Pediatrician visit!

Big-girl baths are a new experience!
Elise loves them.

Kalina is 3 (almost)! Elise is a little more than 9 months! Which means I got to schedule a combined doctor's appointment for them.

I was warned against this seemingly brilliant idea a little too late, and so it was with trepidation that I marched both girls into the office at 10:00 this morning.

My trepidation, however, was nothing compared to Kalina's. I was pretty sure there'd be a finger prick and never trust the assurances at previous visits that there won't be a shot next time (rules sometimes change), so I knew it was my duty to warn Kalina ahead of time that she may get stuck with a needle. At least, that's what all the books say I should do, although I'm starting to wonder if maybe she'd do better if she didn't work herself up into a worried frenzy for the day leading up to the visit. Poor girl. She dug out her old standby, Lamby, in preparation.

Kalina and her favorite museum
attraction: the cow.

I maintained a chipper attitude throughout the morning, woke Elise up from her morning nap (it wouldn't be a doctor's appointment if I didn't have to wake someone up from their nap!), and we were on our way, Lamby in tow.

The receptionist was gone, and a substitute was in her place. She wasn't much for conversation, so the girls and I talked about the fishies instead. Elise desperately wanted to eat one, or at least make friends with it.

As soon as we settled in to read a Clifford story, we were called back, and Kalina began to melt. I carried her on one hip and wheeled Elise in her stroller, and asked the nurse what the shot situation would be. Good news: just a finger prick! Despite the nurse's best attempts to reassure my daughter, though, Kalina didn't quite buy into the idea that a finger prick hurts a little bit less than a shot. I have to side with Kalina on this one--a needle is a needle. Plus, Kalina doesn't really trust anyone whose main job is to weigh her and jab her in the arm.

Lamby did cartwheels in the mirror, which helped only temporarily.

The highlight of Elise's day is
when Daddy comes home!

With my nearly 3-year-old sitting a bit helpless in a puddle of tears, I turned my attention to Elise, who had fortunately been content to watch all the activity from her stroller. The baby was thoroughly enjoying the appointment. First, she gets to get up from her nap early. Then, she gets wheeled into a new place with new people to befriend. Best of all, there's a fish tank! What kind of great place is this?!? "Oooh! Oooh! Fish!" she seemed to repeat, over and over. She also enjoyed the mirror, and, seemingly, Kalina's hysterics.

And now, it was time to weigh the baby. Yet another new place to explore--unfortunately for her, though, Elise only had about five seconds to investigate the scale before she was pulled off of it. No screams, and a happy 17 lbs., 8 1/2 ounces, putting her in the 25th percentile.

And now, back to Kalina. The nurse agreed to go ahead and do Kalina's finger prick, since I was pretty sure getting it over with would be better than dreading it through the entire appointment. Although she didn't demonstrate the wave of relief I expected, the girl at least stopped crying. Then we weighed her (30.2 lbs.--the 50th percentile), and got her height after several tries ("Step back against the wall, Kalina. No, back further. Against the wall." Apparently the nurse has never done this with a 3-year-old who had never done this before.) She was 37 inches, also the 50th percentile. But far from average, in my book. Kalina took some pride in weighing more than Elise, as she predicted ahead of time she would.

Seriously? Makes me laugh.

Next came the vision test, which was almost as stressful as the finger prick. Poor Kalina was gently badgered by the nurse into telling us all which shapes she saw. Once again, it must've been the nurse's first time around a bewildered 3-year-old. Due to confusion, shyness and perhaps her actual visual capabilities, Kalina scored roughy 20/40 on the exam--which according to the nurse is fine for this age. She might have done better with her second eye, and was finally starting to get the hang of things once the test was over.

The poor girl snuggled miserably into my lap, then, as we waited for the doctor to come in. Elise busied herself with a giant bottle and Kalina and I began a game of I Spy to try to calm her nerves. Lamby was in a deathgrip.

The doctor arrived and managed to get Kalina to crack a few smiles. I think the girl was just relieved the nurse was gone. Elise immediately became old friends with him, from the safety of her stroller at least. Arms stretched up, she desperately wanted to play with his glasses, or hair, or face, just like with every other stranger we meet. Fortunately, Elise handles disappointment rather well.

Since both girls were quiet and calm, we began with a general discussion of each girl's development. I mentioned a few minor speech concerns with Kalina (she's tough to understand), and we decided that we may do a speech analysis at some point. We discussed a small spider anginoma (or something) on her nose, that shouldn't be any problem. The doctor asked if she could ride a tricycle (a little bit, but she's really not motivated), about her sleep (motivated enough, but only at night), and about her interactions with other kids (again, not very motivated).

As for Elise, she's doing all the things she should be doing, with the possible exception of clapping and waving. The doctor reassured me that sometimes it has more to do with how much parents work on those exact skills than with any achievement or deficiency. I didn't mention I'd been drilling Elise in clapping with no progress, but that everything else she learns extremely quickly.

"Sleeping well?" the doctor wondered. I laughed: Elise is still eating twice a night. She takes no more than about 3 ounces, but wouldn't miss the feeding for the world. Our pediatrician looked at her growth, figured there's a chance she might need those extra couple of ounces, and agreed with my hopes that night feedings will probably just disappear on their own as the baby takes greater amounts of calories during the day and her growth slows. Who needs sleep, anyway?

It was finally time for the exams. Elise, the most readily compliant, went first. The doctor measured her length at 28 3/4 inches, in the 75th percentile. He did not hear her heart murmur--second time in a row. The baby's only complaint was that she couldn't give the stethescope a good shaking.

Next came Kalina, who'd been basking in the comfort of the stroller as soon as it was vacated by Elise. She soon traded seats so she could be sitting on my lap for her exam, which included listening to her heart and checking her ears. I think she didn't quite trust the doctor that she wasn't going to get a shot after all, and preferred he keep his distance.

The look of relief on Kalina's when the doctor left the room after saying his goodbyes was immediate and endearing. The poor girl had held it together rather well for a good 45 minutes--no small feat when you're not even 3. Elise, for her part, also held it together well as she got re-dressed in her clothes.

We celebrated with donuts, as I'd promised Kalina we would if she had to get a shot. Seeing as 3-ish-year-olds can't really distinguish between a finger prick and an actual vaccination, I felt like I owed her.

The mood was light at the donut store. Kalina chose a red-frosted donut with sprinkles (for the 4th) and downed the whole thing. I know--I shouldn't have let her. We will be cutting back on sugar severely once the birthday is over.

Elise and her beautiful blue eyes made friends with everyone who came into the store, including several chatty grandfathers who let her grab their fingers when she charmed them into it. The cashier would've handed Elise a donut hole had I not intervened. Having never had one, the baby fortunately didn't protest my interference. She instead dined on chopped, mushy banana, which she managed to smear all over herself in a thin, sticky film.

Back at home, I let Kalina open an early birthday present. All was forgiven, and with neither child suffering the effects of any actual shots, we all enjoyed the rest of the day.