Hailey vs. the World (of Medicine)

Look at this girl.

Does this look like a doctor hating ninja to you? Me neither, but I know better.

State law requires kids going into Kindergarten to see the pediatrician, dentist, and eye doctor. So off we went to our scheduled appointments. Our first appointment was in June with the dentist. Hailey and I both went with appointments and while they worked on me, she stood there with her lips zipped tight and her face buried in the stuffed mouse she had brought with her. We rescheduled her appointment with Matt in July. I went along with everyone in tow. She screamed and fought, legs kicking and arms flailing and refused to open her mouth.

Micah, on the other hand found out he had 20 teeth.

We didn't go into these appointments unprepared. We had read books and talked about the dentist. We had promised her a reward for her cooperation - a Rapunzel doll. We talked about her fears and encouraged bravery. But we walked away both times without our signed Kindergarten papers.

The last two weeks she has had the trifecta. Matt took her to the eye doctor and while she didn't cooperate fully, she did complete enough for them to sign off on her papers.

Then next day I took her to the pediatrician. I had to hold her on the scale, and wrestle her throughout the examination. I don't think she landed a single kick on the doctor, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Not fun, and did I mention I had the other two with me? She did manage to pee in the cup on our second attempt and she didn't really fight us when we held her down for her shots.

Yesterday we had the dentist, take three. I found a pediatric dentist in town and decided that may be the way to go, the only problem was that they aren't in our network, so we're really not sure how the insurance will all come out in then end, but at this point I don't really care - they were worth every penny. She still fought. In fact she went through the appointment on top of me, while I was holding her arms and legs and she was screaming. Her ninja moves on full display. But guess what? At this dentist, screaming means your mouth is open and they can work! My kind of dentist. It wasn't the most pleasant experience, but we did make some progress. When the dentist came in, she sat on my lap, no screaming, no holding and OPENED HER MOUTH! She let the dentist count her teeth and use the instruments. Incredible! Both they hygienist and dentist were very nice, made us feel "normal" even though the situation was not, and they even were playing cartoons on the ceiling!

She got her Rapunzel doll, we got our Kindergarten papers, and I'm done with her and doctors - at least for now.

Perhaps I need to take up hog tying or calf wrestling in preparation for the next time...