Day of Doctors

All of our family left on Sunday, so on Monday, we had some time together to play with Emily's new birthday toys, and to squeeze in a couple of doctor visits.

First up was the dentist! I have read a lot about when to schedule the first dentist appointment, and since Emily has had teeth for about 6 months now, we felt like this was the right time. I did some research and found a pediatric dentist near us who had good reviews, and I liked the way her practice was designed to cater to children. She said Emily's little pearly whites were perfect, and her gums were swollen where more teeth are starting to break through. Emily left with two new toothbrushes--one that has a wide, triangular shaped handle that prevents the toothbrush from going down her throat if she were to fall while using it (since she likes to walk around while doing everything). Emily is usually pretty good about letting me brush her teeth though--she still tries to chew on the toothbrush a little, and does better when we sit on the floor in front of the mirror so she can watch herself. We've gotten into a better routine with brushing in the morning before we leave for school, and brushing at night before bed. We'll continue to go back every 6 months for checkups.

Later this afternoon, she had her 12 month checkup. She weighs 20.8 lbs (40th percentile), is 30 inches tall (75th percentile) and her head circumference is 17 3/4 (55th percentile). We decided to switch doctors after her last checkup (we didn't switch practices, just chose a different doctor in the practice). Dr. Downing had seen Emily twice--once when she was having the 10-day bout with diarrhea, and again with an ear infection, and we both really liked her. Emily seemed very comfortable; Dr. Downing was great with her, and really made a big deal over how happy and beautiful Emily was (always nice to hear!). There were things about the other doctor we just weren't happy with, and this visit was different. She said Emily was a perfect little girl, and her development was terrific. Emily, of course, showed off all of her tricks--she pranced around the exam room in her diaper, waved and blew kisses at the nurse, clapped her hands and was the model patient :).

Dr. Downing wants us to try whole milk now--she said that almost always, when babies have dairy allergies, they'll grow out of them. So she said to try it, and if she had a bad reaction, to wait 6 weeks or so and try it again. We decided to wait until the weekend to try it, just so we're able to stay with her and see exactly how she does with it. We're keeping our fingers crossed!

Three shots this time--Hepatitis A, MMR (Measles, Mumps & Rubella), and PCV13, which protects against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria. She cried for a minute, but calmed down quickly. We're always glad when that part is over! She'll go back again at 15 months.