Rebecca doesn’t have a pediatrician. I think that’s funny, that she is going to be 14-months old, and we don’t have a pediatrician. Most Dutch babies don’t have a pediatrician, so it’s OK. Instead, I have my little Growth Book (it’s even in English!), my immunization coupons, and I go to the consultatiebureau every few weeks or months. Sometimes Rebecca and I see a nurse, sometimes we see a doctor. Sometimes we go by car, sometimes we go by bike. When we are there, Rebecca always gets measured and weighed. The poor darling is on a different immunization schedule than most kids, so she always get shots when we go. The consultatiebureau nurse even comes to our home when we have questions about her development, so she can see Rebecca in action.
It’s one of my finest expat experiences, really. All these Dutch mothers (and sometimes fathers) holding their babies. We ask each other how old the babies are, especially when the babies are younger. I make my way through the small talk, the weighing, the measuring, and the appointment-making in Dutch. But as soon as the doctor or nurse arrives, English is spoken, thank goodness.
It'll be fun to compare the differences between American pediatrician and Dutch consultatiebureau advice. By talking to American mothers, I know some of the differences: here, I’m advised to give Rebecca “half-fat” (2%) milk, she should have started to receive milk around 8 months old, rice cereal isn't the first food, most food allergies aren't discussed until there’s an allergy present. When the babies are newborn, we use kruiken and we tuck them in under bedsheets. Until my last appointment, I had no idea what growth percentile my child is in.
My Growth Book reveals one of the biggest differences I’ve found. “Boxes” (playpens) are used very, very often here. As I watch Rebecca climb onto to tables and couches and chairs and bookcases, as Dan and I take turns chasing her up the stairs, and as we let her crawl all over us, we get tired. We think about the fact that she was climbing those stairs before we went to Moldova in August, when she was 8 months old. Then I ponder the wisdom of this advice. If I had followed this advice, maybe I’d be a lot less tired! In the 7th month, we are advised to “Take the baby out of the playpen, every now and then, so he has some space to roll over for example.”
