One-year appointment, someone give that girl a sucker

It’s funny how little things can become so important in your life when you have a child. Like suckers. Ella had her first one at the doctor’s office yesterday, and for 5 minutes it was a lifesaver.
Our 10:30 appointment got off to a bad start with a 40 minute wait in the waiting room. The six-year-old who became obsessed with Ella and followed us around the room talking and asking questions didn’t help either. Luckily my sweet angel was really patient. She was happy sitting in my lap with spurts of walking around and looking at the fish in the aquarium. This will be easy, I thought. If I can just hold out on breaking out the goldfish for the doctor’s office wait (i.e. waiting room #2) we should be good to go.
As always, just as I’m thinking they must have called my name and I didn’t hear it, our name gets called. I excitedly grabbed our bag, coat and Ella and head for waiting room #2.
We were quickly greeted by a nurse who does the preliminary work – a weigh-in and some quick questions. I’m crossing my fingers for Ella to weigh 22 pounds. We recently bought her a forward-facing toddler seat that starts at 22 pounds. I can’t wait to have her facing me the car! Besides, her legs are getting way too long for her little bucket seat.
20 pounds and 6 ounces. Shoot! The doctor informs me later her weight won’t be changing so rapidly anymore. Maybe only 3-4 pounds the entire next year. D’oh!
The nurse also informs me it’s time for her followup Hepatitis A and B shots and her MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) shots. Oh boy. Shots are the worst. It’s terrible to see pain inflicted purposely on your little innocent child you try so hard to protect. The nurse leaves me the usual Age/development sheet, which informs me the terrible twos are coming and I may witness tantrums, backarching, etc. Yikes.
I keep Ella happy with the goldfish and a cup of water while waiting for the doctor. The wait wasn’t bad at all.
The doctor arrives and gives me a lot of advice on food and behavior choices. Like give Ella the food we eat, rather than making her special kid meals each night. And also, ignoring a behavior can work better at stopping it than reacting with a no. Afterall, she may not even understand that word yet. To her it may just be a fun reaction. Hmmm. Seems we’re getting in to a whole new world here. It used to be all about the basics. Keeping her fed and safe. The toddler years seem a little more complicated! I think it’s going to get interesting.
Anyway, I appreciate the advice and am relieved it’s almost over. Then the doctor informs me she has ear infections. I’m so dissapointed because A. This is poor Ella’s third set this winter. and B. I brought her in last Monday because I thought she had them and she didn’t. So, those sneaky infections devloped in the last week.
Next, the nurse returns for the shots. Ugh. Until now, Ella has been a smiling, playful sweetheart enduring an hour and a half at the doctor’s office. Once she gets the FOUR shots, in both arms and two in the legs though, she’s bawling. She cries so hard she’s nearly hyperventalating. After the nurse leaves, I spend five minutes trying everything just to calm her down. Once she’s finally together, we go to the checkout counter. They inform me I was supposed to go to the lab for her finger prick. Crap!!
We head to the lab waiting room (waiting room #3). A mom sitting there with her little happy boy tells me he just had his shots too. But he’s sitting there happily enjoying a sucker. She tells me “she just discovered suckers six weeks ago at the bank.” They saved her life that day. I head to the nurse’s station to pick one up.
Finally, Ella is happy once again, enjoying her sucker like she’s forgotten everything that’s just happen. Hallelujah.

But once again our name gets called. They prick her finger and try to gather enough blood in a vial for tests. Ella is screaming bloody murder. And it’s taking forever. She tells me Ella receives the loud baby of the day award. Great! She was nice though. And I really feel for her that part of her job is to poke little sweet babies. Finally, the lab tech decides to prick another finger to get more blood. Poor Ella.
Finally we’re done. I know Ella must be starving by now. We now have a prescription for antibiotics (for the ear infections) to drop off and my baby’s a blubbering mess. I rock her in my arms with her blanket and we head out. And we set up our next two appointments — in three weeks and three months. I’m starting to wonder, are measles really that bad?