I Spell Relief The Same As You Do, I Think

So Ms. D is small. She's long and lean and weighs much less than my other two children at one year of age. I've had the sense that she is just built small. K was not a small baby, but he has been a small boy...although not as small as D. M has been average, then bigger than average and now I think she is approaching average again.

Full disclosure: She still weighs less at one year of age than my other two children weighed at 4 months. Yeah. Wrap your mind around that.

At her one-year checkup we all marveled at how D has met and in many cases exceeded expectations in many milestones. She eats and eats A LOT. She climbs, she cruises. She uses baby signs to tell us she wants more or to eat. We can see that she is so smart.

But the doctor that we have for me, for our children, for my husband; our family doctor who is always, always on the laid-back-you-are-doing-the-best-you-can-best-for-your-kids kind of doctor at the end of D's 12-month (usually do not see the doctor) visit said that she thought we needed to do some tests to make sure D was absorbing the food she's eating. I maintained my composure but my heart was breaking. Was I hurting my child in some way? Did I screw up?

So we took D downstairs after holding her down for 3 shots. She had 1 shot in each leg and one in one arm. She recovered from her indignation pretty quickly after the shots. We rode the elevator to the basement where the lab tests are taken for the family medicine cases. It was the same testing area where I've been several times: for pregnancy confirmation or negation, for x-raying my finger, for other blood tests.

But when we were called for D, they escorted us to the farthest, out of the way room, with a door to close. I sensed the impending horror as we approached the room. Honestly, it's never good when they isolate you from the rest of the patients.

D was brave, and frightened and cried hysterically. The first nurse, probably a student (dang that teaching hospital thing) was unsuccessful at tapping a vein for the blood draw. She was slow and unskilled and I was hearing my baby scream hysterically. When you hear your child suck in her breath between screeching screams, especially your tiny, smaller than the others, last baby, scream this kind of scream it is not fun. Not at all.

She finally asked the other nurse if she'd like to try. It all was annoyingly and heartbreakingly slow motion. The other nurse took over and after shifting the needle a bit was able to tap a vein. The blood flowed annoyingly slow from my tiny baby's arm.

When your child is screaming the whole time this type of procedure is happening I can assure you that you will feel terrible.

Days later I have learned that all of the tests performed so far are normal. Our baby seems to be fine, but is small. Sometimes the very best things come in small packages.