Max's two year appointment was today, and let's just say it did NOT go well. He's never been particulary bad at the doctor's (nor has he been particularly good), but today he was just awful.
And yet it started out so well. I had taught him the word "doctor" and it was fun to watch him call anyone who came out of the office a "doctor." The people sitting in the waiting area were giggling at him. It was just too cute.
But then when the doctor did come (actually the nurse) and tried to weigh Max, all hell broke loose. I don't know how a 2 year old boy can possibly realize that hopping on the scale is a painful experience (at least it is for me and many other women), but Max knew. He just knew. And he refused to get on that scale. The nurse and I tried every gimmick in the book to no avail, and so as a last resort, we weighed Max and myself together and then myself and subtracted to see the difference (and boy, do those doctor's scales lie! I swear I was 5 pounds heavier there than I am at home!). The result: Max weighs 29 pounds, which is exactly average. We went through the same experience to get his height--he just refused--and at one point the nurse said, "you push the knees against the wall and I'll get the head." The result: Max is 33 inches, just a little shorter than average.
We then had to take his blood pressure, and that did not work at all. The poor nurse just quit. It was impossible to get an accurate reading with Max wailing the way he was.
When we met with the actual doctor, Max was still very frightened, but did a little better. The doctor seemed impressed with Max's language development (the kid knows probably 300 or more words and is speaking in 2-3 word sentences including, "try it," "bye/hi _____," "there/here it is," etc.), but wants us to get Max on a vitamin since he is so inconsistent with his eating, and since he is taking to vegetarianism like his mom (and I don't try to make him be vegetarian--I offer him meat, but he just doesn't eat it).
He did ok with the shots and I got him to stop crying by getting him to examine his band-aid.
****
In other news, Max knows his books. I just finished reading stories to him, and he is officially starting to fill in the parts he can say. He's known his books for a while in the sense that he knows what actions to anticipate (and he does them), but the past week or so he has been saying things right before I say them. I think that's sorta smart!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Summer time, Bad Mother, Good Father, and other thoughts
So I've been out of school for almost 2 weeks now, and it has been a blast. Each and every day is different with Max, and I try very hard to do something fun with him every day. Today, for example, we fingerpainted and got paint all over ourselves and the house. We also went to Barnes and Noble and played with the train set they have there (don't tell Max we got him a train set for his birthday). Afterwards we went to the park and played in the mud. Literally. I am really enjoying all of this time I get with him, and I am grateful that one of the perks of being a teacher is this time off (although I am writing curriculum during his naps every day, so it's not like I am 100 percent off from school).
Anyway, today when we were at the bookstore, I made a point to look through a book that just came out last week called Bad Mother. It is written by the same lady who a few years ago wrote a very controversial column for the New York Times in which she stated that she loved her husband more than her children. Obviously there was a lot of backlash over that but she has continued writing since then. Although I don't agree with everything the author writes, I do like reading her work because it makes me think, and this new book is no exception. In her new book, she writes that when a person is asked what constitutes a good father, usually the answer is along the same lines as "a dad who's there" (referring to the absence of the father from the American family), but when one is asked what constitutes a good mother, the answer is the opposite extreme--that is, there is so much that a good mother is expected to do and the good mothers often feel this pressure to do all this and then some in order to be the best mother for their children. And when these mothers feel they aren't doing everything for their children, they get a huge case of mother's guilt.
I asked Brandon today if he ever has father's guilt and he just asked me what that was.
I, on the other hand, have a case of mother's guilt at least once a day, every day, and during the school year, a large part of my guilt lies in the fact that I work outside the home and Max goes to another person to be cared for while I work.
I realize how fortunate I am to have Brandon as my husband and father to my child, especially considering that the average person thinks a good father is simply a present one. Brandon is that and so much more. I would say that he and I have a pretty equal distribution of labor in the house and we both try very hard to spend as much quality time with Max as possible. It is no secret that Brandon and I would both love to add another child to our family, and I can honestly say I wouldn't even consider expanding our family if Brandon weren't the wonderful father that he is.
Anyway, today when we were at the bookstore, I made a point to look through a book that just came out last week called Bad Mother. It is written by the same lady who a few years ago wrote a very controversial column for the New York Times in which she stated that she loved her husband more than her children. Obviously there was a lot of backlash over that but she has continued writing since then. Although I don't agree with everything the author writes, I do like reading her work because it makes me think, and this new book is no exception. In her new book, she writes that when a person is asked what constitutes a good father, usually the answer is along the same lines as "a dad who's there" (referring to the absence of the father from the American family), but when one is asked what constitutes a good mother, the answer is the opposite extreme--that is, there is so much that a good mother is expected to do and the good mothers often feel this pressure to do all this and then some in order to be the best mother for their children. And when these mothers feel they aren't doing everything for their children, they get a huge case of mother's guilt.
I asked Brandon today if he ever has father's guilt and he just asked me what that was.
I, on the other hand, have a case of mother's guilt at least once a day, every day, and during the school year, a large part of my guilt lies in the fact that I work outside the home and Max goes to another person to be cared for while I work.
I realize how fortunate I am to have Brandon as my husband and father to my child, especially considering that the average person thinks a good father is simply a present one. Brandon is that and so much more. I would say that he and I have a pretty equal distribution of labor in the house and we both try very hard to spend as much quality time with Max as possible. It is no secret that Brandon and I would both love to add another child to our family, and I can honestly say I wouldn't even consider expanding our family if Brandon weren't the wonderful father that he is.
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