"The only stinky part about today was...."

Today was Clayton's 4 year old well child check up at our pediatrician's office. It was, in a word, AWFUL! When I made the appointment, they warned me that Clayton was going to get 3 shots. So, I recruited my sweet hubby to accompany me to the traumatic appointment. Man, I'm glad that he agreed!

First of all, we had to wait FOREVER before we were seen. I love our pediatrician, but the wait time in his office is almost enough to make me switch doctors. Clayton's appointment time was at 11:00. We got to the office at 10:50, went back to the exam room at 11:30, finally saw the doctor at noon, and didn't leave the office until 1:00. It was a LONG process. :(

The appointment started with a urine sample, which Clayton was a little hesitant about. He agreed after some creative Star Wars themed explanation that Wade thought up. (I'll spare you the details!) Then came the hearing and vision screen. He completed both and passed both. He weighed in at 36.4 lbs (50-75%) and was 41 inches tall (50-75%).

Then he put on his darling little paper gown. It was so cute that I had to capture the image on Wade's phone...
The doctor examined Clayton and was happy with his findings, except for some enlarged lymph nodes in Clayton's neck. They have actually been enlarged for over a year (2 doctors have noted them, but they didn't seem too concerned). I've been worried about them, but I was trying not to be the over-paranoid nurse Mommy that I am. So... I dismissed my concerns. Apparently, I should have trusted my gut. Dr. M. said that they could be enlarged because his allergies are not being well controlled. He took him off of his Zyrtec and put him on Allegra (combined with his Singulair). He said that if he didn't improve by next week, that he wanted Clayton to see an ENT. He seems to think that he may need to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. Poor little fella! Pray that the Allegra will work and the lymph nodes will shrink. I don't want for Clayton to have to go through that surgery. :(

After the exam, everything went from bad to worse! Two nurses came in to draw 2 vials of blood and give him 3 injections. Clayton had this terrified look in his eyes and screamed bloody murder through it all. It was horrible! I couldn't handle seeing my sweet boy so upset. By the time that it was said and done, Wade was the only one that hadn't shed a tear. At one point, Clayton, Drew, and I were all crying at the same time. Thank the Lord that Wade was there - I couldn't have made it through without him!

We went straight to Target to let Clayton buy some new action figures with his birthday gift cards (and an extra one as a treat for being so brave!). Next we went to McDonald's for lunch (another BIG treat). Clayton was so excited! He said, "The only stinky part about today was that I had to go to the doctor." HA!

As an added bonus, Clayton got to go to "Grammie Camp" tonight. He is going to spend the rest of the week with his Grammie and Papaw. I'm sure that he is going to have a blast, but it is going to be a long week for me. I miss him terribly already! Good thing that I have this little booger to keep me company. :)

And... Wade & I went to Home Depot tonight to get some home improvement projects to work on this week - paint for the playroom & Clayton's room, air filters, a dryer vent fan, etc. Hopefully, we can make a dent in our "Honey Do list" and I will be too busy to miss my boy. We shall see....

P.S. I just changed Clayton's LilyPie ticker to countdown to his 5th birthday. Time, please slow down!!! (sniff, sniff)