finally, we have a 20 pound child

Today was Holden's 15-month appointment, and finally, after more than a year of feeding this guy, he tipped the 20 pound mark (20 lbs, 12 oz, to be exact). Woot! He's still in the 6th percentile, but he's gained a bit in height, up to the 10th percentile. Don't even try to ask me how tall he is...they told us in centimeters and I immediately forgot the number.

Other than those facts, there's not a lot to say about the doctor's appointment. All looked normal, and the doctor noted that his upper molars are "right there, just below the surface." She couldn't get a look at the lower molars, but I know for a fact that they are also almost ready to break through. It's been a long time since we've seen any new teeth and the H-bomb's been quite cranky about the whole phenomenon. Perhaps we'll have a nice little "tooth explosion" soon and see 4 pop through at once. One can only hope.

traumatic doctor's visit

Yesterday, Holden has his scheduled 1-year doctor appointment. No big deal -- I've brought him to other doctor's appointments before when he gets weighed, measured, a quick check-up, and then usually some shots to keep on track with his immunizations. While Holden never likes the shots, he's always really good about it and only cries for a minute. Everything pretty much went as usual for his 1-year visit, except after they asked me if I wanted to have him tested for lead (which required a blood sample). Since we live in a very old house, I thought this would be a good idea -- and our pediatrician also encouraged us to get the blood test. So after we left their office, we headed down to the 3rd floor to the Lab for Holden to get some blood taken for this test ... and that was the beginning of the most traumatic experience Holden (or me) has had since his birth!!!

First of all, the place that we were sent to for this test was called LabCorps, Inc. So it sounds basically like some company that just does tests like this all day long, probably staffed by nurses who are trying to get this done as quickly as possible (but perhaps not as painlessly as possible). But I wasn't worried, because I had assumed that taking a blood sample from a baby would essentially be like getting another shot (I mean, how much blood do they really need?!). Holden's name was called, and in we went. After rolling up Holden's sleeve, the nurse asked me to give him a big bear hug to help hold him still, and then in she went with the needle (attached to a long tube with a bottle at the end of it) ... and Holden began howling like a wild animal!!! Wow, I've never heard him shriek and scream like that before, with tears pouring down his face. The nurse was obviously having trouble keeping the needle in his arm, as he used all of his strength to wiggle and kick and convulse. After about 3 or 4 minutes of this, she stopped (and I thought, "oh good, that is over ... what a nightmare, but at least we're done"). WRONG! She didn't get enough blood, so she needed to try again on Holden's other arm. WHAT??!!??!!

The nurse went to go get another nurse (his name was Nicolai), and all three of us held Holden as she made attempt #2 to take the blood sample. This time, Holden's screaming reached a whole new level (on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1o being the sound of a baby seal being beaten with a blunt object, Holden's screaming probably reached a 12). It took forever for them to get enough blood this time (WAY more than I ever thought would be needed for a test like this), but eventually it was all over. Holden calmed down (although he was shaking for another 10-15 minutes after this). As we walked back into the waiting room and then to the elevator, I realized that everyone on that floor of the office building had heard Holden's screams. One woman said to me, "I hope you punched whoever was doing that to your poor little baby." I agree, I should have punched the nurse ... and Nicolai (although I'm pretty sure he could take me).

Moral of this story: don't agree to any blood test for your baby unless it is absolutely necessary. That was an awful experience, and it's going to take me a while to get over it (I'm sure Holden has already forgotten about it ... or, at least I hope so). And this was on top of 4 shots he received at the doctor's visit, so our poor little guy was sporting 6 band-aids yesterday. I bet all the other kids at daycare thought they were cool!

The 4 month appointment

Another doctor's appointment has now come and gone, and Holden has lived to tell the tale. Yes, this morning he had his 4 month check-up (wow, time flies!), and this time the whole experience was a lot less traumatic than previous trips. For reasons not worth going into here, we switched pediatricians, and Holden seemed to really like this doctor a lot. He even giggled when she checked ears, and was in really good spirits the entire time, until--of course--the shots. This was the second round of the same immunizations he had gotten at the 2-month appointment, which had made him pretty fussy the rest of the day...so, we expect that it will probably be a long evening once he gets up from his afternoon nap. But as the picture shows, he left the office all smiles.

And for those of you wondering, he received a clean bill of health, and the go-ahead to start solid food whenever we'd like. We haven't decided when to do this yet, but when it happens I'm sure there will be a post or two about it. And as has been true in previous appointments, lil' ole Holden is, well, still little. He weighed in at 12 lbs, 3 oz., or at about the 7th percentile. But we don't mind--I'd rather he be a little guy than have lug around a 20 lb. kid. And it means we don't have to buy clothes quite as often as the parents of those bigger rounder babies (although he really does seem to go through them quickly). Besides, to us, he does seem big. He's almost doubled his birth weight!

The squirmy worm that he is...

Today at my weekly doctor's appointment, Mike and I enjoyed witnessing a bit of cat-and-mouse entertainment between the Doc and the Short Stranger during the usual heart beat monitoring. As the doc put the monitor up against my belly, Mr. SS scooted away, making a squooshing sound in the microphone.

Soo...instead of chasing him with her monitor, the doc decided to push at him from the other side, making him move even more--which made Mike and me laugh. Finally, with some effort, she was able to find the pulse. The best part about this little game? The doctor started giggling! She couldn't contain her own amusement with the event.

And while I'm on the subject of our doctor, I think she's starting to get almost as excited about our impending delivery as we are. Her face lights up with a barely contained grin anytime I tell her a symptom that just might be related to my progress towards the d-day. I wonder if deliveries are a little like Christmas for OB's too. I imagine that it has to be a little hard for them to contain their excitement. Soon!