Jackson's Two Year Well Child Check

Jackson had a doctor's appointment today, it was a "well visit," just to make sure that he's meeting all his milestones, developmentally. His last visit was at 18 months. He spent his time in the waiting room playing on the climbing toys that they have in the office, this was his first time really being able to climb all over them. After we got called back, the nurse weighed and measured Jack. He weighed in at 26 lbs. On the standardized growth charts he has moved up from the 10th to the 25th percentile in weight, and is also in the 25th percentile for his height. He is in the 50th percentile for head circumference. After that we met with the doctor. Jack passed all the tests with flying colors, not that he had to do much, just sit there and breath while the doc listened to his heart, lungs, bowels, etc. The doctor asked us if we had any questions and we chatted with him about potty training, or as he likes to call it "potty showing," emphasizing that it's the modeling of the behavior that's key, and validating that every child has their own timeline. He told us that the mean age of potty training for boys is 3 years old.

The doctor then asked if we had any other questions, and we mentioned the bruises that Jack gets on his legs because he has been getting them on his abdomen, sides, head, face, and back as well. He stated that he was curious about those too, and he decided to order a lab draw to check Jack's blood cell count, platelet analysis, clotting factors, and also checking him for what's called Von Willebrand's factor (which is basically what the doctor calls "easy bruiser"). This was a little unnerving to hear, but we were glad that this was getting looked into to.

After the doctor left, the nurse came back into the room and gave Jack his Hepatitis A vaccination, which involved a shot to his thigh. Luckily she came prepared with a sucker, which facilitated Jack's immediate recovery after the stick.

Then it was time for a nap, as the little guy was super tired. Later we went to the hospital where Nat works to get Jack's labs drawn. They pulled us back into the lab and had him lay on a bed with his shirt off. This seemed to scare him a little, especially with the unfamiliar people in the room, but Nat and I held him still and they put a tourniquet on his arm and then placed the needle with ease. They drew five small vials of blood, which they'll send for analysis. Unfortunately there were no suckers this time, but he was still quickly back to his busy little self. The Doctor said we could call him tomorrow to see what results have come back in, and then he will stay in contact with us as the rest of the results come in. We both can't help but worry a little, but figure that everything will be fine--the waiting to find out part is the hardest. We'll post here as soon as we know anything further.