. Novel concept.

Besides the eyes, it turns out he's good. Her diagnosis: he's teething. Well, that settles that. At least now I know FOR SURE that he doesn't just have some random bone spurs in his mouth (yes, that was my not-so-secret fear since 3-month-olds don't usually cut incisors). So she "prescribed" tylenol (that's the part of military medicine that's good - thank you Mr. Taxpayer for our free Tylenol) and basically sent us on our way. I'm such a newbie :) And oh yeah, he's still a 10th percentile baby. Looks like he's going to be wiry like his Daddy.

On another note, after my commissary rant last night I had a dream that I found a "real" grocery store off base. I was so excited because they had ciabatta bread. Seriously. I was fired up over some round loaf of bread that my dreaming brain labeled as ciabatta. Apparently I have a pent-up desire for exotic breads. I don't even know what Ciabatta bread looks like! Is it round? Educate me. And please don't go all Freud and analyze that...I'm not sure I can handle the answer. Besides, if you know me well, none of this has been surprising in the least. And since I should apparently expect not to sleep well until Wyatt's fully a wolf (when's the next full moon?), I'm off to my grocery store dreamland.