Pediatrician visit!

Proud to be "trying on"
new PJs!

It wouldn't be Christmas week without a visit to the pediatrician, now, would it? Accordingly, we celebrated this rainy 6-days-from-Christmas Monday morning visiting the doctor to see how Elise is growing at 15 months. (I happen to think she's perfect, now let's see if anyone else agrees.)

Our last visit was little more than a week ago, as Elise had come down with a persistent virus of some sort. Proclaimed free from RSV, flu, ear infection and anything else that could be semi-serious, she was sent home to be kept comfy and recover. She hated the visit, and to ensure she would never have to return, she recovered quite quickly. In the nine days sense, she's suffered some sort of stomach virus (that the rest of us all had much worse), and is now coming down with a cold. Poor Elise--the irony being that she was deemed well enough for shots.

The toddler didn't seem to remember much about the doctor's office except for the nurse. She handled being weighed very well, as in, shrieking hysterically but not actually jumping off the scale. At 20.4 ounces, Elise is in approximately the 15th-ish percentile. And her height of 30.75 inches puts her around the 60th. We chatted about Elise's accomplishments, from stacking lots of blocks and using lots of words to learning to walk upstairs. Then the nurse was done (for a while) and left the three of us to wait for the doctor.

Kalina had been suffering from the stomach virus as late as yesterday evening, but woke up cheery and helpful, and not at all likely to mess up the waiting room floor, thank heavens. After eating two bowls of Christmas Grape Nuts for breakfast (Grape Nuts with red and green sprinkles, of course), she needed no other sustenance all morning, and cheerily fed every single cheddar snack bunny in my little Tupperware to Elise, thus keeping two youngsters happy for a good 10 minutes as we waited for the doctor, despite our cramped quarters in the exam room and the fact that I had, for the second visit in  row, failed to pack any special toys for the visit (seriously, you'd think I'd never done this before!). Elise was quite content to stuff her face with Kalina's help, but at my cautioning, the older girl made sure to ration the bunnies according to the fullness of Elise's cheeks. "Now, Elise, finish the bunny in your mouth and then you can have another one!" I heard her chirp at least once. Elise somehow managed to keep from rolling her eyes, but I couldn't hold in a chuckle.

Soon the doctor arrived, and Elise huddled quietly close to me while the doctor listened to her heart and lungs. Everything sounded perfect. The doctor asked if she'd recovered well from the last visit's virus, and I mentioned that yes, she had, but that she seemed to have acquired two new illnesses since then. That's my talented girl!

Playing with Christmas candles

We talked a bit about Elise's eating habits, and the fact that it's okay to sneak veggies into her diet in any form or fashion (i.e., she doesn't have to voluntarily eat broccoli, and her lifetime eating habits will not suffer if she refuses to knowingly even be in the same room as it as a 15-month-old--it's easier if I just disguise the stuff), not to mention a little more fat. The doctor again recommended tofu for some more protein. We checked her teeth (she has six front ones and a couple molars that have broken through) and then the doctor very pointedly asked me if she's sleeping all the way through the night. I got the impression that there was a wrong answer, but I was just happy to be on the correct side of it.

The best news, other than a healthy child, was that this visit would finish her routine vaccinations! Now, all we worry about are her yearly flu shots, a TB test at four (really??), plus the repeat anemia blood draw I'm supposed to do but may conveniently "forget," seeing as the doctor didn't bring it up (yes, Elise is slightly anemic--we're working on it with a multivitamin and eggs and chicken nuggets and she'll be just fine). And then her kindergarten vaccines, but we won't think about those yet.

When the nurse returned for the shots, I inquired what their vacation schedule would be like over the holidays. My sympathy was equal to my relief when I heard they'd be working their regular Saturday hours on Christmas Eve, and would simply be getting one day off each for Christmas and New Year's. A shame for them, but I suppose you don't become a doctor or a nurse if you want a lot of time off. And we appreciate their dedication!

The shots were over quickly, and it seemed that the ibuprofen I'd given my poor girl before the appointment actually helped--Elise screamed a bit less than usual, if that's even measurable to a frazzled mommy, and returned to her cheery self in really just a minute or two. Although I'm not so sure how we would've fared if the nurse had come back into the room yet again.

Back at home, I unthinkingly let Elise wander around most of the rest of the day (excepting her 3-hour, yes, you heard me right, nap). I should've stuck her in a grocery cart instead. At the end of the evening, the toddler quite contentedly soaked her weary leg muscles by resting tummy-down in the bathtub. After nearly 30 minutes she still was only ready to come out at the mention of medicine, to which I quite distinctly heard a cry of relief. Poor girl must have really been in pain! To confirm, I asked her where it hurt, and she pointed directly at her right leg (the unlucky recipient of two of the shots). What a smarty at 15 months!