I hate coughs, but I love our NP

We haven't been to the doctor in over a year. The last time we went, it was because David, just having had his first birthday, had a bad cough he couldn't shake.

Today, we're headed into the doctor. For both the boys. For a nasty cough they can't shake.

Ugg.

We've been very fortunate with our medical care out here. We have a wonderful family practitioner just in town, and we see his nurse practitioner (NP), Sarah, for all the kids. Sarah is very sweet, and very respectful of the choices we make for our children. Our last pediatrician in Austin was horrible um not very nice uh not at all respectful I mean, someone with whom I frequently butted heads. She didn't like that we were planning on homeschooling the kids, or that I was interested in homebirth, and she got downright mean about vaccines.

The first time we saw Sarah was when David was 5 days old. As she was taking his (albeit very brief) history, she asked where he was born. After a few seconds hesitation, I told her he was born at our house. She set her clipboard down, looked at me, and said, 'Ooh, homebirth! How cool! Did you like the experience?'

I hugged her.

She thinks that all kids should get the full run of vaccines, but is very supportive of a delayed schedule, and is willing to talk with me about the ones she feels are the most important, since we only do a few of them (DTaP, specifically). She supports trying herbal treatments first, and if they work, she's happy to hear it. If herbal stuff doesn't work, there's no condemnation, and she discusses the prescriptions she recommends and why before she prescribes them.

In my opinion, she does medicine the way medicine should really be done. :)

Did I mention that she has 9 kids? So you know that makes me give her some extra love!

Anyway. All that rambling to say, please be praying for us. I need some sleep. Between getting up with both boys at least once (if not several) each night, and getting up with the puppy once each night, I am really, really tired. Really tired. I mean, really tired!

Post on homemade baby food coming tomorrow, for Che and the other few who have asked. :) Hope everyone has a great day, and if you're in the area, make sure you get outside and enjoy this amazing weather! (And if you're in Iowa or Ohio, and you know who you are, sorry about that. You two try and stay warm, k? Love you!)