Jay's 1 year check-up!

OMG, 3 posts in 1 day!

Oh well, whatever, lol...

On Monday we had Jay's 1 year check-up and oh my gosh that was THE LONGEST hour and a half EVER!

His appointment was at 130, but ever since he started walking I have to chase him around the house when it's time to go, so we were about 5 minutes late, but there were only 2 other sets of people in the waiting room, both in wheelchairs I might add, which piqued Jay's curiosity (especially the one guy with the helmet who was somewhat mentally handicapped - Jay kept starring as he played with the toys in the corner, doh!).

So after about 5-10 minutes in the waiting room they take us back, checking Jay's weight along the way.

Apparently he only weighs 22lbs, 12oz  (just under a 2lb gain from his 10 month weigh-in), which is in the 50th percentile although everyone swears he feels like he's at least 25lbs!

Height-wise, he is 30 1/2 inches long, which puts him in the 70th percentile, so they said he's a little on the tall side, which isn't a surprise to anyone, considering his daddy is 6'3" with siblings all around 6ft or taller. Remember the big deal they made before his birth about his femurs measuring small? Yeah, he's just torso-tall like we all figured he would be!

His head measures 46cm, so he's 50th percentile there too!

After they took all his measurements and checked his vitals they had us weight for what felt like a good 15-20 minutes before the doctor came in. And you would think for being a family practice that they would have better baby/child-proofed the exam rooms! I was literally chasing Jay all over the room as he wanted to play in the drawers and cabinets, then the non-biohazard trashcan, and the spinny stool, and then climbing on the exam table and licking the base of the floor lamp and then the chairs... it was tiring! I was about to ask if we could just go sit back in the waiting room until he was ready for us, that way Jay could play with the toys out there and not be getting into everything - I think I might do that next time!

Finally the doctor came in and said everything looks good - he was glad to hear Jay was switched over to table foods and whole milk and drinking from a sippy some. He was impressed to see him walking around too.

This visit also included some shots, including the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Ruebella), Hepatitis-A and the Varicella (Chickenpox) vaccine.

We opted not to do the Chickenpox vaccine, which our doctor was fine with, as he said it is a newer one and we have the final say when it comes to vaccines, however he did give us a paper that talked about the vaccine and why they recommend it. Honestly though, hubby and I both think it's a bit ridiculous that they're vaccinating against the Chickenpox now - growing up, as a kid, getting the Chickenpox was a rite of passage and just a part of childhood; when one kid on my block got it our parents all sent us to go play with them in hopes that we'd get it and get it over with it. Now, from what our doctor told me and what we read on the sheet he sent home, it sounds like it's a matter of convenience - the kids don't have to miss school and suffer all the the symptoms of it, parents don't have to miss work... (which for us isn't a big deal as I'm only part-time and my mom watches him when I can't). Since when do we vaccine just because it's convenient? Vaccinating for Chickenpox is just dumb and unnecessary in my opinion - most people got it as a kid and turned out just fine. Sure, there's the rare case of a kid dying, but you take that risk with everything in life. I'd rather not vaccinate against something as unnecessary as the Chickenpox. A friend of mine doesn't vaccinate for personal reasons (she has a brother with severe autism which developed when he was a child so obviously that plays a role in her decision), so I think when her kids get the Chickenpox I'll see if I can bring Jay over and let him play with them so that he can get it and get it over with.

So that's my take on that.

After the doctor left we had to wait another 5-10 minutes for the nurse to come in to give Jay his shots.

He was NOT happy and refused to way goodbye to her, and then gave her a cautious look when we ran into her on our way out. All the shots and bloodwork he's had this past year, you'd think I'd be used to see him get stuck, but for some reason this time made me feel sad. Probably because he knew it was coming when he saw the nurse come in (she's been the one doing his shots the last few times we've been there) and when we laid him down on the exam table.

He survived though and he seems to be doing fine. I've been keeping an eye on him, just because the MMR vaccine is the one that was linked to the autism controversy awhile back. Granted, the way I see it, if it's God's will for Jay to have autism, he'll have it regardless, vaccine or no vaccine.

We had to wait to schedule his next appointment, as there was only 1 lady working the desk and there was a line. Luckily we were back in the waiting room though so I let Jay go play with the toys in the corner of the room and that kept him occupied.

Thursday is our trip up to Milwaukee to visit his pediatric urology specialist. This is our first time visiting him at his new location, so hopefully we don't get lost! Hubby is taking the day off work and coming with us since he has to go in this Saturday, so I'm excited about that - he never gets to come to doctor appointments with us and given this exam, I could use the extra help keeping Jay out of things!