Tuesday, March 18, 2008

nick's check-up

On this day of biblical amounts of rain (Seriously! It's been raining ALL DAY.), we headed to the hospital for Nick's 4-year check-up. It went fine, though he was a bit "spirited." I think he was wired because he was supposed to be taking his nap while we were there. We were really surprised to learn that he's only grown a couple of inches in the past year, because we have been thinking that he's gotten so tall lately, and felt sure that the difference would be greater. I mean, all of his jeans from this winter are too short already! He actually went down on the height percentile chart, from the 75th to closer to the 50th. Hmmm. We also found out that according to his BMI, he's overweight. That is somewhat alarming to us, although the more I learn about BMI and the more people I meet who have overweight BMIs despite looking perfectly fine to me, the less seriously I take BMI. However, we were offered a consultation with the nutritionist, and I'm not one to turn down free advice. So, off we'll go on Thursday to see what she/he has to say about Nick, and about what we could be doing better with his nutrition. I'm interested to learn how many calories he should be taking in each day. I don't think he overeats, but then again, I really have no idea how much he should be eating. He really doesn't look overweight to us, but I certainly don't want him to develop a problem. I'll let you know how that appointment goes.

After the check-up, we headed to the lab for a lead test. We don't really have any reason to fear lead poisoning (other than the fact that all toys are apparently full of lead!), but again, it was offered, so we figured it was wise to take it. Nick was so brave - he squirmed when he realized that they were going to stick him with a needle, but he actually didn't cry! The same was not true several minutes later, when we headed to the immunization clinic for the FOUR vaccinations he needed - DTAP, IPV, MMR, and varicella. Nick knows this place all too well, and he was on to us long before any needles were whipped out. By the time the moment was at hand, he was quite frantic and tearful. But, as always, he recovered very quickly.

I brought my poor poked-five-times baby back home and gave him some Tylenol and a snack to ease his troubled mind. :) And given the fact that all of the water in the world seems to be falling right here, we're in for the rest of the day.

1 comment:

Patty O. said...

Wow, what a day! It sounds like you had a nice weekend too. Glad to hear that Nick's birthday went well.

I'm shocked to hear that Nick's BMI is high. I didn't even know they did the BMI thing for kids that age! It seems a bit alarmist to me. I have never thought he was overweight. I wonder what the nutritionist will say. I guess it is a good idea to check it out now. I have a friend whose 10-year-old is heavy and it has been very, very difficult for them to make changes to his diet at this late stage. I'm sure it is easier when they are younger. And Nick seems so easy-going that if you do need to make any changes (which I would be surprised at--it always seemed like you fed him quite healthful foods) now is probably better than a few years down the line. Hmmmm.... As if as mothers we don't have enough to be concerned about. Let me know how Thursday goes.....

Do you ever just get so sick of hearing about diets and the BMI and similar topics?? And I agree about the BMI being suspect. I am sure I have told you that Bil is overweight according to the BMI. Well, one day we tinkered around online with a BMI calculator and he would have to get all the way down to the 14os in order to be considered underweight. He is 5"11! After discovering that, I was really suspicious. He would be skin and bones at 155!!! Anyway, I will quit babbling...