Hadley had her eight-year doctor appointment Friday. Here are her stats from the appt:

Height: 4′ 2″ (45th percentile)
Weight: 65 lbs (77th percentile)
BMI: 18.28 (85th percentile)
Blood Pressure: 92/66
Pulse: 100

It was a pretty simple appointment. Our regular doctor was sick so we just kept it to the basics. Hadley got weighed, measured, checked her vitals, and went over the standard list of questions about her routine, diet, school, and friends. She passed it all with flying colors. She wasn’t due for any immunizations today but she did get the flu shot.

We also did a hearing check because it had been a while since she was checked. Hadley passed that one as well! All in all it was a successful and easy appointment. Until next year!

Hadley had her seven-year doctors appointment Thursday. Here are her stats from the appt:

Height: 121.9 cm or 4′ (53th percentile)
Weight: 58 lbs 3.2 oz (80th percentile)
BMI: 17.76 (86th percentile)
Blood Pressure: 90/60
Pulse: 110

After the nurse measured Hadley’s height, weight, and blood pressure, we saw our doctor. Unlike previous appointments, we had a few things to discuss with the doctor. So after his exam and questioning of Hadley’s habits and skills, we brought up our concerns. The first was a bump she has on the back of her knee. He said it’s just a small wart and wrote a prescription for this “magic wart cream” that was created by a pharmacy out in Clackamas. Medication to be applied topically to the wart and it should go away with a few weeks.

Secondly, we have had a few issues with random vomiting (with Hadley already having a very sensitive gag reflex, this added up to more vomiting than I was comfortable calling “normal”) that were not accompanied with any other issues. No fever, no flu, no cold. She would throw up once and go on like it never happened. He asked her some diet-related questions (eating spicy foods, too much food before bed, drinking chocolate milk, etc.) and speculated that it was likely due to the caffeine in the chocolate milk, Hadley’s drink of choice, and asked her to limit it to once a week or for special occasions. He also asked her about her bowel movements (thankfully, this no longer something I am involved in). He said that whenever she pooped at home she should have me look at it and, showing me a chart on “types of poop,” see if it looked normal. I assured him that Hadley could certainly tell him what her own poop looks like. She quickly looked at the chart and declared, “I always have ‘deer poops’ like number 1.” He said that solved that matter and she is severely constipated and needs to start taking MiraLAX daily until she can be more of a “number 4” on the chart. And the poop talk just keeps on coming!

Our final issue was with bedwetting (or the clinical term of “nocturnal enuresis”). Hadley is such a deep sleeper that she is unable to wake herself up at night to use the bathroom. We weren’t worried about it, knowing she would outgrow it eventually, and the doctor assured us it’s perfectly normal and that as many as 15% of seven-year-olds have the issue. He said it just becomes a concern when the child is embarrassed or ashamed to wear a pull-up (usually when around others, like at a sleepover). Hadley said she doesn’t want to have accidents anymore and so we decided it was time to take action. He said they have had great success with the bedwetting alarms that teach the child, through a Pavlovian response, to wake up to use the bathroom. Hadley was really excited and we went home and ordered one right away.

Despite all of our questions and concerns, the doctor assured us that Hadley is perfectly normal and healthy. He gave her a clean bill of health. She got a flu shot from the nurse and we were good to go until next year!

Hadley had her six-year doctors appointment last Thursday. Here are her stats from the appt:

Height: 115.5 cm or 3′ 9.47″ (56th percentile)
Weight: 51 lbs (79th percentile)
BMI: 17.34 (87th percentile)
Blood Pressure: 90/58

After the nurse measured Hadley’s height, weight, and blood pressure, we saw our doctor. He had a conversation with Hadley about her habits (drinking milk, eating veggies, exercising, getting enough sleep etc.) and how she likes school. He asked if she knew her ABCs (which she promptly recited in record speed) and could count to ten (“I can count OVER 100!”). He asked a bunch of questions that felt like an interview which Hadley answered extensively like an enthusiastic celebrity while he performed her physical exam. In fact she was so distracted by giving her thorough answers she didn’t even notice he had done the reflex test (which she loves) and tried to call him out on it. “Um, you forgot to do the” mimes hitting her knee, “test.” And we all laughed and assured her he did the test–which she passed with flying colors. He said she did great and everything looks fantastic. She was also happy to hear that she didn’t need any immunizations, just the flu shot, which Ana would also be getting (I’m all about equality).

Hadley got her flu shot, declared it didn’t even hurt, picked a sticker, and we were done!

Hadley had her five-year doctors appointment last Thursday. Here are her stats from the appt:

Height: 43.07″ or 3′ 7.07″ (64th percentile)
Weight: 44 lbs (76th percentile)
BMI: 16.68 (84th percentile)
Blood Pressure: 94/40

We started her appointment with her usual weighing and measuring. Then we moved on to the eye exam. Hadley was excited to pick out the shapes on the wall and they said she did great.

Then once we were in the exam room, the nurse checked her blood pressure. Hadley was very interested in watching everything that was happening.

Then she got to do another game, er, test. This time it was to check her hearing. Once again she did great…so there are no excuses for not listening to me when I ask her to clean up her toys!

Then she got to get into the Looney Toons gown (which she was very excited to model for me) to get ready to see the doctor. Our regular doctor was out because he is recovering from back surgery, so we saw a different doctor who is actually a friend of ours. It was fun seeing her for the first time in a professional setting and it really made Hadley feel relaxed and comfortable. They were able to chat and go over all the usual appointment checklists without Hadley feeling uncomfortable or nervous.

Eventually our time with the doctor ended and it was time to send in the nurse with Hadley’s immunizations (IPV and DTaP) as well as her flu shot. Knowing she needed three shots did not go over well with Hadley. After the first one, she let any pretense of bravery go and burst into tears. But she was happy to wipe the tears away as soon as the box of prizes came into view. She picked a tiny purple slinky and it made everything better. Until next year…