Checkup 2.5

The boys had their two-and-a-half year checkup today. 

James had dipped back down below 23 lbs (bummer!), coming in at 22 lbs, 13 oz.  He is still below the charts, but he is following the curves for both weight and height, so that's good.  (James was quite unamused by having to take his clothes off to get weighed -- I think at least partially because Mattie didn't have to!)

We didn't get the most accurate weight on Mattie because the nurse said we could leave his clothes on, but he's at about the 30th percentile for weight and the 25th for height, which is about where he's been tracking all along. 

Unfortunately, Mattie is also at the 95th percentile for blood pressure for two year olds (108/69)!  So they're going to have us come back in a month and check it again, and our doc is also going to consult with Nephrology at UNC to see if they think he needs to go back on medication for it.  (Bummer!)  It was funny -- the doctor asked if I had any concerns, and I said I wanted to get his blood pressure checked again since it had been a while, and she told me that it was now the standard recommendation to check it at all appointments for all patients over 3.  Wow!  Apparently this recommendation was met with some dismay by pediatricians and nurses, because as we know from extensive personal experience, it's not easy to get BP measurements on the little ones.  I'm hoping that one side effect of the recommendation will be the development of better pediatric blood pressure equipment. 

But I must say, Mattie was a perfect angel getting his BP checked.  He had been playing with the doctor's flashlight, and she said she had another machine he could see down the hall.  "Oh!  Yes!" he said, and happily walked down with me to the other room.  I explained to him that we would be checking his blood pressure ("what's that?"), and the machine would give his arm a hug, and it might feel funny but he needed to sit very still.  And he did, he was great.  Mike went in with James a bit later, and said he did well, too. 

Other than that, everything looked fine for both of them, and they didn't even have to get any shots! 

P.S.  I told Mattie last night that he'd be going to the doctor today, and that the doctor would look at his eyes, and his ears, etc.  He said, "And look at my teeth.  And have a Mister Thirsty there."  So I had to explain to him that this doctor didn't have a Mister Thirsty, which was only at the dentist's office.  "I want to go to the dentist," he said.  I never thought I'd hear those words from a child of mine!