A good while ago now, we booked routine appointments for the little boys. I’m pretty sure kids have routine appointments in general, but considering I’m fairly often pregnant and going to regular prenatal appointments, we tend to sneak in little checks on the kids here and there. I rarely actually book them appointments unless they’re quite sick. But since my last pregnancy failed, we knew we wouldn’t be seeing the doctor as much. So we decided to book the boys into the recommended time frame that we had previously discussed with Dr. Guselle. Rowan needed his two year appointment, and it was suggested that Solly be seen around nine months. Both of those times fell about a month ago, so we booked them in together.
With three out of the four kids feeling pretty under the weather, it was a bit of a hands-on appointment. Emotions were running high, as you can imagine. And then all of those emotions were put in an exam room and told to wait. Hahaha! So yes, a gong show. But we’ve been there before, and they know us. So we waited and did our best.
It was the PERFECT day for Dr. Guselle to come in on her own, rather than having to see a student first.
We started with Solly, because he was momentarily settled and Rowan was off exploring the stirrups attached to the table, lol! Promise me it isn’t just my kids that have a fascination with those things. Solly jumped on my lap and smiles and stuck his tongue out and charmed the heck out of his doctor. She was happy to hear that he is now crawling well, on his hands and knees, and sitting up on his own. We said he was making some specific letter sounds, and knew his name. She asked if he ever cried or reached for specific toys. I told her he doesn’t really, but that he definitely eyes up what he wants and just goes to get it himself. She laughed at his classic “fourth child” demeanour, and said that was just fine developmentally. She gave him a nice once over, listened to his lungs, checked his ears, eyes, and throat. He checked out just fine. His overall stats had me a little worried, with him somehow only weighing 22 lbs, but his growth chart shows him comfortably on the 85th percentile, which I’m happy about. He’s also just over 30″ tall, which is HUGE! He is over the 97th percentile on that one 🙂 He is a healthy, pleasant little dude, according to both his family and his health care provider, so I’m calling his appointment a definite win!
Rowan was next up, and he was a bit trickier to get a read on. He was SO tired going into the appointment, and didn’t appreciate having to do anything beyond what he himself wanted to do in that exact moment. For that reason, he was weighed on the baby scale and had his height measured by laying him on the table and drawing a line at his head and his feet. Height wise, he is 3′ tall, still leaving him around the 85th percentile. His weight has dropped, though. He weighs just over 28 lbs. He’s still healthy, and even on the bigger side, but he dropped from the 85th to the 75th percentile. NOT a problem or even a concern, but as Dr. Guselle said, we’ll check in on his weight in a few months when I’m inevitably in for a prenatal appointment 🙂 I can’t wait for that day… But seriously, she was very reassuring that Rowan’s size is just fine. I spoke to her about the changes made to his mouth, and how he had no blanket anymore. She said it seemed like we made the right decision, and that clearly his sleep wasn’t suffering for it, considering how much this boy sleeps. We spoke about his development as well, and he met every milestone she mentioned. He can walk backwards, he can complete a two-task instruction, and he plays well on his own, making up his own games. As we were discussing that last one, Ro climbed up onto the chair beside me, sat on his knees, and began barking. It was pretty endearing, honestly. And our doctor is fabulous, and played along with him. I did bring to her attention that I have a small concern with his hearing. It doesn’t make total sense, but I just threw it out there, and she’s so great and took me seriously instead of writing me off. I’ve been suspicious Rowan’s hearing isn’t batting 100 for a while now, yet his speech is AWESOME, and sooo clear! So he may just be a two year old and not have the time or interest to listen to me. Or he might not be able to hear me. She checked his ears and said his ears are not in any way red or infected, but there does appear to be a bit of fluid in them. But he’s sick, too, so that could be a factor. Either way, she offered to send a referral to the clinic at RUH and have his hearing tested, which I appreciate. Other than that, though, everything else checked out. His persistent sick pooping has got him a little bit of a yeast diaper rash, but we’re no strangers to that, and are on top of it. Ro did not want her to listen to his lungs, but she followed him over to the corner he was hiding in and did it there, crouched on the floor. Again, love her. He checked out wonderfully, with a few little follow-ups to come.
Once the appointments were done, Dr. Guselle walked us over to the stickers and let each kid pick two. She’s always so patient, where I feel a little bit flustered, and want to rush the kids so they don’t waste her time. Everyone picked their stickers, and out we went. As soon as we were at the van, Laela had to pee. We had been brave and brought her out in panties rather than a pull-up, so I rushed her in and even just with me holding her on the toilet (because we didn’t have a potty seat) she peed! Not everyone will understand the gravity of this, but it was pretty awesome. I brought her back to the van, and Dekker then announced that he had to pee, too. So I brought him with me and Rowan, and we went back in for that pee break, as well as finally catching Rowan up on his shots. He is DONE now until he’s four. Woot!
Our couple of hours at the doctor went really well, though the kids were pretty finished by the end of it. I can’t blame them. They had been so good 🙂 I always feel good after an appointment with Dr. Guselle, though. She is a picture of reassurance and warmth. I don’t know too many people who always leave their doctor feeling uplifted. It was so nice.
Now, perogies for supper, and broccoli salad. Yum! I’m so ready for a relaxed evening here at home 🙂 I hope you’re all enjoying the warmer weather, whether you got our rain or not. Spring is upon us!