Traumatic Experience...Well, Not Really Traumatic

Today was John's 2-month check-up with Dr. K. Before heading off to the doctor, John was in good spirits. He was wearing a Ralph Lauren onsie that is super soft. He was smiling and playing with Maureen. He had a pretty good day up to that point. He made his first trip to Target in West Hollywood.

So, we went to to Dr. K's office on Wilshire Blvd. The only thing I don't like about the office is that they don't validate parking. At $1.25/15 minutes, they make a killing. I've never left that office with a parking tab under $6, but they do cap it at $10, so I'm not going to whine about it. Anywho, John weighed in at a healthy 12-lbs 4-oz. He has gained 4-lbs since his birth in July. His length is now 24 inches. He's grown 4-inches since his birth. He's growing at a nice rate. He's within the normal growth range for a child his age.

Dr K answered all of Maureen's obsessive questions. She's been reading too many books. I only had a question about his belly button. It is hyper-pigmented. I thought it was dirt. Excuse me for thinking that my child had a dirty belly button. The good thing about Dr. K is that he is very practical and matter of fact. He's soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo concerned with safety. He always asks us the same safety questions, but it's only because he cares. He's so safety conscious that he could work at the large multinational for which I work.

John was very cooperative during his check-up. He followed Dr. K's Number One Rule: NO PEEING ON THE DOCTOR!! He was very mellow and Dr K was kind enough to let us know that John had some smegma and how to remove it. After that, he told John, "Now remember, I'm the good doctor. The mean and nasty nurse is going to come in and give you your shots." He's a smart man, but then again, I suppose you have to be pretty smart, or hopped up on speed, to graduate from med school.

I'd heard horror stories about the first set of vaccinations. I thought John would be crying for hour after hour and that both Maureen and I would be curled up into a fetal position due to the discomfort on John. The nurse was quite smooth. She was quick and quite caring. Yes, John did cry. He actually turned bright red in the face. He cried, but it wasn't as bad as we expected. John was a little cranky since he was hungry, so maybe it helped that Maureen gave him a bottle after the shots. When we left the room, the nurses were shocked that John was asleep. They'd never seen that. They expected him to be crying. I'm sure John could have made it as a Spartan baby. While he may not have the physique of Leonidas just yet, he can still kill any wolf that comes to attack him.