Well Visit x2

Yesterday was a combined well visit for Avery (1 year well visit) and Reagan (3 year well visit). I figured it would be easiest to combine them so I only had to haul them to the doctor's office once. What a huge mistake that was! Let's just say I looked like and felt like I'd aged at least a year in the hour that I was in the doctor's office.

Reagan went first and she refused to get on the scale to get weighed. This was even after we had practiced that morning on our scale at home. I was trying to coax her onto the scale with kindness and then started getting more firm as I watched the nurse getting very antsy and annoyed that it was taking so long to persuade a 3 year old onto a stupid scale. We finally got her to hop on the scale long enough to get a reading of 30 1/2 pounds!

The nurse tried to measure her height, but I have no idea how accurate it was ... she recorded it as 35 1/2 inches, which only put her in the 25th percentile for height. I just looked back at her 2 year well visit stats and it looks like she was 33 1/4 inches, in the 30th percentile. Here's hoping that her Papa's tall genes start to kick in!!

After the "big girl" scale, she said she wanted to sit on the baby scale, which read 30 pounds, 7 ounces. It's about time this girl reached 30 pounds! I couldn't believe that she was in the 50th percentile, considering that it's virtually impossible to get her to eat!

As soon as I undressed Avery, she went nuts with the paper on the table. She was long past her normal nap time and in hyper-active, over-stimulated mode! She was going crazy with the paper, rolling around in it, having a grand old time!

Then I put her on the scale and she would NOT sit still for anything! All she wanted to do was stand up and dance around! Once again, the nurse was not amused. Usually, the nursing staff is wonderful, but I think it was lunch time and she'd had a long morning ... it was impossible to get an accurate reading on the scale because Avery would not stop moving around. The nurse finally estimated her weight as 22 pounds, 10 ounces, putting her in the 75th percentile for weight. Her height was 29 inches, 45th percentile. When we were there in September for her 10 month well visit, she was 21 lbs, 2 oz and 28 inches long.

Here's some video of Avery on the scale, after the nurse left the room and we were waiting for Dr. Battista. This was after she'd calmed down a little. You'll also notice her newest sound, a cross between a grunt and a scream. It's such a lovely noise that I get to hear all day long. My friend Nicole calls this stage the "Pterodactyl Stage" and it couldn't be more appropriate ... she's constantly making these loud noises that can become rather annoying!

As we were waiting for the doctor, Reagan found my camera and started taking pictures of Avery and me ...

Then Dr. B came in and everything went downhill from there ... at first, Reagan was talking to him, telling him her name, being sweet as pie. Then he pulled out the stethescope and she went crazy! Usually, Dr. B is really patient, but I guess he wasn't in the mood to go the extra mile ... he just accepted the fact that she was going to scream and he tried to get it over with as quickly as possible. He even picked her up and put her on the table, which only made her freak out even more. If you know my daughter, you know that she's very particular about who she lets pick her up. Anyway, the exam was a horrible experience for everyone ... Reagan was screaming a very high pitched scream and I was holding Avery. Sure enough, Reagan really freaked Avery out and then she was crying too. At this point, I wish I could have grown an extra set of arms.

Dr. B then examined Avery and we discussed some of her issues ... she still has acid reflux and needs to stay on the Pepcid. The nurse came back in and measured iron levels for both of them. One little finger prick had Reagan screaming again. Lovely. And Avery didn't even cry for hers! Luckily, Avery's iron registered right at 11, so I'm happy that the iron drops have brought her iron to an acceptable level. She needs to take them for 3 more months and then she'll probably be able to stop. Avery then had 4 shots ... the last one made her cry :(

Here's Reagan watching Dora on my iPhone after her finger prick ... it was the only way I got her to stop crying and fussing.

So there you go. I learned a very valuable lesson: never take them both for well visits! Hopefully, Reagan will start cooperating better when we go to the doctor. It drives me crazy that she freaks out so badly. I guess her fears are genuine and I should take them seriously, but I'm not sure how to make it better ... I'm constantly prepping her for her appointments and she never seems nervous or scared until the minute the doctor has to touch her or come near her.

Lucky for me, I'll have another opportunity to take Reagan to the doctor next week. Since she was congested at this appointment, he couldn't give her the flu shot, so I had to make another appointment. Wish me luck for next Wednesday morning ~ should be fun!