Feel The Pain (and this post is really long, so you will)

Okay, these pictures have nothing to do with the contents of this post. These are videos and pictures that I took when we were playing at the park last Thursday with my sister-in-law Melody and my nieces Haven and Kimmee. (By the way, we had a blast! and plan on picnicking there Thursday.) I would post pictures about today's adventure, but it no one wants to see the shocking horror that is........

Me taking the girls to the doctor's for check ups and vaccines. Both girls at the same time. For some reason, I thought I was being very clever and efficient by making their appointments for the same day. I thought I was making it easy on myself. Ha! Not so. And never again. It actually didn't start out too badly. In fact, both girls were being so good that I was congratulating myself on being so smart because I was shooting two birds with one stone. Carolyn was playing in the castle with a couple of kids and I was holding Lilia. And then Lilia wanted down and I realized that I forgot to bring a play blanket to come between her and the very, very grimy and stained floor that I would never let a baby of mine come into contact with. So I held onto her while she strained against my arms and lunged for freedom. My back was starting to hurt, but all in all it was just par for the course. (so funny that I use that term since I know absolutely nothing about the game of golf) After an eternal 20 minutes we were ushered back to the examining room where we spend another 20 minutes waiting for the doctor. (This is nothing compared to the hour and a half we had to wait last time, for which I am very grateful.) In the examining room it was much of the same with Lilia trying to dash herself to pieces on the hard floor with the addition of trying to stop Carolyn from getting into the many drawers of medical supplies and equipment. By the way, quick side note, why don't they child proof the drawers and cupboards in a pediatrician's examining room? Do they think children aren't curious? Do they not care that children could be handling "sterile" supplies? Is mine the only one who likes to get into stuff? But I digress...Once Dr. Loomis came in and began the exam, things got better because it was Carolyn's turn first and she didn't have to have any shots. Carolyn loves Dr. Loomis and as long as Dr. Loomis was giving Carolyn her undivided attention, things were going smoothly. Carolyn was preening and showing off. Dr. Loomis made the comment that Carolyn was very smart (she probably makes that comment about all of the children she sees, but I have to admit that I enjoyed the comment none the less) and Carolyn started rhyming at her. Dr. Loomis wanted to look into Carolyn's eyes, Carolyn batted her lashes. And on and on it went. Then it was Lilia's turn and Carolyn wasn't ready to give up the spotlight. She wanted me to hold up her so that she could see everything that was going on with Lilia, but I have to confess that I was enjoying a moment of bliss. My tired, aching arms were empty, I was rolling my shoulders, getting the kinks out of my back and savoring the sensation of sweet freedom while someone else made sure that Lilia didn't fall to her doom, or at least to her serious injury. I really didn't feel like holding an even heavier child and I denied her "request". So she pitched a fit. It got to the point where Dr. Loomis offered to let Carolyn sit next to Lilia on the examining table, on the condition that she not whine. (Good luck with that, Dr. Loomis) Carolyn gamely agreed and hopped back on the table. The rest of the exam was spent with Dr. Loomis looking over Lilia and dispensing sage advice like, "lower the crib mattress as much as you can so that Lilia doesn't fall out" and "Lilia can now have yogurt" while Carolyn tried to talk over her, block my view of Lilia and replace it with her own sunny visage, and topple Lilia over with hugs and loves. I was getting a massive tension headache trying to listen to the doctor, pacify Carolyn and keep Lilia safe (from Carolyn). Because I am a mild hypochondriac (let's be fair, I'm a major hypochondriac), in the past I've had a lot of questions to ask at the end of our visits, but the last two times, I really just want to leave already. So Dr. Loomis hurried out to her next appointment and a friendly nurse with a tray of syringes came in. I kept comforting myself that at least only one of them was getting shots today (I'm sure Carolyn was doing the same--poor unsuspecting Lilia.....) and that a couple of shots (try three!) was much better than Polio or Diphtheria or whatever, but I knew that it wasn't going to be fun. The nurse had me hold Lilia's arms down (do they have to make me a party to her misery??) and Carolyn watched from the steps at the end of the table and I turned my head to the side because I hate watching the carnage. Poor Lilia. She's so small and the needles were so big. She started screaming with shock and pain and betrayal (it made my heart ache) and then Carolyn started crying herself and yelling at the nurse to stop it. "You're hurting her, you're hurting my Leelah!" The nurse and I tried to explain that the shots would help Lilia to not get sick, but Carolyn wasn't having any of it. Finally it was over and I could comfort them both. Lilia might have disagreed, but Carolyn seemed to need comforting as much as she did. Eventually the girls calmed down and all was right, or at least no one was getting stabbed with needles, and I gathered up the papers I had been given on vaccines, feeding tips (wished they actually worked), safety check sheets, blah, blah, blah and Carolyn's stickers (Dr. Loomis gave her 6 stickers that were either glittery or scratch and sniff, all the size of my palm) and we headed to the door. Only I forgot something. I forgot that Carolyn has to be the first one out the door and the first one in the door. She will mow you down if you get in her way, and heaven help you (or me, as it were) if you're holding 8 bags of groceries. Anyway she darted in front of me and grappled for control of the door, insisting, "I do it all myself!" and the door opened over her foot, bending her big toe nail back so far that it has a white crease across the center and it broke the skin. Poor Carolyn was howling with pain and crying so hard that tears splashed onto the floor. I lifted Carolyn back onto the table so that I could get a better look at her foot. I didn't have anywhere that I could set Lilia down, so I attempted to clean the blood off her toe (she didn't actually let me touch her foot until we got home) with Lilia on my hip. No one peeked in to see what was wrong or if they could help. Maybe they thought that if I needed help I would come out of the room and ask for it. At any rate, we finally made our way out of the room (both Carolyn and I were much more cautious with our exodus) and down the hall to check out, Carolyn limping pitifully and Lilia sniffling miserably, both with tear swollen eyes. I'm don't even want to know what I looked like at this point. Carolyn was so sad that the receptionist offered her a lollipop, which was quickly accepted. (Carolyn always makes out like a bandit at the doctor's office.) I felt so weary by the time I got the girls safely bucked into the car, that I decided we all needed a drink, so it was off to Target! but that's another story........