The girls had their annual check-ups this morning. Thank goodness my pediatrician is content to see both girls at the same time, because I don't think I can handle doing this twice in one month.
As I posted on Facebook while in the midst of this headache: Megan is every pediatrician's dream patient, while Cadence is every pediatrician's nightmare.
Cadence was a handful as soon as they asked her to take off her shoes to be weighed. Cried and hugged her arms to herself so they couldn't do the hearing test or take her blood pressure. She insisted the ear exam from the doctor hurt and the only reason the doctor got to look at her throat was because she started crying when we laid her down for the rest of the exam.
Megan was perfect. She even turned her head side to side for her ear exam, held the little tool the doctor used to check her reflexes and giggled like she was being tickled during the chest, stomach, and legs portion of the exam. She was so well-behaved, the nurses were able to take her out of the room without me to go do the vision test. The doctor didn't even bother requesting the same test on Cadence, knowing she wouldn't be able to focus and likely fail. They did attempt a less formal vision test, but after naming the shapes on the chart up close, she refused to do so from a distance.
*sigh* I was able to keep a smile on my face, but I honestly felt like crying at some points while dealing with Cadence. Sometimes she acts out in such a way that makes me wonder if I did something wrong. But Megan is so well adjusted, I'm usually able to remind myself it's just personality shining through. Still, in the moment, it can be hard to not feel like it's somehow my fault. I try to remember that she does well in primary and at daycare and once she's away from me more often (preschool) she'll probably adjust completely and most of our problems, at least these ones, will be less. She also probably remembers doctors from before and, while unable to recall details, remembers there is a part that hurts and spends the entire visit remember that and dreading it.
Actually, once the shots did come, she calmed down rather quickly. Cried while they held her to administer the two shots and the nasal flu vaccine, but once I had her pants and shoes back on, she was fine and more concerned about Megan, who cried for the first time and was actually harder to soothe afterward. I think Megan's big blue eyes and sweet personality worked against her in that moment, since the nurse decided to comfort her for me while I finished with Cadence, but I basically had to hold out my arms for the nurse to realize I was ready for her and to put her down. Hey, lady, that's my sweetheart to comfort, hand her over. :-P
Anyway, stats:
Megan-
Height: 37.25" (previously 34")
Weight: 25lbs (previously 23.5lbs)
*50th percentile in height and 10th in weight. She dropped back down to her usual range with weight this time around. Doctor was not concerned one bit.
Cadence-
Height: 40" (previously 37.25")
Weight: 34lbs (previously 30lbs)
*50th percentile in height and 25th in weight. Once again she's back to her usual range. Guess both girls plumped up right after our move to Texas last year and have finally adjusted.
Don't be hard on yourself- It's totally a personality thing or a phase. James went through a terrible phase when he was 3-4 where he would growl at people and freak out over dumb stuff. It helped to take Devonn along with us when we could but other than that, I just had to hope that my embarrassment wasn't making me turn too red.
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