March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, was a busy day. I had scheduled Landon and Callie's 3-year-old check-up with our pediatrician at 2:00. (Yes, their birthday was a couple of months ago. At least things eventually dawn on me!)
They passed with flying colors. Callie was so cooperative. Sooooo nice, seeing as I had all four kids. She measured 38.5 inches (50-75th percentile) and weighed in at 33.5 pounds. Seriously, she has a dense body mass. Every time she's weighed I think, really? But she really is only in the 50th percentile for weight. Landon, who seems so much easier to lift, barely weighed 2.5 pounds less. He measured 37 and 7/8 inches. He'll catch up. =) Landon wasn't much for the eye exam. Still waiting for one of my kids to impress the pediatric staff with being able to use the letter chart instead of the shapes. Trevy was more than able but so painfully shy it was all we could do to coax her into using princess terms to describe what she saw. Callie did stellar. Somehow, they determined that her vision is currently 20/40, which is normal for 3-year-olds. Okay.
I was very proud that everyone was doing well with the potty-training that day and we were able to impress Dr. Peterson with underwear all around. (Sure wish that trend had continued. Alas, there seems to be a conspiracy between our kids and Huggies!)
Following each of the twins receiving a single shot (I forget which one) we were off to see Dr. Cosentino for Timmy's 4:00 appointment. I had hoped that we might be able to swing by our house and I could drop off three kids, but it was already after 3 when we pulled out of the pediatrician's parking lot. So everyone got to go with me to Dr. Cosentino's office.
I will readily admit I was more than a bit apprehensive about taking all four kids in with me. Dr. Cosentino isn't really one to play around. She runs a very tight ship. (I've heard stories from individuals who have worked with her and she doesn't take any slack from anyone. You have to come - on time - with your A game every time.) Don't get me wrong, she's very good at what she does, and I've never heard otherwise, but she can be extremely intimidating. So walking into her office with four children, none having taken a nap that day, was a little scary.
They called Timmy back right away. The room we were taken to had a little chair and a little stool for kids. Trevy didn't seem to care much, but the twins began to fight over the chair. Dr. Cosentino walked in and I wanted to cringe. I tried to convince Callie that the stool was just as fun, but it wasn't going to happen. I even tried just talking to Dr. Cosentino, hoping we could speed through the visit, but that wasn't going to happen. She just gave me a thoughtful look and said she'd be right back and went into the next room and brought back another small chair. She also brought in stickers for the kids. (Apologies going out to whomever had to pick the one we left off the floor.) It took a little to convince someone that the second chair was just as good as the first and to get everyone settled so I could talk to Dr. Cosentino. It was just a check-up so it wasn't supposed to be a long visit. I remember my insides turning in knots, just waiting for her to ask me not to bring extra kids again but what really happened absolutely floored me.
After I was able to get the kids settled I turned to her and she was just patiently sitting there watching me, watching my kids. The expression on her face...dare I say awe? I made some remark like, "It's a party." And she said, "I'm amazed at what mothers do." It really touched me. It showed me another side of her. The softer, tender maternal side. I know I've been told that she is very protective of her patients and I think she has a deep love and concern for kids. It was a remarkable experience to go from being scared to enter her office to being glad that I had had to take all four kids with me that day.
She was impressed with Timmy's growth. She said he looked much more proportional to her now and she's happy to hear that he is taking solids now and steadily gaining weight, however slowly. Unfortunately, she did discover that the lower right part of Timmy's rib cage protrudes a little. Not alarmingly and it's apparently not all that uncommon, but she'll see him again in a year to keep an eye on things.
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Synagis
Yesterday was Timmy's final Synagis injection. Hooray for the end of RSV season! Once again, I had all four kids with me. I had planned that trip to the pulmonologist's office on Friday afternoon specifically because the girls just started another dance class in the morning and James is off on Friday.
