Well Child Checkup

Yesterday, I had the privilege of taking my daughter to her 15 month well child exam.  This was not my first doctor's appointment with her, but it was my first well child checkup.  After being weighed and measured, we went back to the room to wait for the doctor.  He came in and did the usual check up stuff - eyes, ears, throat, heartbeat, lungs, etc.  Then he sat down at his computer and began to unleash a torrent of questions at me for which I was not prepared.  I began to panic... nobody said there would be a quiz!  "Is she doing this?  Is she saying that?  Does she have this?  Does she do this in this way?" he asked.  I tried to represent all of the good dads out there by keeping up, "Yes, yes, no, yes, C, yes, no, New Mexico, yes, no, Winston Churchill, ahhh! - I didn't study!"

Then the doctor said, "She will be getting two shots today."  I froze.  I haven't seen her get any kind of needles since she was a newborn, and she didn't even cry then, so I did not know what to expect from her.  They gave the shots in tandem.  One nurse on each side, and me in the middle, holding her arms so that she didn't swat them (I would have let her!).  The nurses counted off, "1... 2... 3..." and then the survival cry of gasping for breath between outbursts of pain began.  It's tough to be a dad.

It only took her a few minutes to get over the pain.  And the good news is, my kid is totally on target for her age and actually ahead of the curve with language and expression.  She does have bobblehead-like proportions.  Her height and weight are in the 20th percentile but her head size in still in the 75th percentile (thanks dad!), but she will eventually grow into her large noggin.  She is definitely growing up so fast, and her vocabulary expands every day.  We even learned "Go Ravens!" at the doctor's office because I had my Ravens hat on and there was a Ravens poster on the wall.

This is also the three month marker for my time as stay-at-home dad.  If I had to gauge from the questions that were asked yesterday, I think I'm doing okay.  I have some work to do, but we're making it happen.  I did stop in to visit my former employer, and the new guy is doing just fine.  The store looks good, and there were not too many people lost in the transition.  It was fun to see everyone again, and I know that they will continue to do a great job at the store.  It made me so grateful for the decision my wife and I made to have me stay home. My family is so happy right now.  And if I were still working, my wife would be unhappy because I would never be home, and my daughter would be growing up without a daddy.  But instead, I get to be at home for all of these awesome moments that I have with her every day.

Well daddy checkup?  On target for his age.