We had the 1-year doctor appointment today. Actually, it was the 1-year nurse practitioner appointment, because our doctor is so popular that it’s hard to get an appointment with her unless you schedule a year in advance. And I refuse to schedule doctor appointments further out than my wall calendar goes.
I’m ok with that because, honestly, I like Nice Nurse Practitioner Cindy better than the doctor anyway, and have never quite been able to tell why our doctor is so popular. She talks a lot, but isn’t particularly helpful. When we had our first couple of appointments with her, she was much more concerned about what our daughter was getting for Christmas (as a 2-month-old) than her actual health. We got an earful of stupid-parent stories and left with the impression that she thinks all parents are bumbling idiots.
Nice Nurse Practitioner Cindy, however, is much more what we would expect/prefer in a pediatrician, which I guess is why we haven’t switched doctors.
Have you ever noticed that doctors go by their last names, while nurses go by their first? We were unable to see Dr. Evans today because of the aformentioned issue, so they told us to go to the other waiting room to see Nice Nurse Practitioner Cindy. We were ushered in by Nice Nurse Cindy, who is not Nice Nurse Practitioner Cindy, but is still nice and a nurse, and named Cindy, and Nice Nurse Cindy weighed and measured Button. Then Nice Nurse Cindy asked us if we had any questions we wanted to address with Nice Nurse Practitioner Cindy, and left to go get her.
Today I learned that the bizzaro rough rash on my baby’s bum is really excema and what to do about it. I learned that she has had a significant growth spurt in height (she’s up to the 50th percentile now, as opposed to the previous 20%), but not in weight, which is still in the 10-15th percentile.
Obviously, we’re not feeding her enough steak and potatoes.
I also learned how to start training her to sleep through the night, which would allow me a good 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, which is making me giddy at the mere thought. EIGHT HOURS…hee hee hee hehe…ahem. Excuse my while I go run circles around my bed and sprinkle rose petals on the pillows.
And then Nice Nurse Practitioner Cindy left and Nice Nurse Cindy pummelled my baby girl with FOUR, count them, FOUR shots, and I helped hold her down while she screamed in agony. Oh, the duality of parenthood.
She is certainly growing up though. She quit crying before we left the doctor’s office, which is a marked improvement over previous shot experiences. The first time we took her for shots, she cried for an entire day. I am so not kidding. She slept for most of it and cried in her sleep as though she was reliving the terror again and again and again. And I felt like the worst parent in the world to have willingly let my little munchkin endure such torture.
The shots completely wear her out though, and she slept more today than she has in a long time. On the way home from the doctors, we stopped at a store, and she was in the process of falling asleep when I pulled her out of the carseat. She proceeded to sleep on my shoulder for the entire trip around the store, which is, like, unheard of. It was then that I learned another valuable piece of information…
She is HEAVY. She may not weigh enough to turn the carseat forward yet, but carrying almost 19 lbs around with one arm will really do a number on your back. My arm nearly fell off.
Anyway, despite the shots, she’s been an absolute sweetheart today and we’ve had a lot of fun just playing around. There are some days when I could really picture giving up the “carreer” and spending all my days taking care of my Little Button. Watching her smile, play and grow.
She’s turning into such a little lady, right before my eyes. (Insert weepy hormonal mother stuff here)
