All Doctored Up

Yesterday we finally made it to Grace's 3-year-old check-up.  Only about 4 months late, right?  And to think that Rob is even a pediatrician...  Anyway, it went well and thanks to the vigilance of our pediatrician in Connecticut, she didn't even have to get any shots.  This is the second time we've tried to have her annual check-up, the first attempt being foiled by a scheduling mix-up (which I am POSITIVE was not my fault) and the swine flu hysteria.  That failed attempt turned out to be the last straw for me with that pediatrician; I have come to realize that she wasn't the best match for my parenting style.  I'm sort of laid-back, attachment-parenting-oriented, and pretty well-read in the parenting literature canon, and she was super conservative in the sense of jumping to (what seemed to me unnecessary) interventions and specialists and whatnot.  I am now dubbing her an "activist doctor"-- you know, like an "activist judge".  Also she was not super supportive of all the usual attachment parenting stuff; I can deal with that, since so few pediatricians ARE, but it was another strike against her.   Her biggest positive trait was taking a LOT of time for visits, but I don't think that's really what I need or want.  Maybe it's that Rob is a doctor or my background in science or whatever, but I don't feel like I need a lot from a pediatrician.   And then to top it off, her office mucked up our appointment so we are bidding her adieu.

Yesterday we took Grace to a different doctor who Rob worked with during med school and I think we're going to like him.  Poor Grace had quite a bit of anxiety as we approached her appointment, though.  Although she doesn't remember remember getting shots herself, she's seen Violet get vaccinations at 2 weeks, 2 months, and 4 months (crying in angry infant distress), and she's developed quite an antipathy to the idea of shots.  I was afraid that we were headed for a breakdown of massive proportions with just over 30 lbs of flailing toddler protest and terror because now she knows the drill-- they weigh you, look in your ears, and so forth, and THEN the NURSE comes in and causes you great pain.  Fortunately, she didn't have to get any because of differences in schedules between our old pediatrician and these new guys.  She was so happy about it and even mentioned it in her bedtime prayers last night.  Without the specter of shots hanging over her, she was able to thoroughly enjoy having her heart listened to and peeing into a cup.

Speaking of doctor visits and such, I recently looked up Grace's growth chart to compare to Violet's in the hopes of predicting what size Violet might wear when it gets cold.  You may remember that I have continually mentioned that Violet is much bigger than Grace, but no more!  Their weights AND lengths at 4 months were almost exactly the same.  This fact astonishes me, although perhaps I am even more astonished  by the fact that we remember things so wrong.  Grace did in fact develop multiple chins and fat rolls and whatnot by the time she was 6 months old.  I think her drastic slim-down a few months later colors how I think of her growth.  I hope that Violet doesn't change proportions so dramatically.  Worrying about how much your baby is eating, having doctors make concerned faces about her growth, and going in for weight checks is super stressful.