doctors appointments

Starting the end of April, we had a lovely two weeks with multiple doctor visits and a surgery.  We kicked off the fun by finally taking Elsie in for her one year blood work.  I had been dreading this like crazy.  Ryann's one year blood work was seriously one of the most terrible experiences of parenting for me (it took them FOREVER to get a vein and she was SCREAMING), so I just didn't want to do it.  Thankfully the lady was great, and even though Elsie screamed (duh, she hates everyone, double hate for people with needles) it was over quick and E perked right up with a few chocolate chips.  Food for the win!  The even bigger bonus is that all her labs came back normal, including allergy checks for rice and oats.  We have introduced oats without any issue and I'm assuming rice will be the same.  Yay!

Elsie's right tear duct never opened up, so we set the surgery date for May 15th.  They needed a physical form turned in at the hospital at least one week prior to surgery, so despite having a well check scheduled for the 14th, we got to make a separate pre-op visit for the 1st.  E screamed through the whole appointment.  Man I love taking her to the doctor.

Both Ryann and Elsie had well checks on the 14th of May.  They ended up going surprisingly well (thanks mostly to my mom being along to help!).  Elsie didn't cry near as much, and both girls earned themselves a clean bill of health.  Ryann weighed in at 36 pounds (59%) and was 39.37 inches tall (35%).  Elsie weighed 21 pounds 6 ounces (26%), and was 30.5 inches long (52%).  Her growth curve is interesting, it is always going up, but rises in waves, if that makes sense.  You can certainly see the growth spurts and then she stalls for a bit.  Kind of funny.  But she's growing!  And her head is in the 80% so there's that.

On May 15th was the dreaded surgery day.  I was a hot freaking mess about it.  I mean, I kept it together, but on the inside I was losing it.  We got to the hospital at 6:50am and got all check-ed in, had her vitals checked, signed all the papers, etc.  E surprised me and was a pretty happy camper, only whining a little bit right at the beginning.  After that she was throwing out lots of waves and hellos to nurses and doctors passing by our area.

I thought for sure she would freak the heck out when they took her away from us and back to surgery, but again to my surprise, we never saw or heard her cry.  We gave her a hug, and then a nurse just wheeled her back on her little bed.  Her surgery really only lasted maybe 30 minutes?  Tops?  After that we had to wait until she woke up in recovery before we could go see her.  That killed me.  I wanted to be there when she woke up.  I understand why they do what they do, but I wanted to be with her so badly.

After another half hour or so we were able to go be with her.  As I walked down the hall I could hear her crying and my heart was breaking.  I can't imagine being the parent of a child who has to deal with medical issues on a regular basis.  My heart goes out to you.  Elsie's nose was bleeding a bit from the surgery, so she was mad that we kept wiping her nose, and she didn't really calm down until they took the IV out.  She kept pointing at her leg and saying ow.  But once the IV was gone and she got of a steady stream of goldfish we were pretty much good to go.  Not long after the nurse came over, had us sign some papers and we were on our way.  We were home by 10am.  I'm so thankful everything went well, and quickly.  And her eye has been goop free ever since!  It is kind of crazy, I got so used to having to clean her eye and face all the time, now it is weird to have it be fine.

The doctor opted to place a stent, because the success rate of surgery is greater with it.  So unfortunately we will have to make at least one more trip back to the hospital to have it removed.  But she said it is quick and easy and a clinic procedure so hopefully it isn't an issue.

Aside from well checks, I'm hoping we can avoid the pediatrician for a little while now!