So, I didn’t write these down at the doctor’s office yesterday, but I’m pretty sure their accurate (I’m positive on the weight, because I was paying close attention on that one):
- height – 30.5 inches (60th percentile)
- weight – 22lbs 4 oz. (50th percentile)
- head circumference – 18.5 inches (75th percentile)
In other words, Toren is normal and average (This isn’t Lake Wobegon, people! Average is just fine!). He’s walking on his own, says “Mama” and “Dada,” and is otherwise healthy – though a little on the anemic side, despite daily iron supplements. Ergo, all is mostly well. Yeah!
Now that the boring stuff is over, it’s time for a story. To check Toren for anemia required a finger prick. Toren did really well when they pricked his finger. He even did okay as they put the band aids on. But as soon as the nurse left, Toren’s bandaged finger went straight into his mouth where he tried to bite off the bandages. Debi kept pulling his hand out of his mouth, but he eventually succeeded. That wouldn’t have been a problem if the bleeding had stopped. But it hadn’t. In fact, he had quite a little trickle of blood coming out of his finger. Combine that with the fact that he is very active, didn’t want to let us rebandage his hand, and had two people who are very inexperienced bandaging a baby (we’ve never had to bandage Toren), things didn’t go well. The nurse actually told us where the band aids were if he pulled his off. So, while Debi tried to hold him, I tried to bandage him up.
Five band aids and two cotton balls later, Toren’s tiny finger prick was covered. The room looked like we’d sacrificed a small chicken though – there was blood all over the paper sheet covering the examination table, all over Toren, all over Debi’s arms and hands and shirt, and all over my arms. And, of course, the Doctor walked in just as we finished getting the bandages on. She must have thought we were insane. Seriously, how hard can it be to put a band aid on a 1 year-old?
Oh, and Toren thought the whole thing was quite entertaining. He didn’t seem to understand what the fuss was all about. And 5 minutes later, he pulled the band aids off again. We let the doctor bandage it that time.
