October 16, 2001 - 1:47 p.m.
Zack's return trip to the pediatrician this morning went much faster than I assumed. In the past, special appointments to examine one particular problem have lasted the better part of a day, often ending in a referral to a specialist, which again takes a better part of a day. So I came braced to be there for hours.
Zack hasn't been gaining weight since his first birthday. Before then he was growing by leaps and bounds, so the sudden stop had his doctor in Midlothian a little concerned. He's still growing, as evidenced by the constant need for new clothes and shoes, but getting thinner. Not skeletal, but thin. Honestly, it hasn't worried me too much because I've seen skinnier toddlers than him, but he runs on the small side (like his mother) and doctors don't like to see their little patients drop below the 10th percentile. (Parent jargon. Don't worry about it.)
Anyway, Zack has a marvelous time in the waiting room because there is a wide selection of unfamiliar toys to play with and the nurses at the desk think he's cute and give him lots of attention. Once in the examination room, however, he wails. Getting him measured and weighed is a trial. He won't let go of me and resists being laid in the scale. The past few visits, we've been reduced to weighing me on an adult scale while holding him, passing him off (screaming) to the nurse while I stand alone on the scale and then figuring out the difference. Today we actually got him in the baby scale on his own and entertained him just long enough to get his weight. 23.4 pounds! That's more than a pound heavier than three weeks ago :)
But the doctor is skeptical and wants him weighed again to confirm it. Poor Zack is about hysterical this time because Momma told him a few minutes ago that it was all over and it isn't. Again we manage to sit him in the scale. 23.4 pounds. His doctor gives him a quick look over and sends us home, happy that's he's putting on some weight and willing to wait until his two year checkup to put Zack through another trip to the scale.
To my vast irritation, the pediatric office in Midlothian has still not forwarded his medical records, despite two written requests and one fax. Judging from past experience with the administration of that office, I can believe it but I'm still annoyed. Anyone who would like to know who not to take their children to in the Midlothian VA area, just ask me.
