Doctor visits
Baby Delanie at 2 months
We are in Exam Room 2. Exam Room 6 is my favorite. It is much more spacious and doesn’t feel cramped. Exam Room 2 feels like a prison cell. Not that I have spent any time in a prison cell. Today, Dana went into the pediatric check in and I finished some routine lab work in the same building. I entered as the medical assistant was weighing and measuring Delanie. And in this corner, weighing in at 8lbs, 10 ounces, fighting from an enclave in Watertown, MA, Delanie Reese Smith. Of course the last sentence was in the voice of Michael Buffer…speaking of boxing announcers, Bingham is well versed in Howard Cosell’s famous call “Down goes Frazier.” That right there is good parenting folks. Take notes…no seriously write that down.
The pediatrician, Dr. DeAngelis, enters the room and logs into the computer. He has Delanie’s growth chart…she is actually on the chart based on her weight. She has room to go for head circumference and height. Given her birth weight at 5lbs, 1 ounce, we are hyper excited about the growth. Needless to say, this baby can eat. She is consuming 4-5 ounces per feeding and screams like bloody hell when you pull the bottle away. You might think I am exaggerating. Trust me. She screams like bloody hell. I mean I can hear it two floors up when I am on work calls; it’s loud! We actually were not surprised about the weight at all (see above). This hatch scale that Dana bought is remarkably accurate.
Dr. DeAngelis goes through the vaccinations, Roto virus, Pneumococcal, and DtP. He warns us that it could be a hellacious ride over the next 48 hours or it could be nothing. I smile at the range of outcomes. Isn’t that every 48 hour period with a 2 month old? Anyhow, the nurse comes in to administer the shots. I kind of want to play the LMFAO ft. Lil Jon song, “Shots.” I think they were referring to different kind of shot. If you haven’t been following along that was a classic dad joke. For those of you are unfamiliar with dad jokes; they are basically wholesome jokes with a punchline that has a predictable or obvious pun.
EXAMPLE DAD JOKE: I was addicted to the hokey pokey, but I turned myself around.
The play on words is both obvious and corny. Everyone in the room is glad I did not tell a dad joke. We wait for Delanie to stop screaming, put her back in her infant carrier, and leave the building to return home.
The rest of the day was a blur with multiple meetings, phone calls, and work follow ups. I recall that I am on Bingham pick up duty. I told him this morning that we would go to CVS to pick up Valentine’s Day card for mom. The second I pick him up, he says, “are we going to CVS?” Yes. We drive 2 minutes to CVS. He reminds me that if he is really good he can get a treat. We pick up a red basket and he insists on carrying it. We get some Infant Tylenol for Delanie…post vaccine fever. He insists that she prefers cherry not grape. Whatever you say kid. We find three cards for mom. The first has a dinosaur on it. The second has a sequence heart. The last has a poem on the front. Bingham is thrilled with the selection. I do not yet realize that each one of these cards is 8 bucks…talk about inflation!
We cruise into the seasonal section and I am predicting he will want some kind of chocolate. He selects the candy hearts with little sayings on them. He says they have them at school. He tries to get me to buy him a Velociraptor toy. My resolve is strong. We cruise to the self checkout line where he scans each item, then asks me to pay. He waits for the CVS receipt. I think he’s just impressed how the receipt for 5 items is longer than he is tall.
We return home for dinner. I did not get any shots today; however, I am feeling drained. We have dinner at the table together, watch some Dino Dana on Amazon Prime, and do bath time. Meanwhile, we have our ski checklist out for another weekend in the White Mountains. This time with our friends at Loon; it’s going to get good folks!
My lesson: Sometimes the days are not that remarkable. It was Thursday. We went to the doctor. We had cajun chicken with charred corn salad for dinner. Bingham had pizza at school. Dana received her 2nd generation Willow Breast Pump; it is hands free. I worked all day with break for familial responsibilities. I wonder if there was anything unique or special about today. I guess everything is a contrast to everything around it. Do we really want every day to be better than the last? On the other hand, this day checked off all the boxes: purposeful work, time with family, exercise, and good food.
Love,
Dad