Back to the Doctor

Today was Wynn's wellness appoitnment at the doctor's office - to follow-up on her pneumonia and start getting data for her medical record. They did the weights and measures; here's how she fared: head circumference in the 50th percentile, height in the 5th percentile, and weight below the 5th percentile for her age - told you she's tiny. The doctor did remind us that the percentiles are based on all American babies, regardless of ethnic backgound. Being Asian, Wynn's going to tend to be smaller; still, we've been instructed to fatten her up. (That's why we stopped at McD's for dinner after the appointment; she REALLY likes chocolate shakes!)

Part of the visit today was a pretty hefty blood draw - five vials. She didn't like getting stuck; she wailed and cried the entire time. To her credit, though, she did stop crying within about two minutes of the blood draw. The tech's comment on working with her was, "Wow, she's strong!" Because of her size, I think people tend to expect her to be either much younger or much more frail than she actually is. There were three of us working to keep her arm straight and to stop her from wiggling too much - three of us vs. one tiny little her.

Another aspect of establishing medical records for Wynn involves collecting stool samples. We got the "equipment" on Monday and hoped (if that's the right word) to get the four required samples in time for today's appointment. We laughed out loud as we read the instructions: Do NOT get urine on the stool. Do NOT let the stool go in the toilet. Do NOT get the stool wet. (Wasn't that one of the warnings in "Gremlins"?) Wynn somehow sensed that we wanted those samples, so she and her colon promptly went on strike. So, we've had a ridiculous amount of fuss these past few days trying to coax our toddler into producing four pristine poops for us to bring in. She's never seen a potty chair before, so that just made her scream. All manner of wrestling holds, distractions, and bribes were used in our attempts to get the coveted samples, all the while we were telling her, "No, you can't just go in your diaper, Honey. You might pee too, and that would skew the data!" Anyhow, we're four days into the process and have only collected two viable samples, which Scott quickly mixed with the formulas and test tubes provided by the clinic. It's very CSI around here. (A few possible test subjects were lost in the bathtub tonight. What a waste.)

While all this has been going on, Scott's been coming down with the same crud Wynn's got. He's all congested, has a scratchy throat and fever, and feels like someone's punched him the ribs. The doctor told him to wait a few days since it's a virus; his grown-up immune system should be able to knock it out on its own. Fingers crossed!

Ann