Doctor Visit

Claire went to the pediatrician today for her checkup. Yep, Mother of the Year took her 2 1/2 year old in for her 2 year old checkup. I suck.

Anyhoo, she is a healthy gal! A long, lean healthy gal...28.8 pounds and 37.5 inches...the nurse told me her measurements then glanced at me..HAHAHAHA probably thinking, um, what genetic pool did this child come from??

I am very proud to say how great Claire did in the exam room. We'll just overlook the whole terrorizing the waiting room part of the visit, and the receptionist who asked her to please not slam the door...um, she's 2 1/2, and this is a pediatrician's office honey. I'm doing the best i can but she IS a little girl! Grrr.

I sat Claire down this morning and had her watch "Elmo Goes to the Doctor," one of her favorite DVDs we hadn't watched in a while. SMART move!!! I think it helped a lot. She was very cooperative with everything the doctor did.

We had Dr. Levy, head of the practice, for this visit. I love him, love him, love him. He sat down and talked to me for a good long while about everything you can think of. He specializes in behavioral development, and he said Claire was just your typical 2 year old pushing all of my buttons.

HUGE BRAG ALERT, GET OUT YOUR BARF BAG...Dr. Levy said Claire is highly intelligent and that sometimes in kids who are extremely intelligent, they're minds are beyond their development and they end up displaying behavior like Claire's...I was beaming with pride for about a minute, and then I had to put that on hold as I got Claire down from the window sill. Sigh.

After a LOT of struggling, I finally asked for allergy medication. Claire's allergies have gotten progressively worse since infancy, and now they're starting to affect her sleep and her general well being. I had held off on medicating her, because I don't like to, but I said I would if I could see it starting to bother her a lot, and it has been. She is constantly filled with mucous...she coughs from the mucous and her nose bothers her a lot. Her eyes are itchy, and she gets frequent bloody noses. So the doctor prescribed Zyrtec, which I can give her as needed. I was glad for that, because I can give it to her when she seems to be really miserable but I'm not forced to give it to her daily.

Next on the agenda...because of the prevalence of Lyme disease in the area, he wants me to spray Deep Woods Off on her clothes daily. Ugh. I just bought it but am going back and forth. Her dad takes her on weekly hikes through the woods, and she's outdoors frequently at school and after school. I like the natural stuff, but after reading extensively (and driving myself even more nuts), it doesn't work as well as DEET to prevent the ticks. Last year I compromised and used a product containing Picaridin, supposedly not as controversial as DEET. I trust Dr. Levy implicitly, so I'm torn. I'm going to think on that one a while.

Of course he recommended the sunscreen, but was also just as adamant about a hat and sunglasses. Um, Dr. Levy, don't know how well that will work out, especially the sunglasses. She wears her hat OK for a while but then tosses it off. I will just keep trying.

And he is an advocate about car seats rear-facing as long as humanly possible. Well, I kept her backwards until she was 2, but she's forward-facing now. Even he admitted he couldn't picture Claire being very cooperative rear-facing..lol.

He also told me to give her a multi-vitamin...says toddlers need it for the Vitamin D. I just bought some Disney Gummies...no artificial flavors or colors. Do I need organic vitamins? God, I exhaust myself.

It's crazy how I worry myself to death about each morsel of food that goes in her mouth, the soap I wash her with, the sheet I put on her bed...should I go dye free? should this be organic? does this have high fructose corn syrup? should I wash this in fragrance free detergent? By the time I go to bed, my mind is whirling. I just feel like she was a perfect little human when she was born, and anything that comes near her should be healthy, pure, not cause harm. That's a tough goal to fulfill, let me tell ya.

But all in all, Dr. Levy told me I was doing a great job...he told me she's a very happy, very trusting little girl, and I have to not be so hard on myself.

Aren't we all though? Which one of you isn't? We all try to do the best by our child(ren), and I don't see us taking a break any time soon!