We took William and Keisha to their four year wellness visit with the pediatrician on Thursday. From past experience, we knew that it would be a long adventure, so I picked the latest appointment slot available (3 p.m.).

Earlier in the day, I had my own doctor appointment. The appointment went okay, I guess you can say. I felt a little rushed in the end. Maybe my doctor over scheduled himself. He is usually more attentive than he was yesterday *shrugs*

To save on leave at work, I basically worked a split shift. Came into work after my appointment and left at 2 p.m.(ish) to take the kids to their appointment. We arrived at the appointment on time *cheers* but the nurse did not call our names until about 3:30 *boo* The downside of going in the afternoon is that Pediatrics is extra busy at that time of day. I was also annoyed that the receptionist did not believe me when I said my health insurance has a zero co-pay for children under age 16 with their primary care physician (PCP). I do not usually have that problem.

William weighed in at 42.8 pounds and is 44 inches tall. William gained the weight back that he lost when he had a bad cold 2 weeks ago. Keisha weighed in at 37 pounds (I guessed it right on the dot) and she is 41 inches tall (she is in the 25. William and Keisha then had their blood pressure taken (first time for Keisha, routine for William). Next was the audio and visual tests. Keisha’s vision is 20/30 (normal for a 4 year old) and William’s is 20/20 (I have been calling him Eagle Eye and Atom Hunter for a long time). The hearing tests were fine for both of them.

We then waited for a long time again for the doctor to come. We were seen by a resident because their regular pediatrician was not in and he is leaving the hospital soon. I was very sad to hear this news. Anyway the children were thirsty, so I had JT wait with the kids while I went to get some juice and a snack (Swedish Fish FTW) at the gift shop. When I returned, the doctor was in the exam room with JT and the twins. Everything went well with the exam (as expected)… and then it was time for the shots. I knew that we were going to get them a flu shot and lead test (for school), but I did not know it was time for some vaccinations (chicken pox, polio and a couple of others).

I felt bad for the twins but the shots are necessary. JT then had to run an errand so I was on my own to attempt to comfort the children. William went first (he had 5 shots total) and as Keisha watched her eyes widened. William started screaming as I held him in my lap and the two nurses double teamed with the needles. I felt helpless but I held William tight as I whispered in his ear that everything would be okay, I am here for him and give him many kisses.

Then… it was Keisha’s turn. She screamed many things… such as “NOOOOOO…” and “I don’t want to get a shot.” She was articulate with these words, no stuttering at all. I thought it was amazing. I did the same thing for Keisha as I did for William, held her tight and showered her with kisses. With Keisha, I would say the event was more horrifying. I had never heard her so scared before. Keisha had 4 shots, 1 less than William. She was able to get the flu vaccination as a mist inhalant. William could not do that because had wheezing issues with his bad cold two weeks ago. The nurses covered their thighs in blue bandages. The twins felt and looked like drained warriors.

The last event of the long drawn out evening was the blood work. As we journeyed over to the main lab I explained to the twins that they needed just one more needle for a blood test. Keisha looked up at me and said that she did not want that. I sighed and continued to walk to the lab. JT met back up with us just in time before the lab tech called our names. JT went in with William and he cried again, but not quite as bad as the *five* shots. I went in with Keisha and like before she screamed many things. This time she screamed, “I don’t want a shot” and “take it out.”

Needless to say, after everything was done, I believe I was more tired than the twins were. I had no intention of cooking so we stopped at Captain Ds to pick up dinner then went. I crashed in bed at 8:30 and slept well over eight hours. I cannot remember the last time I slept this long (without medication).

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