4 year old check-up (and a confession)

C and D had their 4-year-old physicals today. Here are the stats:

Cary
Weight: 32 lbs.
Height: 39''
BP: 94/61

Dean
Weight: 37 lbs.
Height: 41.5"
BP: 100/62

You read that right - they took their blood pressure this time and also did an eye exam and checked their ears, like big boys! We've come a long way from me bringing two blankets in to the doctor's office to swaddle them in because I was afraid their little preemie bodies wouldn't handle the cold air.

Health-wise, they're both just fine. We are slightly concerned about the way Cary pronounces certain words, and Dr. Bodnar had no explanation for it, so he suggested we seek out a speech therapy program at one of the local colleges. I think we might just do that. Other than that, no real issues.

This visit, however, was extremely trying. (Here comes my confession.)

Both boys acted pure FOOLS and I don't like either one of them very much right now. Cary especially is on my list.

He was SO naughty and obstinate and, it has to be said...assholish ... during the entire visit, I was really quite embarrassed. He wouldn't talk to Dr. Bodnar when he asked him questions, and instead made rude noises or sat with a smirk on his face, while flipping pages of a book or touching any and everything in the exam room. He grunted and pouted instead of using words. He rolled around the room on Dr. Bodnar's wheeled seat. He ran out the door in his underwear. He interrupted me or Dr. Bodnar over and over and over and over. He was such a royal brat, I was stunned.

Honestly, Cary generally has a problem with listening and doing what he's told, and he acts like an ass to people all the time. But I promise you he took it up a few notches today at the doctor. He was THAT kid -- you know the one. The one you see out in public and talk smack about his parents when you leave. The kid you swear your child will never turn out like.

Dean, on the other hand, was lovely and personable until it came time to get his immunizations.
Cary got his shots first, because he's the oldest, and he whimpered a little but didn't cry. It was over in a flash.

Then the nurse turned her needles on Dean and this child SCREAMED BLOODY MURDER AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS, SHRIEKED AND CLAWED AND CRIED LIKE SOMEONE WAS PULLING HIS FINGERNAILS OUT WITH PLIERS!!!

He performed so bad and screeched so loudly for such an extended period of time that my eardrums were ringing (longtime readers might remember that Dean has a VERY high-pitched wail. That has only strengthened over time. Believe me. He could shatter glass.)
When we were walking out, a mother with her two daughters said to me, "Were they in with Dr. Bodnar?" I said yes. She replied, "Oh good, I'm so glad to see they're alive. They sounded like they were DYING."

Please note that Dean screamed so much, so loud and so long, she thought there were two children causing such a horror show ruckus.

His theatrics were a bit embarrassing, and I was a little disappointed in how straight crazy he acted, but I know that fear is irrational, and shots do hurt, so I am not nearly as put out with him as I am his brother.

Folks, I am so over Cary's obnoxia. (I just made that word up.) It's bad at home, worse in public, and never as bad as I saw it today. I honestly want to stay at work now and come home after he's asleep just so I don't have to see him anymore today. It's that bad, people.

I put all this out here on the Interwebs, where there is sure to be judgment and side-eye-slinging, because I need for all of you parents of newborns and toddlers who think -- like I did -- that there's nothing your sweet, adorable, cuddly little child could EVER do to make it so that you could stay mad at them --- I need you to know that you are WRONG!

The day is coming, my dears. Oh, the day is coming.

Thank God tomorrow is another day.

Needles and swings

Yesterday, Clair had her 4-month-appointment (even though she'll be 5 months on the 16th).

She weighs 14 lbs., 12 oz. and is 26.5 inches tall (long)!

Dr. Bodnar declared her excellent in every way. And he said we can start trying a little rice cereal around 5 months, if we want. He wasn't at all concerned that she eats less than most babies her age (only about 22-24 ounces a day, as opposed to 28), but he did say if we started cereal to be sure not to let her fill up on it, so that she gets most of her nutrients from her bottles. So, I think we'll start in a couple weeks to see if her bottle-consumption picks up any before then.

She also got her shots, and she only cried a little bit, and even then, only after the 2nd needle stick. The first one, she barely registered.

I think my kids must be pretty hardy, because yesterday I also took the boys to get their second lead test (in Baltimore city, kids are required to get one lead test, but the school we're sending them to in the fall requires a second) and neither one of them cried either. I was sure there would be tears, because they have to draw blood from the inner arm, which always makes me cringe. But they were very stoic, and mostly just wanted to know when they were going to get their Band-aid.

In fact, after Cary came from getting his blood drawn, he went straight to the waiting room and said to Dean, "Look Deanie. I have a Band-aid!" And then Dean, who had at one point been gearing up to protest going back with the phlebotomist, quickly changed his tune. "Mommy!" he said, urgently. "I want a Band-aid, too!!"

So we went back and got one. No fuss, no tears. It was great.

See my Band-aid, Mommy? Mommy, I have a Band-aid. Mommy, I have a green Band-aid. The doctor gave me a Band-aid. Mommy? Mommy? Mommy!!!

Afterward, I took them to the park, to reward them for being such brave boys. This was a particularly good visit to the park, because I actually got them to SMILE. Faithful readers will know what a feat this is with my two boys. The concept of smiling while actually doing something fun? Totally foreign to them. 

Cary refused to show off his Band-aid for the camera. But I managed to sneak a picture while he was getting "milch" out of his shoe.

Clair's Band-aid is hidden behind her polka-dot pants.

 

My brood nearly takes up the entire swing set. Good grief.

When we got home from the park, Lester had finished dinner and had it ready for the boys. He even put some aside for their lunch the next day, so I wouldn't have to do that after Clair went to sleep. What an awesome Dad!

Oh, and I got asked to be on the board of an organization I really admire: The Baltimore Urban Debate League. I'm quite flattered and excited to help them with their important work.

So, yay! All in all, a very, very good day. Now, we wait for the results of the lead test. (I hate waiting.)