The Pros and Cons

There are a few great pros to being married to a peds resident:

-I learn that the effective dosing for Advil and Tylenol differs from what is on the bottle and so can treat fevers better.
-The Doctor has an autoscope handy for looking in ears and determining the cause of said fevers (mine and hers) and is up on current treatment guidelines (ie wait for a day or two before antibiotics because ear infections can be viral. Huh.)
-I learn LOTS just by listening to him (and Lord knows he loves to talk!). For instance, did you know children are developing higher incidences of fatty liver disease (usually associated with alcoholism) because our intake of fructose has increased exponentially? I did a check of common things in our house - bread with sucrose/fructose in it, crackers, yogurt, the list goes on. I am appalled and am trying to follow some advice I once heard: only shop for things on the perimeter of the store because they are the freshest and most natural (ice cream is on the perimeter at our local store :)
-I have someone who knows what to do for croup at 2 a.m.
-I have someone to page at 2 a.m.
-I don't always have to consult Dr. Sears.
-It's true - being part of the medical mafia, I get family doctors more easily
-The Doctor utterly loves children - ours and others' - and genuinely wants the best for them. Strange kids (one of which was labelled by her dayhome provider as the Anti-Christ - can you imagine?) start crawling all over him in the park.


Besides the fact that he isn't home much, there are a few cons to being a peds resident's wife:

-My daughter pretty much has to be bleeding out or not breathing before the Doctor thinks an emerg trip is warranted
-I should probably consult Dr. Sears, too (the Doctor's only a resident, after all)
-Sometimes - well, often times - mums just know.