This morning Zoë had her two-year check-up. She's tallish (34.5 inches; 69th percentile) but rather thin (24 lbs; 16th percentile), which the doctor said was fine compared to how chubby she was at 6 months because breastfed babies tend to do that (chunk out before petering out).
Zoë was so excited to get to go to the doctor—really she was just excited that she was going to get to leave the house with Mommy while everyone else had to stay at home with Daddy. But she also loves stethoscopes and was excited that the doctor was going to listen to her heart. She happily put on her shoes and marched out of the house. She happily strode across the parking lot and bravely announced that she wanted to be the one to set off the sensor for the automatic door.
But once we were inside and she started to remember what goes on in a place like this she wasn't so happy about being there anymore. She did not want to go back there when the nurse called her name, but she followed anyway and cooperated for all of her measurements. Then she sat on my lap and cried until the doctor came in. Even though I explained that she wasn't going to have any shots she just couldn't relax.
Right now she negates a lot of things by shaking her head. So she'll say exactly the thing that she doesn't want but will shake her head while saying it.
Whenever Andrew gets her into her pyjamas she always reminds him, "Tickle!" but with a head shake, so, don't tickle!
Whenever she's sad she'll tell me she's "Happy!" but with a head shake, so not happy.
This evening we had a scare at the pool when she was climbing up the ladder and slipped off. She twisted around so she landed in the pool, facedown, but one of her legs was stuck between a ladder rung and the wall and she couldn't get herself free. Fortunately, she's pretty water savvy and was able to hold her breath until she managed to catch her balance enough to lift her face out (I was making my way to her; I wasn't that far away from her (because I was in the water catching her as she jumped in and then swam to the ladder to climb out and jump in again) but still—babies don't do well with needing to hold their breath when they're not planning on it and I was worried she was going to take a deep breath before either of us managed to get her airway above that waterline). It only took a couple of seconds, but it was certainly a rush of adrenaline for us both. I got her untangled from the ladder and we snuggled for a minute and then she perked up and said, "I try! I try!" and started squirming toward the ladder.
"You want to try again?" I asked.
"Dup!" she said. "I stuck! I stuck!"
But she shook her head while she said "I stuck."
"You're not going to get stuck this time?"
"Dup! I try!" she said, followed by some vigorous yet grave head shaking while she added, "I fall! I stuck!"
"Okay. You try again and be careful so you don't fall and get stuck."
She's a brave kid.
Anyway, back to the doctor's office. She sat on my lap, pointed at the evil examination table and declared, "Up there!" while shaking her head. "Up there!"
"You don't want to sit up there?"
"Dup."
"You can probably sit on my lap for most of it," I assured her, and that's exactly what she did. She thought the doctor was funny and everything went well.
The only "poke" she had to get was to test the iron and lead levels in her blood. She didn't enjoy it at all and gave the phlebotomist some killer stink eye but she really handled it like a champ. While we were waiting for the phlebotomist I had to check my blood sugar levels—something she's watched me do several times already—so I explained that she was going to have the exact same thing done to her. Just a little poke and then squeeze the blood out (only for her they had to milk out drop after drop after drop and I only ever take one drop). She was quite proud to tell her siblings about her "ow-me" and share her prized stickers when she got home.
She's a brave kid.
Zoë was so excited to get to go to the doctor—really she was just excited that she was going to get to leave the house with Mommy while everyone else had to stay at home with Daddy. But she also loves stethoscopes and was excited that the doctor was going to listen to her heart. She happily put on her shoes and marched out of the house. She happily strode across the parking lot and bravely announced that she wanted to be the one to set off the sensor for the automatic door.
But once we were inside and she started to remember what goes on in a place like this she wasn't so happy about being there anymore. She did not want to go back there when the nurse called her name, but she followed anyway and cooperated for all of her measurements. Then she sat on my lap and cried until the doctor came in. Even though I explained that she wasn't going to have any shots she just couldn't relax.
Right now she negates a lot of things by shaking her head. So she'll say exactly the thing that she doesn't want but will shake her head while saying it.
Whenever Andrew gets her into her pyjamas she always reminds him, "Tickle!" but with a head shake, so, don't tickle!
Whenever she's sad she'll tell me she's "Happy!" but with a head shake, so not happy.
This evening we had a scare at the pool when she was climbing up the ladder and slipped off. She twisted around so she landed in the pool, facedown, but one of her legs was stuck between a ladder rung and the wall and she couldn't get herself free. Fortunately, she's pretty water savvy and was able to hold her breath until she managed to catch her balance enough to lift her face out (I was making my way to her; I wasn't that far away from her (because I was in the water catching her as she jumped in and then swam to the ladder to climb out and jump in again) but still—babies don't do well with needing to hold their breath when they're not planning on it and I was worried she was going to take a deep breath before either of us managed to get her airway above that waterline). It only took a couple of seconds, but it was certainly a rush of adrenaline for us both. I got her untangled from the ladder and we snuggled for a minute and then she perked up and said, "I try! I try!" and started squirming toward the ladder.
"You want to try again?" I asked.
"Dup!" she said. "I stuck! I stuck!"
But she shook her head while she said "I stuck."
"You're not going to get stuck this time?"
"Dup! I try!" she said, followed by some vigorous yet grave head shaking while she added, "I fall! I stuck!"
"Okay. You try again and be careful so you don't fall and get stuck."
She's a brave kid.
Anyway, back to the doctor's office. She sat on my lap, pointed at the evil examination table and declared, "Up there!" while shaking her head. "Up there!"
"You don't want to sit up there?"
"Dup."
"You can probably sit on my lap for most of it," I assured her, and that's exactly what she did. She thought the doctor was funny and everything went well.
The only "poke" she had to get was to test the iron and lead levels in her blood. She didn't enjoy it at all and gave the phlebotomist some killer stink eye but she really handled it like a champ. While we were waiting for the phlebotomist I had to check my blood sugar levels—something she's watched me do several times already—so I explained that she was going to have the exact same thing done to her. Just a little poke and then squeeze the blood out (only for her they had to milk out drop after drop after drop and I only ever take one drop). She was quite proud to tell her siblings about her "ow-me" and share her prized stickers when she got home.
She's a brave kid.
She is brave! And so are you for not freaking out when she got stuck in the ladder!
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