Well Child Check

Today was Peeper's three-year-old check up, and she did great!

She was super-cooperative, and the doctor told her that she's "the perfect patient." Once again, when he asked "Can I listen to you?" she said, "Yes!" and held still for everything, and even trying to lie down to be examined before she actually needed to.

They measured her at 34 1/2 inches tall, which I'm not so sure about, because a month ago, at her pre-"op" check, they measured her at 35 1/4 inches long. Now, I understand that you're a little shorter standing up than lying down, but 3/4 inches seems like a big difference. I also thing it's more accurate lying down, and when the nurse called it 34 1/2" it was sure looking more like 35" to me. So, I'm saying she's "around 35 inches."

It does kind of matter, because 36 inches is a standard minimum height for things like amusement park rides or "big kid" bouncy things.

34 1/2" puts her in the 4th percentile for height, and her weight today of 29.2 pounds, puts her in the 34th percentile.

Last year, she was 31 1/2" and 23.5 lb, which was 13th percentile for both.

I guess that's another reason that I wanted her to get full credit for her height, because this is the first time she's dropped in the centiles for height, and the first time that her height and weight have been that far apart.

But the doctor didn't seem to have a problem with any of that. His only comment, other than acknowledging the difference in the two height measurements and assuring me that she didn't shrink, was that "She's growing well!"

They tested her vision for the first time, and she passed the colorblindness test with flying, um, colors. I was impressed that she was not only able to see and identify the numbers (which I knew she could - she knows her colors way too well to have any deficiencies in her color vision) but that she actually told them all to the nurse. She flipped a couple of 6/9 answers, but I assured the nurses that those weren't color-vision issues, they were 6-looks-like-9-give-her-a-break-she's-only-3 issues.

Then the nurse showed her the eye chart with the shapes and asked her to identify the different ones. She called the apple (I guess?) a heart and the house a triangle, but whatever.

She was a lot more reluctant to answer when she put the chart on the other side of the room and covered up one of her eyes, though, so we finally just blew it off.

I probably pissed off the one nurse because at one point I told her to just wait, and give her more time to answer, because I could feel her working up the nerve to say the name of the shape and before she'd quite get it out, the nurse would ask again, or ask in a different way, or point to a different shape.

Shrike will tell you, though, that's a major pet peeve of mine. I guess it's because of my teaching experience - one of the hardest things to learn as a teacher is to ask a kid a question and then just shut up. Some kids (especially little tiny kidlets) just need some time to process the question, come up with the answer, and get it out.

I get annoyed with Shrike for jumping in and answering for Peeper when I ask her a question, especially if it's a "Tell Mommy what you . . . " sort of question, or some other "showing off" kind of thing.

"I know you know what a volcano is - let her tell me!"

So, I'm sure Shrike felt better to see someone else getting fussed at for a change.

Anyway, the two nurses finally just said that "Yeah, we really can't test them very well at this age. We'll try again next year." I told them that, given the frequency with which Peeper points out obscure objects (or objects that objects look like) from varying distances, I'm not too concerned about her vision.

Once again the doctor said that her heart sounds great, as did everything else that he looked at and listened too.

When we got to the developmental questions, he seemed to be very happy with all of our answers.

Doctor: Speaks in sentences. (This was a statement, not a question, as he'd heard her himself.)
Mama: Paragraphs!
Doctor: Counts?
Mama: To twenty! Well, she leaves out fourteen and sixteen.
Doctor: That's okay, I forget those too, sometimes.
Mama: And she knows her letters, too!
Doctor: She can recognize some?
Mama: She recognizes them all, knows what sound they make and can tell you a word that starts with them.
Doctor: That's great!

As to her motor skills, he asked if she can put on and take off her clothes. That one was hard to answer, because she does take things off sometimes, but we haven't really expected her to put things on herself, so I guess we haven't given her much opportunity. She does put on her doctor shirt and other "dress up" clothes that are big on her, if that counts.

Then, this afternoon, I heard her calling to me from the bedroom. She was all under the covers, and asking for goody. When I pulled back the comforter, I found that she was completely naked! So, yeah, I guess she can take her clothes off.

He also said, "Now, I know it's really early, but has she tried any pedal toys, like a tricycle?" I was surprised to hear that it's early for that, because I just figured her main problem with the trike is that her little legs aren't quite long enough. We've tried pedal blocks, but she'd prefer to take them off and build "brick walls" with them. I'm not sure, though, that it would make much difference, because she can push the pedal down when it's in just the right position, but can't quite figure out how to get it "over the top" if it's not. Oh well, it will come.

Thinking about it now, I'm kind of surprised that he didn't ask any fine motor questions, about using utensils (I think we checked that off last year, though) or drawing/scribbling.

I think that was about all that we covered, except for him to say that she's doing great both physically and developmentally. He really "went on" a bit about how much she knows and her language skills. He said that many kids don't start getting their letters and numbers until at least four, and it really shows both that we've been working with her on such things, and that she's got the underlying ability to learn them.

So, we all came out of there feeling pretty good about ourselves!


Oh yeah, and Peeper, too.

She only had to get one shot - her flu vaccine - and it turns out that other than that, she won't need any vaccines until we get into the ones required for school.

She was totally unconcerned about the shot (although she wanted to lie on her tummy for it, like Mommy did for all her booty-shots) - until it went in.

We had told her that she'd be getting some shots (I figured two or three) and that it would just be a little "ouch!" (I don't think it's right to tell them that it wont' hurt, because it does!) but it was a little more than that, I think.

She got okay with some goody, though, and was ready to leave in just a few minutes. Then we picked up some corndog nuggets and ice cream for lunch (her choice).

After the doctor finished, and while we were waiting for the nurse to come in with her shot, she went for a little spin on the doctor's stool.

"I am big! I can sit on the doctor chair!"

Her thigh seems to be a bit swollen from the shot, and she's complained about it a few times, so I gave her some Tylenol, and offered her "Bo-Bo or Happy, or their new friend Ladybug" (the ice packs) for it.

She jumped on that, of course, but I don't know how painful it really was, because after I gave them to her, she asked me, "Where's the shot?" while holding one to her arm, and then her other leg.

Yeah, it's just killin' ya, huh?

She then put each one on her leg for a few seconds, and declared that it felt better.

Then she offered one to a gourd, because "He not feel well."