18-month Check-up

Jillian turned 18 months last week, so it was time for a visit to the doctor. Mommy and Daddy headed down to the family medical center in Vancouver in the afternoon, and Sweetie-Pie slept all the way there, since she was having some serious melt-down issues earlier. When we got there, we found out that the clinic had built a new waiting room for kids, complete with a TV that was playing an Elmo video. When Jillian saw it, she started yelling "ELMO!!!", and shaking from excitement. When Elmo started dancing, she danced right along with him in the waiting room. When the video stopped, she was on the move, going up and down the elevator and stairs (with Mommy and Daddy's help). After a wait, we finally got in to see the doctor.

The nurse practitioner came in to visit, and did all the measurements. Jillian now weighs 23 lb 15 oz, which is in the 50th percentile, and her height is 32-1/4 inches, which is in the 75th percentile. Her growth continues to follow the same curve on the doctor charts. We also found out that her head size is still in the 90th percentile, and the new measurement of body mass index (BMI) put her right at the middle.

Then Dr. O'Neal came in and talked with Mommy for a while about Jillian's development. Then she checked her over for heartbeat, breathing, vision and hearing, and Sweetie-Pie sat very patiently through the whole thing, never squirming or fussing. She was a very good little patient. She even displayed some of her vocabulary to the doctor, saying "eat, eat" over and over again (since she was hungry). She did get a little tired of the whole thing, and wanted out of the room, and when Daddy said "no", she displayed a little attitude with a short angry yell, which the doctor also got to see. This part of the examination eventually came to an end, Jillian gave the doctor a hug and a kiss.

It wasn't over, though, as the nurse practitioner came back in and applied some tooth varnish, which Jillian didn't care much for, even though it had a banana taste. And then it was time for the dreaded shots. The nurse pinned down her legs and Mommy held her arms, and bam, bam, bam ... those were some of the quickest shots ever. Jillian was not happy; she cried immediately and kept crying for several minutes. So, we left and headed to Burgerville for the traditional french fries and a milkshake, and everything was OK again.