Well...turns out he needed to be at the office all morning because he was scheduled for two inspections sometime between 7:30am and 3:00pm. Really? You've got to admit that people should be able to narrow things down a bit more than that. Or call an appointment or two in advance and say they should be there within the next two hours or so.
In any case, I took the boys to dance too. Landon did well. Many thanks to Yvonne for bringing in her stroller so the twins could pass the time pushing each other up and down the hall. (Yes, Callie should have been in class. She does not seem to have the dancing drive. She bounces all around at home but she has only made it through half the class both weeks before deciding she's done. Can't say I blame her. Dancing isn't my forte either.)
While we were there, I received two phone calls - one letting me know that the prescription had been received for Timmy's passy-muir valve and one asking if we could come in earlier for the Synagis injection. Absolutely!
They were phenomenal. I LOVE Dr. Morales's staff. They watched my older three in the waiting room at the Lego table so I could take just Timmy back. They may also have given the kids a little too much freedom with the prize box, but that's okay. (Everyone got yet another pair of sunglasses - they much prefer yours, Abby - and a bouncy ball. And a little camera...)
We just stopped by the office on our way home from dance. Alas, at 11:30, we were hitting Timmy's naptime and he fell asleep on the way. Sad to have to wake a child for a shot. He officially weighed 12 pounds even on their scale. (That's what I got a week or two ago on our home scale. For some reason, having him still consistently gaining slowly gives me such relief that I haven't starved him. He's just a slow grower!) He did really well with the shot. He only cried for about a minute.
The scariest part was that, as we were leaving, Callie's bouncy ball got away from her and she ran out into the parking lot. Of course a car was coming. Fortunately, not very fast and they were watching. I tell you this phase has got to be where the gray hairs come. Kids are big enough to know what they want and go after it, but they don't see all the dangers and ours aren't quite linking them to the rules of "Don't go near the street." "Please stay in the backyard." "You need to ask before going next door." Etc. We try explaining the reasoning and possible consequences, but I get the feeling our kids are starting to feel like big kids and it's going to take a few more time-outs before they really get the idea that some rules aren't optional.
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Passy-Muir Trial
I was told that the Passy-Muir Valve (PMV) or speaking valve should be here within a few days. You can imagine my shock when the Fed-Ex guy showed up on our doorstep this morning at 9am. By the time I had read through the instructions and had Timmy ready, he was ready for a nap so we didn't push it.
Happy to say that he was in a good mood when he woke up this afternoon and we did get a chance to try it on. Unfortunately, all the kids were excited and everyone wanted to be in charge of the camera or yelling at Timmy so we really couldn't hear him. He got a huge smile on his face after I put the PMV on. I tried tickling and having the kids dance, but no good laughs. =( However, he did tolerate the valve well so I think we should get some cute sounds before too long.
Seeing as I have hardly posted in March and I now have both cameras in my possession, it's definitely time for some picture updates as well!
He doesn't often fall asleep on his tummy anymore. =( I love the sleeping stink bug look!
Timmy sucks in his lips sometimes. I think it's so cute when he does it!
He really does like ice cream!
Future Major Leaguer?
At least there's a sport where being 6 feet tall isn't a must...
He can palm that ball. (Especially if it has a handle...)
Super cute splashing video won't upload for some reason. Maybe next time!
He has definitely passed Tigger in length!
3 comments:
What a great update. These pictures are adorable. Your post certainly brought back memories of taking my four kids to appointments when they were little. I think it has gotten somewhat better :)
Glad I'm not the only one trucking in 4 kids to an appointment with my fingers crossed and a prayer on my lips! Most of the time all goes well, but there's the rare bad scene that still keeps me on edge when we have to be at an appointment.
You're a rock star, Wendy!!!
So nice to see all the pics. Such a cutie. Lochlan and Timmy seem to be on the same weight gain schedule! Last Thursday, he weighed in at 11 pounds, 12 1/2 ounces. So we're not far behind! One day they'll be 175lbs and we'll be like as if they were 12 pounds or so at 1 years old!!!
Crazy!
Can't wait to see some video!
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