Eliana's 4 year old checkup

Weight: 35 lbs (50th percentile)
Height: 40.75" (50th percentile)
Hearing check: passed
Vision check: passed, with great gusto.

Eliana enjoyed the vision check. She thought the "E's that point different ways" were "bery cool" and had fun telling the nurse whether they pointed to the "bird, rabbit, girl, or batter." (The batter was a little boy with a baseball bat. I think most kids probably just call him "the boy" but Elly had to be more exact.)

When we saw the doctor, Eliana proudly followed directions exactly and promptly. (She was showing off for the doctor how big she was.) Dr. Kerr and I discussed shots and decided to have her get DTaP and IPV this year so that she would only get two shots next year.

After Dr. Kerr left, while we were waiting for the nurse to come do the vax'ing, I explained to Elly that she was going to have two shots and that they were going to hurt, but that the pain would go away. I asked her if she wanted to sit on my lap. She said, "No, Mommy. I'm big now, so I can handle it. I can handle sitting next to you instead." I explained that the shots would go in her arm or her bottom or her leg. She said, "Well, I want them in my arm."

The nurse came in and asked Elly to come up and sit on the examining table. She did, and held out her arm, but then withdrew it and said, "But wait! I want to sit next to my Mommy." So I joined her on the examining table. She held out her arm again. The nurse wiped it with alcohol and then said, "I think we'd better do her leg, there isn't much muscle here." The nurse wiped her thigh with alcohol and Elly said, "Whatcha doin' with that?" The nurse explained that it would clean it so no germs went in her leg with the shot, then told her to look away. I told Elly "OK, it's coming now" and after the jab, Elly took a deep breath in through her nose, held it for a second, and then breathed out fast. I told her when the second shot was coming, too, and she didn't react at all to it. The nurse and I complimented her on a great job and she beamed and said, "yeah, that's because I'm big now."

Kes sat in a corner and read the whole time, stopping only to ask if I could read to her, and going back to the book herself when I said I had to talk to the doctor.