We ended up spending 3 ridiculously long hours at the pediatrician's office, catching up on the past year of Tiegan's life, and the past 2 months of Sofia's, because she hadn't been seen since birth (long story - some other time).
The overall outcome of the appointment is that they're both pretty healthy, but there are some things to check out & keep an eye on. Sofia is the picture of health except for a tiny bit of a heart murmur. Tiegan has had one since birth, too. These are generally benign and go away on their own, but given a family history of serious heart defects, we need to keep a close eye on them. It runs in Jason's maternal side as far back as he knows. His grandmother has had valve replacement, and he and his mother were born with defective valves. We are still coming to terms with the fact that he will have to have open heart surgery at some point in his life, and has already been hospitalized at ages 23 and 25. He had a friend that dropped dead on a softball field because of this same valve malfunction. So, I'm totally OK with being a nervous nellie and keeping a close eye on their hearts from an early age so we know their athletic limits. They both have appointments with a University of Michigan cardiologist next month.
Tiegan had negative pressure in her right ear and failed a hearing test, which explains why she is always turning her head to listen to people/tv/music etc. The pediatrician thinks it may be due to inflamed sinus cavities from allergies, and put her on daily Claritin. If that doesn't reduce the swelling in her head, then she will need tubes in her ears. We'll find out in 1 month if the Claritin has done its job. Cross your fingers.
Tiegan had 1 vaccination and Sofia had 3. They were both hilarious. I had prepped myself for the worst emotional rollercoaster of my life, having to watch both my babies go through that pain. Tiegan was a breeze - right after the poke, she said, "Ow. HEY, that hurt!" And that was that. She whimpered for a minute but was given a lollipop right away and thankfully the A.D.D. I passed down to her worked in diverting her attention. ;)
Sofia was even funnier. For her first shot, she just grunted. Like she was hunkering down and putting on her big girl panties to deal with the pain. HHRRNNNGGG. She cried a little for the second 2, but as soon as I picked her up she was fine.
Crisis averted.
I'm glad that trip is over with, but we're not out of the woods yet. I still have to take Tiegan to have some bloodwork done. Allergy testing. Should be interesting. Now that she remembers having shots, she HATES needles. I may need some advice on how to emotionally prep a 3-year-old for willingly being poked AGAIN.
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