Skyleey's two year check up

It's been 6 months since Skylee's last well check up and what a difference the time made. Skylee is normally excited to visit the doctor's office and explore the rooms and listen to the crinkly sound the paper makes on the patient beds. This time was a little different though as she was very aware of every little prick and prod happening and was not easily distracted like times in the past. Matt was home to join us at the doctor's office and be a witness to the special occasion, lets call it. Skylee was a little hesitant at first of having her temperature taken with the new ear-reading thermometer (although much better than the old school way - yikes).  The body length measuring and the scale weighing went fairly well and we were told that she remained around average for her age as she normally always has been.

Ok, fun time is over, let the crazy begin. Skylee knew something was up when mommy was asked to hold her arm still while the nurse squeezed her hand tightly and did a finger prick! "OUCH" said the nurse and there was near silence from Skylee. Whew that was easy, I thought for a brief second. WRONG! The nurse had somehow pricked herself instead of Skylee. She said that was the first time that had ever happened and tried to regain our confidence in her skills. We've known this nurse since Skylee was born and there was never a doubt in our minds of her ability. So we braced Skylee again for the second attempt and immediately the immense screams and tears began. Let me tell ya, this girl has a set of lungs to pierce right through you. No doubt, the nurse got it right this time and she squeezed hard to get the extra drops to come out for the iron screening test. Then came what might be a calming affect for most kids, the Band-Aid. But oh no, not for our precious, darling Skylee. No Band-Aid in the world was going to fix this pain and she continued to scream and whale at the top of her lungs. So momma pulled off the Band-Aid in hopes to give her some relief. The nurse, obviously not thrilled with this decision, quickly wiped her finger with an alcohol pad, you know, to make sure she could scream a little louder! The nurse walked out and it was just mom and dad and Skylee in the room as Dad and I took turns trying to settle our little girl. Nothing helped, not even a cookie that we had decided to grab at Starbucks as a last minute idea for this exact moment. Well, maybe the cookie helped a little but only in the moment she was eating it. As soon as the bite of cookie was gone, the tears came back. We couldn't give in to her request for more cookie though because we knew the drama didn't end there. There was still one shot left at the end of the visit.

The doctor walked in a few minutes later, still Skylee sobbed and was terrified at anything touching her for the remainder of the visit. We all talked loudly over the cries and while the doctor may have been used to this reaction, momma was not. I'm used to being able to sweep in and calm her fears and tears quickly but that was not the case. No talking, singing or dancing helped. We made it through the doctor's checkup by quickly answering questions and then waited again for the next nurse to come in.  When the next nurse arrived there was nothing left to do but hold her tightly and let the nurse do her thing. The shot was much quicker and less painful than the finger prick in the beginning. My first thought was 'why would they do the finger prick first!? Even I don't like those things- they really do HURT!', but I quickly realized they have to take it first in order to run the iron level test during the remainder of the visit. So after the shot we gave Skylee more of the cookie and quickly got her dressed and out the door. It was a checkup to remember for sure. Lets just hope she forgets it between now and the next visit at her 3yr appointment.

Skylee's two year check up- a little calm between the storms! January 26, 2017

Skylee's two year check up- a little calm between the storms! January 26, 2017