Wellness Visit Updates

Oliver and Soren really love me right now.  They had back-to-back doctor's and dentist's appointments.  But they survived and came home with clean bills of health. 

Oliver was a lot more comfortable at the dentist than last year.  He cried about having to sit in the special chair, but settled down, let the hygienist take x-rays and then didn't freak out when I left the room to take Soren to have his teeth cleaned.  When I came back in to check on Oliver, he was following the hygienist's instructions - and gripping the arms of the chair with dear life.  He cried again when the dentist came in to inspect his teeth and apply fluoride, but his mood took a 180 when he was finally allowed to climb down from the chair.  With tears still staining his cheeks, he happily proclaimed, "It's Soren's turn!"

I reconfirmed that Soren does NOT like having his teeth cleaned.  I'll just leave it at that.  He has 15 teeth now and the only fun fact that came out of his visit is that he'll probably only end up with 19 of 20 baby teeth.  He's missing a lateral incisor and those usually erupt before age two and they're one of those most common baby teeth a kid could be missing, so the dentist's hunch for now is that he won't get one. 

The next morning the kids visited the doctor for the respective four-year and two-year wellness visits.  They were happy as could be in the waiting room, but as soon as the nurse called their names, Soren started to cry and that prompted Oliver to be clingy and anxious.  We hadn't even made it to the exam room and, let's just say, my kids had already announced their presence!  The nurses just chuckle when they see us coming.

Oliver is in the 25th percentile for both height and weight, at 39 inches tall and 32 pounds, 8 ounces. 

Soren is supposedly in the 25th percentile for height at 33 3/4 inches, but I was confident in the nurse's quick measurement on a kid who wasn't lying still, so I think he's more like 33 inches.  At 24 pounds and 2 ounces, he's in the 5th percentile for weight. 

I asked the doctor about Soren's monthly fevers.  He was in again last week and the doctor he saw it's normal for kids over the age of six months to catch a virus on average once a month.  I followed up with Soren's pediatrician at his wellness visit, because while I understand young kids can seem like they're constantly sick, like they have a running nose or unsettling cough that seems to last all winter, Soren's illnesses come at regular intervals of three to four weeks.  He has a high fever for about three days, with few other symptoms, and then it's gone.  The doctor says for kids experiencing what I described, there might be something more serious going on than just catching another virus.  But he ruled out anything too concerning given that Soren is following his growth curves perfectly and he rebounds quickly and well from each episode.  So instead of putting him through extensive test for something he'll probably grow out of, his doctor and I decided we'd take a wait-and-see approach.