Check Up time!!

It's doctor day today, with three of the four kids having check-ups. I'm very glad it didn't rain in the while we were out!! Only a small rant today. In the AM we had Justin and Jacob. I was actually very pleased with the nurse, she was very friendly, very fast, and actually got Justin to cooperate!! Since his shy phase started, we've had trouble at all appointments. This lady got his height, weight, eyes, and hearing checked with no help from me!! THAT'S AMAZING!! It took a bit of persuading on her part, but he did it! It goes to show that good staff can just make such a difference. If she had been impatient, or unwilling to show him things first(for example she had him touch the hearing device that he held to his ear first, to show him it wouldn't hurt him. A tiny thing that took only a couple of seconds, but it made a big difference to him) we wouldn't have got anywhere. I tried to take him to the dentist about a month ago, but Justin refused to open his mouth. The dentist was older and foreign with a thick accent and would only order him to open his mouth. No time to adjust, no showing him things to let him calm down and see that it wasn't at all scary. Seemed very stern. Just two minutes of ordering him to open his mouth and then he was done. He said come back when he's ready to open his mouth. So I have no idea how his teeth are. Luckily when I mentioned this today, they recommended a dental van and said the staff was really good with kids and that they might even let him come in one day just to look around and see it before his appointment. Also we'll prob. have to take Justin for an eye checkup in the future. His eyes are about 20/50, so he'll probably end up with them too.
Jacob was cranky today and was unusually difficult. He got two shots. We discussed both his eczema and the lead level at length. She agreed to let us see an allergy specialist first and they'll determine if it's likely his eczema is an allergic reaction. Otherwise I'd have to make an appointment to see a dermatologist, and she said that can take 5-6 months to get in (as opposed to 6-8 weeks for an allergy specialist). As for the lead, apparently there is little coordination between departments and there is nothing in the records to show that we had the home inspections. Or that our house has unusually high amounts of lead paint. So she added the fact that a contractor has seen the home to our file. Sigh. It's a start. In October he'll be tested again.
I asked for results and an explanation of the blood count they had done. She said something about checking if the lead was attaching to the iron in his body. Apparently things looked normal except for his platelet count was a bit high. But she said they weren't concerned about that. I asked her to explain, but she didn't do a good job, so I'll ask again later. The x ray was normal.
This was a polite doctor, which was nice for a change. She was young, and did actually listen when I talked. But they still assume you don't know basic things about parenting, for example when I commented that he was a picky eater, she told me I shouldn't let him eat only chips and sweets. Really?? I had no idea that was bad!! And that he should still be in a car seat and be supervised around water. Again, duh! And she kept notes on the computer about things like what foods he likes to eat (why do they need to take notes on that?) and quizzed me on what percentage of milk fat he drinks. She says she's comfortable with Justin drinking either whole milk or 2%(the kinds we drink), since his weight is normal. She's comfortable??!! I wanted to mention to her that milk isn't the only source of calcium, nor is it the best source of calcium, and that getting enough fat in one's diet does not seem to be a problem for most children today, so I doubt we need to worry about that.......but I don't need to risk anymore calls to CPS in case someone misunderstands and thinks I'm depriving my children of calcium!!) Both the nurse and doctor were very nice today, and I appreciate that more than they know!! I've had my fill of rude professionals. But that sense of being supervised, of having my parenting being reviewed, is still there. The sense that I need their help to raise my children was definitely there. I hate that! I cannot emphasize that enough!! Oh well, end rant.
Leanna's was much easier, though we had a very long wait. Though we arrived early, we waited about an hour and 15 minutes after her appointment until we saw a doctor. Then it took only a couple minutes for her to check the usual stuff. No problems, one shot. It took quite a bit of convincing for the shot though. The nurse was very nice and pointed out to Leanna that either she could have me hug her while they did it, or they would have to get a bunch of people to hold her down. She was scared of getting a shot to begin with, but the nurse who did the check in (height, weight, vision, blood pressure, iron) didn't tell her what she was doing or give any warning she just suddenly pricked her finger and it really upset Leanna. Kind of a nasty surprise. So after that she was REALLY scared of an actual shot! Did you know you have to sign a release form to get a copy of your own child's medical records?? I'm not sure why, but I had to. So I signed to release my own child's records to myself. They'll come in the mail.

The stats:

Justin's 38.4 pounds (30Th percentile) and 42.9 inches (46Th percentile). So he's about average for height and a little on the lower end for weight, but still within a normal range.
They forgot to give me Jacob's paper, so I'm not sure of his. I think he was around 26 pounds, but I'm not positive.

Leanna's up to a whopping 57 pounds!!

It was a very long day with two separate walks downtown to the two doctor's offices! I am relieved to have it over!

Long doctor Visit

I managed to schedule a doctor's visit for both Justin and Jacob yesterday. I thought I'd be saving myself some time that way. Ha!
I timed it-2 hours and 50 minutes to get out of there. Imagine being trapped in a tiny room with four kids and with medical equipment no one can touch for almost 3 hours. Oh yeah, and they've skipped naps because that would have happened about the time we had to leave and they're getting hungry. Oh it was fun.
Timothy took off his shoes as soon as we got in the office. He also has this thing where he thinks he needs to strip to only a shirt when he goes to the bathroom. That wouldn't be so bad if he'd put the clothes back on before he comes out again. (there was a very embarrassing incident at Tony's pizza a few weeks ago where he came out of the bathroom, naked waist down, grinning like crazy while holding himself and running down a long aisle like a runway star) (For the record I was feeding the baby and Tom was talking to someone elsewhere, so Leanna had taken him but couldn't control that).
There was one huge window which on a short visit would have been a good thing because it overlooked a bunch of cars. I had them guess how many cars were out there, and Timothy kept insisting cars were "racercars" and Justin would argue with him, and Leanna aruged that her girl scouts were right around the corner. But they kept standing in the window itself, and while I personally know them and their climbing abilities well enough to know that they're likely just as safe there as they are on the floor (particularly when you consider how clumbsy they can be) nurses and doctors will freak if they see a kid standing on any surface not the floor. I know they worry about lawsuits and all that fun stuff, but for that long a visit they need to amuse themselves somehow. And they were being watched, it wasn't as though they could have wrestled on the large windowsill-I had at least my ears and usually my eyes on them as well. They were just watching cars.
They were also fascinated with the large metal garbagecan because it had a long bar on the bottom to step on to open it. At one point they were jumping on the bar and the lid would slam into the wall. Loudly. That had to be quickly stopped.
Even though we talked about what would happen beforehand, Justin still refused to cooperate with the nurses. He did not want them to touch him in any way. He didn't want to stand on the scale or have his height checked. In the end, the only things we couldn't do was a vision test, check one ear, and walk for the doctor. Why he wouldn't walk, I don't know. I told her, I can assure you he walks, runs, and climbs just fine!
Even Leanna had to be told not to touch the baby scale and not to make her brothers scream.
So yes, it was so much fun, all around.