Worries

Ryan and I thought we'd be smart and take all three kids to the pediatrician's office for their respective checkups at the same time. Yes - three kids at the same time. We got there at 8:30. We got home at noon. Seriously.

After filling out some paperwork for Evan, we were whisked back to our exam room with no delays, which is not surprising since we had the first appointment of the day. All three were weighed and measured. All three got their temperatures taken and Sydney got the added bonuses of a blood pressure check, eye exam and hearing test.

Frankly, we were only worried about Evan since it was his two week checkup. I just wanted to make sure he was gaining weight and wanted to ask about the goop that's been building up in his eyes. As it turns out, he was the least of our worries.

Not only was he back to his birth weight, but he was actually five ounces past it and 1.5 inches longer than at birth, proving that he is indeed eating enough. Some simple massages to his tear ducts and a few eye drops will take care of the goop. Case closed.

Liam was there for his 18 month checkup. While his height and weight were fine (a little below average, but consistent with his last few checkups), the pediatrician was worried about his verbal skills. She obviously thought we were nuts because we couldn't tell her EXACTLY how many words he says (animal and vehicle sounds apparently count, but his sign language words do NOT count [which is totally stupid, if you ask me]). Honestly, she's more worried than we are; Sydney didn't really start talking until 21 months and now we can't get her to stop.

Sydney was there for her 5 year checkup. She passed the hearing, vision and blood pressure tests with flying colors (we're still waiting for the results of her cholesterol test). However, her height has the pediatrician worried. Apparently, she's fallen to the 5th percentile from the 25th percentile over the past year and now we have to monitor her growth over the next few months. But, given that neither Ryan nor I were blessed with height, I don't think there's much we can do.

Also, the pediatrician warned us that Sydney's tonsils may have to be taken out. She commented on their size and asked about sleep apnea symptoms. We're supposed to start watching for those as well.

I thought that parents were supposed to be the worriers, but it turns out that our pediatrician is a bigger worrier than we are. I know she's just doing her job, but jeez, like we don't have enough going on in our lives right now! But, I guess we'll start counting Liam's words and measuring Sydney's height on a monthly basis.

The things you have to do when you're a parent.......