Friday, May 11, 2001

A visit to the doctor

My daughter had her 11-year-old visit with the pediatrician yesterday, and there's good news and bad news.

The good news is that she's growing like crazy, jumping nearly five inches this year, up to 5 feet tall and the 85th percentile on the height chart.

The bad news is that we now have official confirmation that she is two inches taller than me. And that when you're two years behind in school, being at the 85th percentile in height for your advanced age is probably not such a good thing.

The good news is that she is no longer shy with the doctor and answers questions, so that I don't have to provide running commentary throughout the visit.

The bad news is that she babbles. And giggles when the doctor examines her.

The good news is that the doctor thinks she's still six months to a year away from her first period, and goodness knows the later with that, the better.

The bad news is that even with the doctor's mom-suggested speech about how important it is to keep our bodies clean as we get older and start to smell bad, my girl still doesn't want to take a shower every day.

The good news is that she now sits still for shots and blood drawing, no longer requiring staff to come in from all over the building to hold her down.

The bad news is that instead of buying her some cheap little toy for being good during shots and blood drawing, I now have to buy her a $20 video.

The good news is that it was a good visit, with a clean bill of health at the end, and much less stressful than going through the same routine with my son.

And the better news is that we don't have to do it again for a year.

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