The Shots Heard 'Round the World

Both girls had their well checks today, six months and four years, respectively.

Two healthy girls!

Annie weighs 17 pounds, 15 ounces (75 percentile). At 27 and 1/2 inches, she's in the 95-98th percentile for height and 95th percentile for head circumference. She passed her vision screening (yay! Violet failed this one at her age!) and did pretty well all around. The doctor was concerned about her lack of upper body strength, so it looks like we'll be continuing PT for a while, although I did get a referral for some offices closer to home. I'm a little disappointed - I was so pumped that she was finally rolling, sitting, bearing weight on her legs, etc. But it is what it is and we'll soldier on. She tolerated her shots with big boo-hoos. I discussed my concerns about the lingering rash/eczema on her face and the possibility that it may be a wheat intolerance, due to my very unscientific tests involving giving her oatmeal cereal. We're going to keep her off cereal until nine months and then reintroduce and see what happens.

Then it was time for Violet's well-check. Same song, second verse. I left her at the neighbor's during Annie's visit (no need to freak her out watching Annie's shots). We did plenty of prep work at home, talking about the shots, praying for courage, etc. And things were going pretty well. She peed in a cup (she thinks this is hilarious every time), passed her hearing and vision test (although she's 20/40 with vision - enough to pass but at the same time enough for me to see the writing on the wall). The physical exam went well. Violet showed off her hopping on one foot skills, identified all her colors, proved her speech gains. Then it was time for a finger prick, and it was game over. My sweet, happy girl completely melted down. She went from being tremulously brave to flat out refusing to cooperate. They ended up hauling in an extra nurse so help hold her down so the shots could be administered, all the while she screamed. Poor thing. Even Annie was traumatized. But then it was all over and popsicles were offered and treasure box was brought out and the promise of "no more shots" seemed to sink in. She's 42 and 1/2 inches tall, and 40 pounds (90th percentile in both). My big girls!

Ice cream reward for being "brave" during shots.