Nate's Big Adventure: Part II

Yesterday morning Nate and I headed out to Women's College Hospital to meet with a doctor who specializes in both pediatrics and sports medicine. I got a call last week to let us know about the appointment, and although I knew it had something to do with Nate not being able to sit unassisted at 15 months (now 16 months), the details were a little sparse.

Backtracking a little: our pediatrician is away from her practice for the next two months and was unable to find someone to cover for her in her absence. Her office closed before I was able to get Nate to Sick Kids for his x-ray, and I had initially thought she was planning to wait for the results before possibly putting through a referral to a physician that deals with sports medicine. So I wasn't sure if she somehow had received the results from her sick-bed and decided it was such an emergency that she somehow dialed this one in (her leave btw was due to a medical situation that required a surgery and lengthy recovery), or if she'd had a change of heart and decided to send the referral in anyway, OR if I'd possibly misunderstood something in the wake of Mommy-panic at finding out Seth has a heart murmur. Reception for the new doctor at WCH did nothing to clear any of that up, so we showed up rather blindly.

On with the visit then!

Here we are taking the elevator up to the 10th floor. Nate wasn't too cooperative about looking at the camera, but thanks to the magic that is mirrors...

We see you Nate!

Also seen: me looking a sweaty mess. It was HOT outside yesterday – I think 40+ with the humidex? More like 45 when you have an equally sweaty toddler attached to you.

We filled in some requisite paperwork when we got to our destination and were shown into a room promptly. It was made clear that this was a pants-off* affair for Nate. Normally no pants = awesome, but I think that only applies at home. The fun times go out the window at the doctor's office.

Before his exam however, Nate managed to make a new friend: 

– Well hello there. You is an interesting fellow. *touch* 

– Your Mommy needs to feed you a sandwich though.

Sadly, this is where the photo journey ends. And by sadly, I mean things got sad. And by things that were sad, I mean Nate specifically. 

Although the doctor appeared to be a very pleasant and mild-mannered sort and had yet to address anyone much less begin an examination, Nate decided he wasn't having any of it and commenced with full-on meltdown mode. 

It was epic everyone!

And it almost made me feel less Mommy-guilt about taking this picture the other day just so you all would have a point of reference.

Well, more like a starting point of reference.

I did say it was epic, right?

We all did our best to soldier on. I had Nate on my lap for most of our visit while the doctor checked his range of motion and declared it within the scope of normal. Just to be clear:

• Feet on backwards? Normal.

• Legs at a 90° sideways angle to the body? Normal.

• This? Totally normal.

I know. I was pretty surprised too.

For the last part of the exam, the doctor wanted to see Nate walking. We tried the Mommy-release-to-Daddy-down-the-hall and the Daddy-release-to-Mommy-down-the-hall, but it was just not happening. In a last ditch effort (at the doctors suggestion) we tried Mommy-and-Daddy-down-the-hall-with-much-hated-doctor-doing-the-release. It was a decent idea in theory – the reasoning being that Nate would want to move away from the doctor as quickly as possible.

Nate however wasn't interested in logical approaches at this point and promptly crumpled into a puddle of misery on the floor. Recovery at this point was futile.

The remainder of the appointment was relatively brief, but in a nutshell:

• Nate's hip x-ray came back clear. His hip joints are perfectly normal.

• His extreme range of motion everywhere may lessen as he grows. Or he may end up with some neat party tricks later in life.

• My concern about Nate's spine is likely not significant. I did bring this photo and the doctor could see what I was concerned about**, but said that although it might be a slight curvature, it might also just be the way Nate was standing/slouching. Also a spinal curvature less than 20° is within the range of acceptable.

• In lieu of an obvious physiological problem, the doctor feels that this is something Nate will outgrow in time and nothing needs to be done on my part for now in terms of encouraging sitting in the more standard way.

The doctor would like to see us again in 4 months for a follow-up however just to be on the safe side.

In the meantime I will do my best to put my Mommy worries aside and let Nate sort this one out in his own time.

He looked rather pensive about it all on the way home:

I just wondering if 'dis hat show off my curls at the back
in ways that make you swoon a little.
Oh, and thinking about stinkeroo visit too, of course.

- L.

*Why yes, that is a disposable diaper Nate is sporting. While we still cloth diaper at home, I have come to my senses on the convenience of disposables when toting a toddler plus gear on my back. Not only are they space-savers going, but you can throw them away after use which means they are also space-savers upon return. And I'm 100% certain my fellow public transit takers appreciated one less odor to ponder as well.

**Humorous highlight of our otherwise miserable visit: the doctor's assistant was most curious about how I managed to stick all those dots on Nate before I took this photo:

Hold still, Nate. Mommy has to put stickers on you.

... and he genuinely seemed befuddled when I said Photoshop. I think he actually thought I took the time to somehow apply dot-shaped stickers while Nate (and Seth too) somehow remained entirely motionless.