Today was Ben's 3 year check-up. I love that little boy so much. He's just such an easy soul to work with. When the nurse took us back to weigh and measure, she asked him how old he is. Immediately he responded, "Three." Then he quickly put his mouth to my ear and confirmed, asking, "I'm three, right Mama?" He weighed in at 35 pounds and 38 3/4 inches tall, which is 75% for both. When the nurse asked about potty training, I told her he was 100% potty trained. She gave him a high five and he said, "I'm a big boy. I don't poop on myself and I don't pee in my underwear." When the doctor came in, she just listened to Ben and I find pictures in the Search and Find book. Then she started with, "besides his incredibly advanced verbal skills, how is everything else going?" He really articulates so well and has an wonderful vocabulary. Everything looked good and it was time for an eye exam. Using picture symbols, she confirmed what Ben called each one before testing with one eye covered. When she pointed to the picture of a bird, he said, "A
chicky...actually, it's just a bird." So he used his favorite word for the doctor, which made her laugh. Also what is interesting is that when she pointed to one picture, he said "telephone" and she was shocked by that. It's a stencil picture of the old-school telephones where the receiver hung across the top of the keypad. She said something along the lines of "I'm amazed you knew that was a telephone. They don't look like that anymore. This is what they looked like when your grandma and grandpa were growing up." When it came time to talk vaccinations, Ben promptly told her, "I'm not scared of shots. I'm a brave boy." We opted for the seasonal flu vaccine today and the H1N1 when it comes in. So the doctor left, after Ben and she had a conversation about safety and what he wears when he's on a bicycle-- "my blue helmet, to be safe" and the nurse came in with the needle. Ben immediately pulls up his sleeve and sticks it out to her. She says, "We're actually going to put it in your leg" since they don't start arm vaccines until 4 years of age-- something about needing a big enough muscle to inject into. He was devastated. He kept saying, "but I want it in my arm!" I put him on the exam table and he looked at the picture on the wall as she prepped the site. Then he said, "ouch." and that was it. Seriously. That was it. Barely a whisper. Barely an acknowledgement. Such a contrast to his big sister and her fear of needles.
When we got home he told Addie he got a needle. She immediately wanted to see the area, so he obliged. Then Muddy asked, "did it hurt?" He replied, "No." Then thought a second and said, "just a little bit."
Overall, a wonderfully healthy little boy. When the doctor asked him to draw a circle, he did it methodically. Then she drew an plus sign/x/t and asked him to draw one too. He drew the first line and then said, "I can't draw an x. I'll draw an E instead" at which point he promptly drew four lines on the right side of the vertical line. (We're working on it.) ;)
