Shots, Shots, Scary Shots

Today's trip to Bethesda involved Anna (6 year check-up)and Micah (12 month well-baby).  The actual appointment went really well.  The doctor was SO nice.  I really liked her!  Anna was not very talkative because she was worried about the prospect of shots, and the doctor confirmed that she did indeed need some, since she hadn't had an appointment since 2009.  Whoops!  It seems like I take people in all the time, but I guess she slipped through the cracks.  Anna is perfectly healthy and continuing along a little below the 25th percentile for both height and weight, so she is pretty average for our kids.  I was really worried and almost canceled the appointment because Anna is learning to roller skate, and this weekend she took a nasty spill on her poor little tushy (better there than on the wrists, Bob always tells the kids!).  There's a lovely bruise there now, and I was so worried we would get a mean doctor who would assume some sort of terrible thing.  But praise the Lord, this doctor was so nice and never even saw the bruise!  Anna als got vision-tested, and it turns out her vision is 20/40.  So it appears she is taking after her big brother Nathan, and now I need to get her an appointment with an optimitist.  If she gets glasses, I hope she will look as cute in them as her cousin Emily, who just got a new pair not too long ago!

Micah also is perfectly heathy.  He was so happy in there, toddling around and making all sorts of happy noise while the doctor examined Anna!  He is 23 pounds, 5 ounces, and almost 31 inches long, so he is closer to the 50th percentile in both weight and height--a definite outlier for our babies!  I told the doctor that he is reacting to milk with hives, so I have been avoiding it for several months now (actually avoiding it in foods--he's never just drunk cow's milk).  She offered to give me a consult to the allergy clinic, but I said I didn't think I needed one now--I already know how to read labels and how to substitute for milk, thanks to 9 years of doing that for Caleb!  If at 2 he is still allergic, then maybe I'll get the consult and see if he can be tested for other stuff as well.  It does not appear that he is allergic to peanuts, since he has gotten into peanut butter on the counter a few times with no ill effects.  I'm still giving him sunbutter, though.  He now is eating all table foods and loving everything, so he really came a long way in about 6 weeks!  It's so nice that he can just feed himself meals.  He definitely loves to eat!  Good thing he is so active.  If only I could get him to turn himself around and go down the stairs backwards!  He has no interest in that though--he would much rather just stand at the top of the stairs (or stool in the kitchen) and whine until someone takes pity on him and rescues him.  Fortunately there are always plenty of people around.

So as I said, the appointment part went great!  Then we headed over to the immunization clinic.  They are always slow as molasses over there, and since our appointments weren't until 11:00 and 11:30, I went ahead and packed us lunch.  We had a nice little picnic there, and eventually they called our name.  Even as we were walking towards to room where they give shots, Anna was already whimpering and carrying on.  I had to leave the stroller outside, so I was carrying Micah and holding Anna's hand back to the table.  After the usual verification stuff, the tech said he'd do Anna first, so she could get up on the table.  I lifted her up, and she immediately started loudly crying and thrashing around!  I couldn't even get her to stay on the table, especially since I was also carrying Micah.  So I set Micah down (who happily started to wander around all the other tables--I neglected to bring a big boy to help, a mistake I shall not make again!!).  A second tech had already come over to help with Anna, and now a third tech had to be called over to hold Micah.  Gah!  So Micah was out of the way, but Anna continued to wail loudly, kicking her legs and thrashing her arms.  I couldn't even get her pants down!  I. was. MORTIFIED!  NONE of the other kids have EVER acted like this before!  Caleb is a total wimp about things like shots and blood draws, and he moans and carries on, but NEVER like this!  I was leaning over her upper body, pinning her arms and chest down with my body, and staring intently at her, saying, "Yes, Mommy, I will be obedient and lay still . . . yes, Mommy, I will be obedient and lay still" in a very firm voice, not that she paid one ounce of attention.  Needless to say, after the ordeal was finally over, Anna did NOT get a lollipop or a sticker.  Micah, on the other hand, was a real trooper, hardly crying at all.  Good grief!

Even as we were walking through the hospital on our way to the parking garage, Anna kep on whimpering and moaning about how her legs still hurt.  I told her that if that was the worst pain she ever had to face, she could consider herself a very, very lucky girl.  This does not give me hope for grandkids from her, anyway, LOL.  Good thing I have plenty of other possibilities!  Of course, the really sad thing is that we were walking through Walter Reed National Military Medical Center--where our wounded warriors are sent to recuperate.  So all around us are young men with literally several limbs blown off each, struggling to move their own wheelchairs, or learning to walk on their protheses, etc.  It's always such a humbling thing to see, and it certainly puts any difficulty of mine into perspective.  Now if Anna could just see that  . . .