Another visit to the Dr.

Tommy's 9-month-old-ness means a new trip to the Dr.

At a whopping 17 lbs 8.8 ounces my kid has broken into the double digits in weight percentile-dom. 10th to be exact. He's also 28 inches long which puts him in the 50th percentile for height. His noggin is also completely average.

Being the first patient in the morning means not as much time waiting in the waiting room with the other "well kids". But we did have a few minutes to observe the new parents (3 days old!) in the corner.

I remember going in when Tommy was 3 days old and seeing a mom who was there for her ENORMOUS child's 1 year checkup. I remember thinking "Wow! A whole year! I don't know if we'll ever be that old." And I watched this new mom's face think the exact same thing when I told her my ENORMOUS (10th percentile) "baby" was 9 months old.

Her husband was with her, she was wearing sweat pants and if she's anything like me she was terribly uncomfortable on those stupid chairs. I almost told her I was impressed with how casually she sat down (she didn't cringe or anything!) but then I decided that commenting on another woman's ability to sit after having a child is probably not socially acceptable behavior.

Her baby slept quietly in her car seat, her blankets still look new, she still has all her baby hair and  I'm willing to bet neither of them have slept in the past 3 days and they are both positively glowing. They probably haven't fought about what to do with their child at all. They seemed to bask in the newness and goodness of it all.

They made goo goo eyes at each other (parents & baby) while I wrestled my monster in the our corner.

Tommy screeched and shouted and babbled while their Tiny Sweetheart slept and her lips twitched.
Tommy wrestled to get down and stomped on my face. Tiny Sweetheart never even strained against the car seat buckle.
Tommy nearly got whiplash from trying to decide weather to play with the light switch behind me or watch the Disney movie on the other wall. Back and forth back and forth SCREEECH!!!! back and forthbackandforth SQUEAL!!!! backandforthbackandforth GIGGLES! He simply wouldn't calm down.

I just can't figure out when that change happened.
I remember the first time I picked him up carefully placing both hands under his arms and around his chest instead of "one hand under bum, one hand under head".
I remember the belly button stump falling off.
I remember when he started standing up.
I remember packing away his newborn clothes.
But I simply can't remember when he went from the "quiet angel baby who is too small to cause any kind of trouble and just sits there looking tiny and peaceful" he used to be to the "ball of energy, noise, and flailing limbs" that he is now.

I wonder if the mom who saw me in the waiting room when Tommy was just 3 days old thought the same things of me.
I wonder if she looked at my teeny tiny child and couldn't figure out when her child turned old.
I wonder if she noticed that I cringed when I sat down and secretly cringed with me.
I wonder if she silently applauded my ability to get dressed and leave the house.
I wonder if she laughed when Josh and I didn't know there was a sick kids side and a well kids side.
I wonder how her nearly 2 year old "baby" is doing today.

After Tommy was weighed and measured we sat down on the floor in the exam room and played with toys. I know I know...unsanitary, unclean, hard, dangerous. Whatever. My child has a maximum number of minutes he can sit on someone's lap per week. And I'm not wasting them in a room by myself when there are toys to be played with on the floor.

Dr. Lady came in and declared him "just the perfect child" and me "a lucky mom" because he's right on track with growth and development (still no crawling....but worm-crawling) and is full of smiles.

Then the mean nurse lady (who is actually very nice) came in and poked my baby until he cried. Which took approximately 2.1 seconds while I held his hands and put my face right next to his so neither of us could see the needle.

As soon as that mean old lady with the sharp things left Tommy was happy I was holding him and even smiled at me as soon as she was in the hall. I have to say, it's nice being the one to rescue him for once instead of being that mean old lady who won't give him food and Josh rescuing him from me.

In all? Not a bad day at the Dr.'s office.