Thursday, August 14, 2014

Check Up Time

The main reason we decided to start learning about doctors this week is that I had Gordon Lee's annual check-up planned.  I was getting ready to start talking about different community helpers each week.  So, I thought the doctor would be the best start.  His appointment was this morning.  We have read every single one of his 12 books at least 3 times already.  Some have been read 6 or more times.  So, Gordon Lee was extremely excited about this check-up.

He wanted to see the doctor's instruments.  He wanted to know how they worked, and he was hoping to get a sticker at the end of the appointment.  When I called to set up our health care here, I was asked if I wanted Gordon Lee to see a pediatrician or a general practitioner.  I opted for a pediatrician.  I figured a doctor who works only with children would probably be best.  After today, I feel like I was wrong.

I am not a fan of Gordon Lee's pediatrician.  I am a fan, however, of the pediatric nurse.  She was amazing! To all of the nurses out there.  BELIEVE ME--you do NOT go unnoticed.  The nurse brought Gordon Lee back, put him on the scale, measured his height.  And when he asked her how big he was, she showed him.  She was tickled by his answers to her questions.  And she encouraged his curiosity about what they do at the doctor's office.

Now, in preparation for the visit, Gordon Lee just HAD to bring some of his doctor books with him.  He wanted to compare his books to his actual visit.  So, during the wait time for the doctor, he went through all 3 books we brought.  In the first one, he found the picture of the scale and said, "That's exactly like the one I was just measured on!"  He also loved the fact that his examination table was a lion.
 In this picture, he is looking for the otoscope (hanging on the wall behind him) and cannot find it.
 I did a bad job taking this picture because I was trying to get a picture of the otoscope and of the picture of it on the page in his book.  But apparently I only got the one on the wall.  

I cannot even express how eager he was to soak up anything and everything he could learn today.  As the doctor walked in, he was in the middle of reading ABC Doctor.
He was excitedly going through the book and explaining where each item that he could find in the book was in the room.  The pediatrician came in.  She paid no attention to any of this.  I tried to explain to her that he was very excited and was reading his doctor books to learn.  She said, "Let's put that book away.  I have another book for you." She gave it to him.  He opened it up and started making up a story just looking at the pictures.  It was called Quick as a Cricket.
I was given a survey to fill out.  In the survey, apparently the doctor was supposed to use that book to test his literacy skills.  Instead she just used it to distract him while she checked his ears and nose.  She didn't seem particularly skilled with children.  When he was nervous about letting her look in his ears, she told him that if he moved it would hurt him.  This only scared him more.  We got to take the book home.  But I have to say that I was disappointed.  She didn't go along with Gordon Lee's excitement about the instruments.  I thought maybe she would let him see some of them, but she just didn't seem to care at all.  I was then encouraged to read to my child every day.  Yes, I already do that...2-3 times a day...every single day.

Thankfully, nothing squashes Gordon Lee's enthusiasm--not even a pediatrician who appears to care less about his curiosity.  So, at the end of the visit, he asked her for a sticker (because he had been reading that he might get one).  She tried to brush it off saying, "I don't have any stickers." But thankfully, the nurse, who was listening in, chimed right in and said, "I have stickers!" She brought him two large stickers, and he was pleased.  So, yes, in our visit, the nurse was way more amazing than the doctor.  Who knows? Maybe she doesn't really want to be a pediatrician or maybe she was having a hard day.

Finally, here are Gordon Lee's stats.
He is in the 95th percentile for height at 40 inches (3 ft, 4 inches).
He is in the 43rd percentile for weight at 31 lbs.
He is on or above all of his milestones, and he is very healthy.