Is there a doctor in the house?

Exam 3 of 4 for my last class of the summer begins in ten hours.  I should be studying, but I'd rather indulge my inner procrastinator.  Lucky you!

To illustrate my recent post about Eily's obsession with doctors, here's a picture of her taking care of Timmy the Sheep.




 
Yesterday was our big trip to the allergist to discuss her peanut allergy.  In true Eily form, she made quite an impression at this new doctor's office.  When we arrived, she climbed into a chair in the waiting room directly across from the receptionist's window and sat there quietly surveying the room through her sunglasses.  Despite the efforts of the few other patients waiting there to get her attention, Eily sat stoically, her little hands in her lap.  Think diva.  That was her look.  After two or three minutes went by, she had warmed up and hopped down to check out the selection of reading material.  As inviting as Dr. Gupta's office was, I have to admit it wasn't nearly as kid-friendly as I had anticipated.  The only magazines to be found were Sports Illustrated and People.  Eily chose People, sat back down, and began to "read."  By this point, the mom and daughter sitting next to me were bursting with laughter.  When asked how old she was, I replied, "Two going on twenty."  That pretty much sums up her attitude.

Surprisingly, when we were called back to Dr. Gupta's office for our consult, Eily began squirming and whining.  She begged to go home and even pulled a great "I have to go potty!" to get herself out of there. I'm not sure why she got so upset.  As far as appointments go, this was the easy part where I sat and relayed the history of reactions Eily has had to peanuts over the past year.  Maybe she's smarter than I give her credit for and knew something else was bound to happen.

I've never been to an allergist myself.  I knew they did skin tests to check for reactions to allergens, but I've never witnessed the process myself.  After our consult, we went over into an exam room where I removed Eily's shirt.  Because she's never been exposed to other nuts (I know, I know, peanuts aren't "nuts", but I'm paranoid!), we had to test for all of the common culprits.  I was relieved at the thought of knowing for sure whether I had to ban nuts entirely from the house, so I went along with it.  That's when the hard part started.  For every type of nut tested, Dr. Gupta had to scratch Eily's back with a fine needle dipped in allergens.  It was my unfortunate task to hold her during this.  By the second one, she was screaming, "Ow, that hurts!" with tears streaming down her face.  My confidence plummeted as I held her and thought how silly I was being, that this whole "allergy thing" was just in my head and I was subjecting my child to unnecessary torture.

Once the scratches were done, we had to wait ten minutes before Dr. Gupta could read the results.  She left us in the exam room, where I tried in vain to calm Eily down.  She was inconsolable - shrieking, crying, trying to itch her back - all the while telling me "I hurt!"  At that point, I was pretty sure I was getting the Worst Mother Ever award.

Five minutes into our ten minute wait, Dr. Gupta came back to check on us and offered Eily a lollipop.  For the first time since they began, I suddenly had an appreciation for the two-year old mood swings.  The cries of "I hurt" were quickly replaced with an excited expression of "Ooooo!" as Eily plucked a lollipop from the basket in Dr. Gupta's hand.  I opened the candy for her, and she happily smiled at Dr. Gupta and said, "Thank you."  When the doctor returned at the end of our wait, Eily hopped up on the table and said, "Doctor make feel better!"  just as she had in Dr. Marcus's office last week.  Dr. Gupta was amazed at the transformation - not too many kids want to talk to her after that experience and I can't say I blame them, no matter how sweet she is.

In the end, I found that my mommy license would not be revoked due to hyper-paranoid behavior.  The scratch test was worthwhile, as it revealed that Eily does indeed have an extreme sensitivity to peanuts.  It also assuaged my fears of feeding her any other nut products, since there were no reactions for those.  (Looks like I'll be acquiring a taste for almond and cashew butter in the near future.)  My biggest fear as we left was that the whole experience had ruined her for doctor visits in the future.  However, as we drove by Dr. Marcus's office (right next door to Dr. Gupta's building), Eily shouted, "Go Doc Marcus!" and pointed.  (The kid seriously has an insane memory.  How she recognizes the building from outside is beyond me.)  While we didn't get a chance to stop in and see her buddy, Dr. M, I was relieved to see that she hadn't developed any lasting fear of doctor's offices from this one visit.

As you can see here, life was pretty much back to normal today.  She got to hang out with her friend Ava, and we even stuck around after I got out of class so the two could enjoy some more popsicle and pool time.

 She's one tough cookie, and I'm in awe of all the bravery bottled up in that little body of hers.

For those who weren't aware....

Family members (on Jesse's side, anyway) probably already have this link, but I wanted to share Kiara's website with those of you who may not know her. She is Jesse's amazing talented sister and Eily's super fabulous Auntie Kiki. We're excited to have her joining us this weekend to shoot our good friends Zak & Heather's wedding. (And if I know Kiara, a few dozen pictures of the wee Smudge will probably end up being taken, as well.) If you're interested in seeing some new photos she took of Eily, as well as her prize-winning entry in a recent photo contest, check out her blog entries by clicking the link: Eily May 2011

Two Year Stats Are In!

