One Crappy Day...

Where do I begin? I woke up, fed J, played a little, then realized I was running late for the Pediatrician appnt. So I hopped in the shower, threw on some clothes, and nursed J one more time before dashing out the door. I was excited because this was the first time that we were going to arrive on time...yippee! I got all the way to Apopka-Vineland (which is about 2 miles from the Doctor's office) and realized I forgot my wallet (PROBLEM #1). Which means NO insurance card and NO money. Well, I wasn't about to turn around. When I signed in, the receptionist acted as though it happens to moms often. Phew! Nothing to worry about. I sit down and hold my little guy and wait to be called. The waiting room was packed, so I figured it would be a long wait. To my surprise, they called us three minutes later. (I could tell the other moms were surprised too, they had the "I've been waiting here forever and she gets right in" look on their faces). We get into the room and our favorite nurse says, "strip him down to a dry diaper". Of course, J's diaper is wet, so I proceed to change it. Meanwhile, my son pees during the diaper change all over his outfit (PROBLEM #2). I reach in my diaper bag for the spare outfit that I usually keep in there and as I feel around I remember he has already worn that outfit last time we were out and I forgot to put another change of clothes in the diaper bag (PROBLEM #3). So off to the scale to see how much my doodlebug weighs! The nurse says, "14lb 4oz!" I say, "No, you must be wrong, last visit which was 2 months ago, he weighed 14lb 2oz. He only gained 2oz in two months! Do it again, it must be a mistake!" The nurse weighs him again and gets the same outcome (PROBLEM #4)



So, the Doctor comes in worried about J's weight. He has gone from the 50%ile to the 10%ile. She said it could be hereditary since hubby and I are both on the petite side. However, he still should have gained more than 2oz. She reccommended that I feed J solids 6 times a day and nurse after each meal! If he doesn't gain 1lb in a month, we'll have to go back. At this point, I'm feeling bad, but this is an easy fix. Just feed him more. No biggy.



Now the doctor continues the exam and shows me how little J has one butt cheek larger than the other. I laugh because I thought that was an odd trait to point out about my son. Well, apparently this means that something is wrong with his hips. She flips my little doodlebug over and begins to circle his legs around. She says feel this leg. It clicks when he rotates it. Let's get him to Arnold Palmer for a hip x-ray to check for Hip Dysplasia (PROBLEM #5). Panic begins to set in as I ask how serious this is and should I get the x-ray done immediately. She responds, "no, just get it done in the next 2 weeks." She states that if we catch this now, all we do to correct it, is to have J wear a brace. If we wait until he starts to walk, then he may need hip surgery. At this point, I'd had all the stress my body can take and I begin to cry. She tries to calm me down. Which works until I realize that we still haven't received the vaccinations (the reason for our visit) yet. My little guy must've known I was upset, so to make me feel better, he acted as thought the shots didn't bother him one bit. He is so brave! Time to leave.



Nope, story doesn't end here. Remember, J peed all over his clothes at the beginning of this appointment. So, I had to wrap him in his blanket. Take him out to the car. Get him buckled into his car seat. Wrap him in the blanket again. Put the key in the ignition to hear the car "BING". Look down and see that I have 12 miles of gas left and a 15 mile drive home with NO WALLET!!! AGHHHHHHHH!!!!! (problem #6) I find two dollars worth of change laying around, and fill'er up with about one gallon. It was enough to get me home.



So now I pack J full of food and nurse him. He is currently taking a nap. So I thought I'd look up Hip Dysplasia on-line. Bad idea. Here is a picture of the brace that he would have to wear. The article states that the baby would have to wear this brace for 24 hours a day for 6 weeks, followed by 12 hours a day for 6 weeks. If this fails, they move to traction, then surgery. So that's my CRAPPY day, and it's only 2:00pm.