In other words, we were a little late on Alex's 4-year well visit. I wasn't looking forward to this given that his 3-year visit was a screaming terror. He just hated everything about that. (I did stop for a moment to consider how fortunate it was that he hadn't had any reason to visit the doctor in over a year.) We were called in quickly and Alex announced to the nurse that everything was cool (look at the dial on that thing! that otoscope is cool! that table is cool!) and that "this is going to be great!" Okaaaaaay, good start. Then Joe asked the nurse, "How many i-n-n-o-c-u-l-a-t-i-o-n-s is he getting today?" (Honey, you know I love you, especially when you crack me up.) Then Alex was weighed (35.5 pounds) and measured (42 inches) and had his blood pressure checked. (The thought this was the coolest thing, too.) Next came an eye test -- the images he had to identify were pretty common, but it was funny to see how he labelled them. The birthday cake was "lemon pound cake" (at one point he elaborated "from Starbucks") and the ice cream was "blue moon" (a flavor from his favorite local place). Both that and the hearing test went well, too. Then came something I didn't really expect, and, frankly, am afraid might have set a very dangerous precedent. Alex had to pee in a cup.
Next for the doctor -- he was impressed when Alex asked if he was going to use an otoscope. Alex wasn't thrilled about the exam, but tolerated it cheerfully enough. Next came the shot -- we were honest and told him it was going to hurt, and it did and he cried, but a "brave patient" sticker ribbon helped dry the tears pretty quickly.
All in all, an nice visit. But best of all was that he interacted very well with the nurse and doctor. He has grown up so, so much just in the last few weeks (yes, I think it's directly related to his sudden, complete and easy entrance into the world of the potty). Speaking of growing up, tune in to this blog later when I yammer on about kindergarten, touring his new school, and how someone keeps pressing the FF button on the time remote and I'm about ready to give them a knuckle sandwich if they don't cut it out.
Comments