Pink Bows and Pigtails: Our day of doctor appointments

I called to schedule Ella's two year and the twin's nine month doctor appointments two and a half months ago. The office has been so busy lately that I could only get the kids in with two separate doctors. I had Ella scheduled today with Dr. Parsons (their usual doctor) at 10:50am and the twins today with Dr. Behrens (a doctor Ella has seen for sick visits before, but not our usual doc) at 1:00pm.

Ella and I waited for an hour back in the room to be seen. We read books, learned songs Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and practiced counting and colors. It was nice to have some one on one time with her, even in that environment. Ella's appointment went great. She was 31 pounds. Ella has been 30 pounds for the past 4-6 months or so. She is in the 90%. I learned that we give her too much milk, that we need to start changing her diapers in the bathroom to promote potty training, and that her hair is normal :) Ha, not really normal, but not abnormal. I only asked about it because I have never seen another child with hair anything like hers! Dr. Parsons got a kick out of me telling her about the people that want to touch Ella's hair, ask me if I just rubbed a balloon on it, or if it is from static electricity. I thought she was going to lose it when I told her about these hippies that recently told me how "AWESOME" Ella's hair is. Dr. Parsons always says how adorable and cute Ella is. I'm sure it's part of her job, but it's always nice to hear.

I was literally home for 20 minutes before I had to leave with Hailee and Hannah for their appointment. Hailee was 18.4 pounds and Hannah was 16.4. Hailee is in the 35% and Hannah (who is finally on the charts) is in the 6%. Hailee's height is 27.5 and Hannah's 27, both in the 25%. Hailee's head was in the 95% and Hannah's the 55%. Their heads measured under one inch apart from each other, although I forget the exact circumference. H&H were sitting up, fighting, taking pacis and toys from each other, moving all around the table, banging on the mirror, being their crazy baby selves during the appointment. Dr. Behrens said she could not believe the girls were 30 weekers. She said their development seems fantastic. She played with them a lot to see how they reacted to different things. She said she thinks they are about caught up to their actual age! Hannah even got up on all fours and was rocking back and forth, back and forth. It was SO nice and reassuring to hear. Dr. Behrens said I should be feeding the girls three meals per day. I feed them two now. She said they are fine to start on mashed potatoes, avocados, things that I smash up that aren't completely pureed. She said I can even start on Cheerios...don't think I'm ready for that yet but we will see. I will probably stick with the organic Mum-Mums for now :) She said since they are doing well that she will want them on whole milk at 12 or 13 months at the latest versus waiting for their adjusted age of one year. This was great news for me...less time left for pumping means less bottles and equipment to wash, less heating milk up, less time spent hooked up to that darn pump. I really, Really, REALLY hate pumping more than anything..I just keep trucking along to do what's best for my girls :)

Then came the shots/tests of the day. They told me that the girls would have their fingers pricked to check their hematicrite levels. I knew right away they were checking for anemia with that and that my girls levels would probably come back low. UGH!!! The last thing I wanted to do is go to the lab and have to get blood drawn from them. Dr. Behrens said not to worry because they didn't look or act anemic at all. Low and behold, Hailee came back about a point low and Hannah three points low. Ahhh! I wanted to scream! I fed my girls in the room, packed them up, and on to the lab at Dublin Hospital we went.

My phone died pretty much right when I got there, so I had no contact with Paul. Both girls were crying and fussy from the shots they just got. The lab is also a urgent care, so there were about 10 kids in there with masks on because of some illness they had. Here I come carrying 40 pounds of babies and car seats to wait behind the 15 people ahead of us. I was NOT happy, to say the least. My poor girls got their fingers pricked again for a full CBC. Six hours of doctor appointments later, we were on our way home.

The nurse called this evening and the girl's levels were both fine. Of course they were...we've only been through this about 10 times with them. What a waste of time. I could've told them they would be fine. Anyways, at least they are healthy.

The only other thing we found out is that Hannah will have to get her eye probed for her clogged tear duct. It has been goopy and crusty basically since she came home from the hospital. We have been waiting to see if it would go away on it's own, but it hasn't. I just found out today that if she is over a year old when they probe it, that they will use general anesthesia. Umm..what?! NO WAY! They are not putting my baby down for something this minor. I called the Pediatric Ophthalmologist office as soon as I left the doctor to make her appointment. They said they couldn't get her in until mid-January for the consultation and that the actual procedure would be later than that, therefore she would have to be put down for it. Note: Hannah turns one year old January 27th. I was not having this. If I have learned anything through all of this medical crap we have gone through with them, it is that I will fight tooth and nail until I get what is best for them. After about five phone calls, including a call to Children's Hospital where they had their ROP exams, I have a doctor calling the Ophthalmologist office tomorrow morning demanding that Hannah get in for the procedure this calendar year.

I often think about how this past year has changed me and the kind of mother I am. If a doctor were to tell me when I just had Ella that she was anemic and we had to go have blood drawn, I probably would've started crying. I used to make Paul go to every appointment that Ella would have shots at, and I would never watch them be administered. If a doctor would tell me back then that they couldn't get Ella in until a certain time, I would've probably just have hung up and dealt with it. I feel like I am a stronger mom now. I think I am a better example for my children. I am not such a "softy" as Paul would call it. I will stand up to anyone and go to any length to get what is best for each of them. I feel like if I am not my child's advocate, then who is? Yep, no one. I know I am this way because of the experiences we have been through this past year. Everything happens for a reason, right? :)

I didn't want to post with no photos so I took a few of my girls before bed tonight.