12 Month Check-Up

Today Brazos went for his twelve month check-up at the clinic.  He's actually thirteen months old, but at twelve months he was sick and they wanted him to come back when he was well. 

All morning started with a happy little boy waking up at eight o'clock.  He ate his oatmeal, drank his milk, got dressed, and was ready to start the day.  He played hard around the house and followed Rhett Butler (his Nana's dog whom we're babysitting) everywhere he went.  Poor Rhett was running wild trying to hide from the hard, yet thoughtful, pats from Brazos.  At noon Brazos ate his lunch like usual, but he wasn't ready for his nap afterwards.  I tried several times to get him to take a nap, but he just wasn't ready to rest.

At 1:30 I gave Brazos a bath so he wouldn't be sweaty for his doctor's visit.  We then loaded ourselves into the car and off we went to the clinic.  He fell asleep on the drive over, and I was hoping he would stay asleep during his doctor's visit.  His last visit was not pleasant and I was afraid he was going to remember and have a repeat of before.  I had been praying that his visit would go well, and I thought to myself that maybe God is answering my prayers by having Brazos sleep during the visit.  Well, of course, he woke up as soon as I spoke to the receptionist at the front counter.

We walked to Waiting Room B and suprisingly he sat on my lap the entire time.  It could have been because he was too shy to play with the other little girl in the room.  As soon as she was called into her room, Brazos hopped off my lap and began to explore the waiting room.  He would walk out the door and peak his head around the corner.  Every now and then he would be brave enough to walk down the hallway until I grabbed his hand and led him back to the waiting room.  It was our best experience yet in the waiting room...so far.

The nurse called "Brazos" and we went to the weighing station.  They measured his height (30 1/4 inches; 50th percentile) and weighed him (22.5 pounds; 45th percentile).  I was a bit a shocked because I thought he was tall for his age, but apparently he's right on track.  The nurse then went to take his temperature by putting the thermometer into his ear and he let out his first cry.  All of a sudden I think the memories of the previous visit came rushing back to him.  He didn't want her to touch him at all!  She took us back into the waiting room until a room was available to see the doctor.

A few minutes later another nurse came to get us.  Brazos held my hand as we walked down the hallway and then he realized who we were following.  It was the nurse that had to hold him down during the previous visit!  He stopped in his tracks and tried to get me to turn the other way.  I had to pick him up to get him into the room.  She walked out and said, "Dr. Hussmann will be with your shortly."  Brazos was fine once she left and he remained calm waiting for the doctor.

When Dr. Hussmann came in, Brazos sat on my lap and just watched the doctor intensly.  Dr. Hussmann even commented on how well behaved Brazos was.  We talked about all the achievements Brazos has made such as walking, feeding himself, and saying words.  Then Dr. Hussmann put his stethoscope into his ears and leaned forward to listen to Brazos' heartbeat.  I'm sure it was pounding tremendously hard and fast, because Brazos let out a scream and cry!  Dr. Hussmann was shocked and asked what could the problem be, and I reminded him of the previous visit of having to get his ears cleaned and nurses having to hold Brazos down.  He finished his other check points quickly so Brazos would calm down.

After Dr. Hussmann left, Brazos began to fall asleep on my lap as we waited for the next nurse.  As soon as she walked in, Brazos lefted his head to look at her and BAM....he let out a scream and a cry!  He remembered her all too well.  I held him tightly as she gave him two shots, one in his arm and one in his leg.  She then gave him a blue balloon and everything was better...for now.

We were then told to go to the lab to get Brazos' blood drawn to test for anemia and lead (don't worry...all kids have to do this test).  Melinda was our nurse for the blood drawing.  She sat us in the chair and talked so sweetly to Brazos.  I was shocked that she was able to grab his hand without him pulling away.  He must of liked her soothing voice.  He watched and listened quietly, then BAM...she pricked his finger and he let out another scream and cry.  She had to keep squeezing his finger to get more blood out and he kept crying, but suprisingly he wasn't pulling away from her.  She finished quickly and said, "Don't tell your grandma that I did that to you."  (Melinda has known our family for a long time.  She used to be my brother's hair dresser when he was a kid.)

Our visit was over and we walked to the car.  As I drove home Brazos was sound alseep.  He slept for about two hours and woke up in a great attitude.  The rest of the day was great and you would have never known he went to the doctor except for those Snoopy band-aids on his arm and leg.  We don't have to go back until he's eighteen months old.  Yay!