3 Girls + 1 Mom + 1 Pediatrician + 2 hours =

OHHOLYCOW!

I am back from the pediatrician and all three of my girls got their boosters (Miss A had 4, Miss E had 1 [though she might as well of had 9 by the way she wailed when she got the shot], and Miss O had 3). They did SO great...and I mean it, because we were there F.O.R.E.V.E.R.

I know that doctors are supposed to spend time with each patient and, honestly, it does make us feel important. But I scheduled these three wellness appointments, hoping that I wouldn't have to be there so dang long! I mean, there's not a lot of fun activities you can do in the small waiting room, though we did a lot (how many times can you sing, "The wheels on the bus?" successfully with a 5, 4 and almost 2 year old? Turns out, quite a few times). So glad to get out of there!

And they did really well with the shots. I have to say, Miss A was practically stoic getting her four shots...I was so proud of her. I thought she was going to cry, but you could tell she was trying so hard to be brave, even when she bulged her eyes with each needle entry. That being said, we have now enjoyed about two hours of the blow-by-blow retelling of how brave she was indeed getting her shots and how her legs hurt and how it really really really really hurts getting shots. Miss E, who let out a tribal scream when she got her single shot, has not said a word about it since. Miss O...well, she cried, but got over the quickest and hasn't said anything. I, upon returning home, have dosed them all up with ibuprofen, just in case. And, for all that we had to wait to see the dr and then get the shots, they did give the girls popsicles and free books, so.....

However, here are some fun facts about the trip:

Highlight #1) Miss O pooped her pants MOMENTS before we were ushered into our small room. I had to run out to the car to get a diaper. Ugh. The nurse (who isn't my favorite, I just have to say...she's kinda gruff for a peds nurse) came in after I changed her and said, "WHOA! It's a bio hazard in here." Um...excuse me? Aren't you kinda used to this seeing how you deal with babies and toddler and such young people all day with your job?

Highlight #2) The doctor finally comes in and it's only been an hour since we had our scheduled appointment and he was like, "Wow! All three girls! Mom's trying to kill me, eh girls?"

How am I killing him by bringing in all three of my girls for WELL CHILD exams at once? I mean, these are the most basic exam to make sure everyone is doing well, for crying out loud... I think he "examined" all 3 in under 10 minutes? And the girls were TOTALLY well behaved the whole time. ugh. More like the wait was killing me...grouse, grouse, grouse.

Highlight #3) The doctor and I were chatting it up (he was Miss O's ped when she was born) about how time passes and I told him that I was expecting #4 and he was like, When?, and I said, "Aug 13 is the official due date, but all my babies come at least a week early" and he said, "Wow! You don't even look pregnant."

Hmmmmm.

So, that means I just look fat. Because I have gained at least 25 pounds since he last saw me in Dec with Miss O. Nice.

He did say try not to have the baby too soon because he's going to be out of the office mid-July (he's going to Hawaii...must be hard...but then again, he's taking his two kids who are 3 and 1 and that means a nine hour flight, so yeah...that actually could be hard).

ANYWAY!!!!

Highlight #4) When he asked if Miss O was still in her crib ("yes") he said that he prefers that they get moved into out of the crib 6 weeks before the new baby would be put into it so there's no jealousy issues, etc., so he said I probably need to do this in the next 2 weeks! Um...hello!!!!! In the next 2 weeks? I assured him that I had a bassinet for the new baby who would be in that for approx. 3 months, so I have a little bit more time.

Again: HELLO! This is my 4th time doing this. Or, as I've heard people say, "This ain't my first rodeo." sigh.

So, contrary to my rant, I DO like this doctor...he's very nice (very young)...but the wait and some of the comments kill me. It's one reason we like to go to Walgreen's nurse practitioner run "Health Wellness Clinics" when the kids are 18 months old. They've handled strep and other "sick" issues handily. Besides the fact that it's only a $70 visit, we are often out of there within 20 minutes.

Here's a question then. How long is acceptable to you to have to wait for the doctor before you feel it's time to find a NEW doctor? We waited maybe 10 minutes in the general waiting room, but then were in the other waiting room at least 50 minutes more. Too long? For/with 3 girls, it was dang close for me.