two years

Friday morning I took Baby to her 2 year well-child appointment. I was expecting it to be easy because we were told last fall that she was finished with her routine shots for a while. As far as she was concerned I think it was easy, but for me it was incredibly hard.

They always weigh her and get all of her measurements first. This was the first time they offered her the electric stand-on scale instead of the baby scale. She was jumping on and off of it and I was trying to wrangle her when the MA said she got it. I questioned her because my eyes were on Baby and she certainly didn't stand still long enough for it to register, but I defaulted to the person who weighs more kids than I do.

So then the doctor came in and looked things over. He starts talking about "long and lean kids" and picky eaters. I told him that she liked meat and beans and cheese and fruit, but won't touch veggies (except beans and corn) or pasta. Then he showed me her growth chart and said that she was underweight at 24 pounds. 24 pounds? She weighs more than 24 pounds! But no - the scale doesn't lie. I explained that she was jumping on and off of the scale, but what do I know... so I have to take her back in a few months for a weight check and we have to move her back to whole milk in the meantime.

(Incidentally, her height is fine and her head circumference are fine. I argue that her weight is fine, too. I've weighed her no less than six times in the past two days and she's been well over 24 pounds each time I've weighed her.)

The exam continued and she showed off many of her tricks. And I was excited that she didn't scream bloody murder when he pulled out the stethoscope. She's played with mine several times this week to try to make it less scary, so that was a win.

What was not a win was when he looked in her ears and asked me how long she'd had an ear infection. Ear infection? She had an ear infection? Well, that would explain why she's not been a big eater the last couple of weeks and why she's not been sleeping as well. Now for my birthday I'm wanting an otoscope so I can look at them myself and not get bad looks from the doctor.

No antibiotics, but I'm to take her back if she spikes a fever. And then I explained to him that she hasn't run a fever and she's not been picking/pulling/digging at her ears. I had no way of knowing she had an ear infection (no otoscope), especially if she didn't run a fever or give me any indication that there was reason for concern. He said she was almost over it - so this past weekend we've gone from happy, cheery, pleasant Baby to pitiful, I-only-want-Mommy (even-though-I'm-"underweight"-and-have-an-ear-infection-that-she-ignored-because-she's-not-psychic). We have hem-hawed several times this weekend about taking her back to the doctor or letting it ride, and it's tough because who knows what the right thing is to do. We've let it ride.

I'm going to be smarter next time. Well, hopefully I'll have an otoscope so I won't have to get those ugly looks next time... Next time I'll know she has an ear infection before we go. But if it happens to play out again when we're almost at an ear infection I'm going to ask for a script but promise not to fill it unless she spikes a fever. Save a second copay.

We've learned a lot of lessons over the past two years.

we love lady bugs

Last week we were at a friend's house when their oldest daughter saw a bug! Apparently she doesn't do well with bugs. She started screaming, and when I got there I saw that it was a lady bug. Before Baby could mirror the anxiety I asked her if she wanted to hold it and put it on her hand so she could help me take it outside. She was excited about it.

We have a book about bugs with pictures of lots of different kinds of bugs. The last two pages are of a praying mantis and a lady bug. This week she pulled out that book, turned it to the lady bug, and brought it to me, screaming, "Hand! Hand! Hand, Mommy!" Once I figured out what she was telling me - yes, that was the kind of bug that she held in her hand! She was very excited to make the connection, and I was excited for her.

I gave her a little jewelry set for her birthday, complete with a necklace, bracelet and ring. She would've probably liked them just as much if they didn't have lady bugs all over them, but she was elated to see the bugs on them. (And then went to get her bug book to show me that they were like the one she held in her hand.)

Reach for the sun, little girl!

Parenthood has been a marvelous ride. We have cherished every moment and look forward to Baby's future and our family's future. We are most richly blessed.