Hi all! It's been a very busy summer so far. I'm currently organizing hundreds of photos (literally) in hopes of getting a few up in the next day or two. We have lots of upcoming excitement planned, which means I need to get the old stuff posted quickly before I forget about it. While you wait to hear about all the adventures we've had since school got out at the beginning of May (ha! as if!), you might be interested in hearing how the wee one is developing, so I'll indulge you in the story of Eily's big 2 Year checkup.

We actually went to see Eily's doctor, Dr. Marcus, a few weeks ago for a minor rash that wouldn't go away. It was no big deal, but I mention it to exemplify the typical series of events that occur in the time leading up to a semi-annual checkup. We go 5 months without needing to call the doctor, then see him twice the month before the regular appointment. (In case you're worried, the rash has cleared.) Another reason I bring up this visit is to talk about a pattern I noticed developing when it came to Eily and the doctor's office. At a previous appointment in January, she became agitated when I told her we were going to the doctor, and the same thing happened with the visit for her rash last month. In an attempt to make her more comfortable before going in for a followup the next week, I decided to buy her a toy doctor kit. Little did I know how much she would like it and become obsessed with the idea that doctors help us feel better. When we went back the following week, instead of whimpering and saying, "No go doctor!" while running away from me, she immediately shouted, "See doctor! Make feel better!"  Considering she said the same thing before a routine checkup yesterday when she was feeling fine, I hope I haven't created a hypochondriac like her Auntie Katie.  (Love you, sis!)

Another couple of weeks have passed, and admittedly the doctor kit has lost its novelty. But when I told Eily we were going to see Dr. M yesterday, I almost burst out laughing as she yelled, "Dr. Marcus! Yay!" and ran for the door. Before we could leave, however, she grabbed her Timmy sheep and asked if we could bring him with us. I thought she was due for a vaccine, so I didn't mind her bringing a buddy to help her feel better. Eily did not, however, need moral support. She was far more concerned about Timmy, whom she thougth was in need of some TLC. In the car, she informed me that Timmy had a booboo and needed a shot. I listened to her chattering away to him in the back seat, kissing his fleecy forehead and telling him the doctor would "make feel better." Needless to say, it was a rather entertaining ride.

In the doctor's office, Eily officially graduated from the table scale they use for babies to the "stand up like a big kid" scale. Gone are the days of stretching her on a paper mat and penciling a dot for the top of her head and bottom of her feet to get a height. She stood against the wall and let the assistant, Olinda, measure her against a ruler on the wall. When she finished, Eily said she did "awesome." Olinda got quite a kick out of this, as well as Eily slapping her high five when she left us in the exam room to wait for the doctor.

When Dr. M came in, Eily insisted he listen to Timmy's heart with the stethoscope.  She happily sat still while he checked her with the otoscope (ears/eyes/mouth instrument with magnification & a light for those of you who don't happen to have one in your toy doctor kits).  She then repeated what she had told me in the car - Timmy needed a shot.  Dr. M assured her that neither she nor Timmy were in need of any shots for this appointment.  I think I have the only child in the world who was disappointed by this news.  

The rest of the appointment centered on my increasing and admitted paranoia about her peanut allergy.  Per the instructions of one of Dr. M's partners at her 18month checkup, we've tried to keep all peanut contaminated foods away from Eily in the hopes of her outgrowing what we hoped was just a sensitivity. Unfortunately, since that appointment, there was one instance where Nicole tried to kill my child * Eily ate jelly with trace amounts of peanut butter - as in, you couldn't even see any in the jelly - and had a reaction.  Dr. M is pretty sure it's time to call it what it is, an allergy.  We've got an appointment set up with an allergist to have the official test done and to also find out if she takes after her Nana with a shellfish allergy. If the results come back positive, Jesse and I will have to discuss following through with the agreement we made before Eily was born:  to disown her if she's allergic to peanuts.**

 With the exception of food allergies, though, Dr. M said Eily is looking and growing great.  There's certainly no concerns about her cognitive abilities at this point, which she clearly demonstrated by talking to him during the entire appointment.  As for the physical side, the official stats are:

Height:  33 inches - 25th percentile (that's more than half my height!!!!)

Weight:  26.2 lbs - 50th percentile

Head circumference:  19inches - 50th percentile

In other words, she's average weight in a short little body.  Poor thing didn't stand a chance with our genes.

*Nicole did not intentionally give Eily peanut butter contaminated jelly, so she's been forgiven.  

** While peanuts and peanut butter are my absolute favorite things to eat in the entire world, I'm pretty convinced I love Eily more.  We probably won't make good on that pre-baby agreement.