Doctor and Dentist Appointments

It's that time of year again. Fortunately the kids like the doctor and the dentist because they get to play with toys and have treats. And their new dentist is pretty darn cool.

The girls went to the doctor on the 15th, Emily for her 4 year checkup and Constance for her 18 month well-baby, including shots for both of them. Emily is healthy as usual. She just has some dry skin that we're fighting. It's worse with the heat, especially when she plays outside. She gets rashes on the inside of her knees, on her ankles, her wrists, on the inside of her elbow, even on her belly. I even thought at one point that she must be allergic to strawberries. But, no, it's just eczema and contact dermatitis. Other than that, she is on track. She is copying what people say and do more. She is becoming more independent minded. She climbs up the front of the bathroom counter. And she can open the back door, even when it's locked. I don't know if it's common for the age, but Emily has also become a little more needy. I know, independent and needy all at the same time. It must be hard. Oh, and she only weighs 22 pounds.

Constance is also healthy, but the doctor did find one problem. It appears that Constance has an innocent heart murmur. That means that it won't cause her problems. I just hope that it stays that way. Constance keeps informing me about how she's growing and about how her hair is growing. She is such a talker and so sociable. I really need to arrange for some play dates with other little girls her age. Constance is such a sweetheart, wanting to give everyone hugs and kisses.

Just a few days after this trip, however, we had to pay the doc another visit. Constance put a bead in her ear, from a broken bracelet. I grabbed the tweezers and prepared to pull it out, but it was so far in that I couldn't even see it at first. In fact, even the doctor didn't see it at first, and he had his special instruments. We ended up having to take her to a specialist the following morning. Constance kept insisting to me that she didn't need to get it out, that she didn't need to be fine. She was not a happy camper, but the special doc was finally able to cajole that bead out of her ear. I wasn't very happy when he gave it back to her, but since she dropped it outside, I didn't have to force her to throw it away. She really did a great job, and even shared one of her stickers. I was lucky enough to have my niece, Kjirsten, here to help out with the other kids.

Friday the 16th, all three kids got to meet their new pediatric dentist. They were all ecstatic with the games and toys in the waiting room. Once we got back to the cleaning room, Constance was a bit reticent to interact with the hygienists or to sit in the chair. Dante set the good example, and the kid has 6 cavities. They even said that he brushes well. He just needs to floss, too. I probably don't need to say that we picked up mouthwash on the way home. After watching Dante in the special chair showing off his teeth, Emily climbed right up. She was very good sitting for the dentist while she poked around in her mouth. In fact, I think that the dentist spent more time with Emily than with Constance. I ended up having to lay Constance down on my lap with her head on the dentists knees. I'd say that it was a pretty successful trip. I'm just not looking forward to the return trips for Dante. Ugh!

Let me just say that I am so blessed to have healthy children. And even though the bead-in-the-ear thing didn't make me too happy, I know that it could be worse.