Doc Visit

Tuesday morning, Sasha had a follow-up visit for her flu shot. Apparently the first time a young child is given a flu vaccine, they split the vaccine in half. She received the first half at her two-year exam. Her Tuesday appointment was for the second half.

As we drove to the doctor's office, I explained to Sasha that we were going to go visit the doctor. "See doctor!" she repeated. She remembered the doctor from her last visit. I told her that the doctor would give her a small owie but that he would give her a bandaid. She said "owie" and "bandaid".

My husband and I were glad to see that the doctor intended to investigate our concerns about Sasha's belly button before he would give the second shot.
Sasha burrowed her face into my husband's shoulder when the doc first entered the room. This was the male pediatrician. There are two pediatricians in this office and Sasha is usually really bashful with the male doc. But eventually she warmed up to him and she did really well! She let him examine her belly button. She let him listen to her breathing and heart with the stethescope. No complaints. He also looked in her ears.

He told us that she did indeed have an umbilical hernia. That it is okay that it showed up so late in her life (usually we hear about them showing up in newborns or before age one). Usually umbilical hernias fix themselves. With female children, the doc says he prefers that umbilical hernias should be left to heal themselves because if they are surgically repaired, they can cause problems later when a female child grows up and becomes pregnant. The repairs are stronger when left to nature to fix. He said that an umbilical hernia is not like a regular hernia. There is rarely any danger in them.

The pediatrician then left and the nurse came in. The same awesome nurse Sasha had last time. There is something special about this nurse, in that Sasha immediately warms up to her like an old friend. Sasha said "hi!" to her. She willingly laid down on the exam table to let the nurse give her the owie and bandaid. Sasha demanded her band-aid after the shot.
Then we were done! I was very impressed with how well Sasha did. There was almost no fussing, other than the wimpers during the shot itself, which is to be expected.