because i'm a total wuss, i made the appointment so that the hub would be free to join us. those doctors always want to stick the poor girl with some type of vaccination, and i'm just not strong enough to handle it. by that, i mean both physically (because she totally flails around in horror) and mentally. so we showed up at kaiser bright and early yesterday morning, and while the bean didn't recoil in fear at the sight of the building like she has before, she kept asking "what are they going to do to me, mommy?" eek.
the first part was easy. she slid off her sandals and stepped on the scale:
sat down and waited for the nurse.
she wasn't sure of what to make of this business, but watched the nurse and listened carefully as she told her that her arm would get squeezed a little, but wouldn't hurt.
she went right outside and reported to her daddy. "that black thing squeezed my arm, daddy. i didn't like it." i could already see the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes, and dreaded the rest of the appointment.
next was a hearing test, during which she shouted an enthusiastic "YES!" every time she heard the noise through the headphones.
vision test. i thought it was funny that she called the moon shape a "crescent." she's such an old lady.
in the exam room, she questioned everything. "why do i have to get naked?" "are those puppies on this dress?" "those sticks, are they lollipops daddy?" oy.
the actual examination with the doctor was easy peasy. she checked her lungs, her tummy, eyes, ears, etc. and then she dropped the bomb: four immunizations. all with separate needles. whooping cough, polio, chicken pox, tetanus. son of a...
she was predictably upset the nurse explained gently to her that she was going to give her some medicine in her arms. she looked up at her with the saddest, scaredy-cat eyes and said "but i don't want to have any shots." the nurse smiled and said "i don't want to give them to you either, but you need them to stay healthy." and then the hub took her into his arms and i stood behind her to smile and try and keep her spirits up. at the nurse's "1, 2, 3" her eyes got really big and filled with some serious tears, and she yelped "OW!" as she cried out in pain.
i'd snuck a new toy in my purse, anticipating a possible need for it. i whipped it out and held it up for her to see, and while it distracted her for a nanosecond, the next "1, 2, 3" killed it. two more times, and then she was done. thankfully, the nurse just went bam-bam-bam-bam to get them over with, and while the bean was pissed as hell, she nodded as we explained that the medicine would keep her from getting sick. but she cried for a little while longer, and the hub and i exchanged helpless glances as we continued to comfort her.
sucks to suck, man.
so, the stats:
height: 42.5"
weight: 48 pounds
BMI: 18.7
the doc said that her BMI was a bit high. she's above average for height, but also for weight. and so i got the eyes from the hub as we were told to limit juice (which she doesn't ask for often) and milk (which will be tough, since it's her favorite drink). a reminder to fill up on fruits and vegetables got me another side-eye from the hub. agh.
knowing that i need to do some serious rehabbing of our meals, i'm looking for good ways to incorporate the good stuff into each one. unfortunately, the bean is even pickier than her mother - she won't touch ANY fruits or vegetables. if she sees them mixed into whatever she's eating, she will take the time to painstakingly remove every bit of greenery before she puts it into her mouth.
i tried making us a smoothie with lunch - which was a pinwheel sandwich with turkey and cheese on whole wheat bread.
she took a sip:
and she was NOT impressed. she immediately went to work on making me this sign:
and as she handed it to me, she gave me a stern look and said "no smoothies, mommy. i don't want to drink it. i don't like the smoothie one bit."
shit.
help. aside from pureeing the veggies and mixing them in so that they aren't detectable...what do i do? i need suggestions, people! please?
Too bad we all have to go through shots. From what I read in 'enlightened' sites, vaccinations are sources of other 'bad' things as well. Hard to know and do what's right for us as always.
ReplyDeleteI am tickled to death that the bean submitted her request in writing! The princess is not a fan of veggies either so I always use the dessert bribe. She is just like her mother when it comes to sweets so she'll usually snarf down some broccoli if it means an extra scoop of ice cream.
ReplyDeleteIn our household, we ate what we were given, or we didn't eat at all.
ReplyDeleteThere were no negotiations.
I'm in the same boat with our 2yr old. Hates veggies but will eat fruit. I've even gone the pureed route but failed big time. When you find some clever ideas, please blog about them. I need help too!
ReplyDeleteTwo M&M's as "dessert" is often enough to get my son to eat veggies. He likes trying something he picked out as well if I build it up as trying an exciting new food.
ReplyDeleteMaybe include her in planning, preparing, cooking the veggies... works for some!
ReplyDeleteSomeone suggested that we plant a garden to get our kids to eat more veggies, granted mine already eat them, but I think they need more. Thought it was a good idea. Im with Monkey and also the meanest mom ever: eat whats there or dont eat. Gotta toughen up a little mom :)
ReplyDeleteOh and non-fat milk after she eats her dinner. Im guessing she's like Nathan and drinks all her milk first so that theres no "room" left for real food.
Aside from pureeing... puree. LOL. I would puree to add to soups, pancakes, etc. but also try the other suggestions. Don't rely on puree b/c that won't teach her to like the fruits and veggies, but they are a great way to sneak in a few extra servings. Also, a really really big help is leading by example. Make bets on who can eat more bites and try new stuff as a family.
ReplyDeleteI've heard great things about this cookbook http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0061251348 good luck!
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried this, but I have heard that having items to dip the veggies into (i.e. ranch,) can make them more appealing for little ones.
ReplyDeleteIt is also worth noting that you may have to serve something 10+ times before the kid is interested. My little guy will like something, then not like it, then like it again--we just keep serving it and see what happens.
"Crescent" and "I don't like the smoothie one bit" have me lol'ing. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteHealthy smoothies for weight loss can be made using pretty much any kind of frozen fruit, low or no fat plain yogurt and small amount of honey (this is optional). Some people also add ice cubes to their smoothie, this is again optional.http://smoothierecepty.cz/
ReplyDelete