To the Doctor Again We Go

This has been a week of doctor visits. Too bad we can't earn some kind of frequent flyer miles! Noah and I came down with colds last weekend, so I got him in on Monday since his seemed to be getting worse. Nothing was prescribed for him, and he went to school Tuesday. While he was at school, I went to my doctor and was persuasive enough to get on antibiotics. That night, Noah developed a fever. Awesome. So, yesterday we stayed home and kept him on meds. He took a 4-hour nap and then slept late this morning! That, combined with his cough, convinced me to keep him home from school today, but we had an appointment for Audrey at the pediatrician, so Noah accompanied us. Whew! That's $75 in co-pays in one week--yikes.

Audrey's visit was her 2-month check-up, and she weighed 12 lbs., 15.5 oz. Seriously, that's what they wrote on her sticker. But since she needed to eat right after that, we can safely round up half an ounce to 13 lbs., yes? She was 23 1/4" long, so her percentiles are 86th and 84th, respectively. Nice and proportional!

The only thing the nurse practitioner Leslie noticed is that on the backs of Audrey's thighs, her fat rolls are asymmetrical--that is, the creases are not in the same places on both legs. Apparently that could indicate a dislocated hip! Have you ever heard anything like that? Leslie asked if she was breech (no) and then checked her hips again by rotating them. She said she didn't feel any popping or anything, so Audrey is probably just fine, but she would make a note on her chart to check it out at the next appointment. She told us to note whether Audrey puts more weight on one leg or seems to favor one (she doesn't, so far).

Of course, at the end of the appointment, Audrey received her first big round of shots. It is unreal how many vaccinations they give at two months old--I want to say it was at least five or six, all combined into three shots. I had told Noah she was going to get shots, but he doesn't quite remember what those are (it's been awhile), so I was telling him they would hurt for a minute but protect her from getting really sick in the future. At that point he wondered aloud if he could now cough in her face. Anyway, when the time came, he was engrossed in a game on my new iPhone (!) so I didn't think he was really paying attention. The nurse administered the vaccines and, of course, Ms. Temper turned super-bright red except for the area between her eyebrows, which turns stark white, and screamed her head off. This child is LOUD, I tell you. I picked her up and gave her the pacifier (a no go), and as I turned toward Noah, he was standing at my elbow with tears streaming down his face and his bottom lip quivering. "What's wrong??" I asked, and he barely got out the words, "I don't want them to hurt her and make her bleed!" I almost cried myself, at the empathy he has for his sister! I don't think I ever cared when my sister got shots--but I would swear to you that Noah would probably get them in place of Audrey if given the choice. It was the sweetest thing. As Aristotle said, "To perceive is to suffer." I will think twice about letting him witness her shots again!

This being my second child, I was not as prepared (okay, it never crossed my mind) and forgot to give her Tylenol beforehand, or even to have it with me, for that matter. (We won't talk about how I got her shot record out but still managed to leave it sitting in her nursery. Hey, I had a diaper bag, car seat, Noah, and his overnight bag to deal with!) I won't forget the Tylenol next time! When we got home, she really started to feel it--and I was treated to half an hour of crying and high-pitched, pained screaming.

During the cry-fest

You'll be happy to know that she finally fell into a fitful sleep, and now is waking up to eat--something that will be sure to cheer her up!