Practicing for the Doctor: It just might work!

Lilah's 12 month doctor's appointment was a bit of a challenge. She started crying as soon as we put her up on the table for the nurse to weigh and measure her and take her temperature. The crying continued and then increased when it came time for the needles and she didn't really stop until we left the office.

Needless to say, I was very motivated to do what I could to prevent the situation from happening again. The last thing I want is for my daughter to develop a fear and hatred for the doctor. I asked around for some advice and a friend suggested buying a book about visiting the doctor.

We went out the next day and bought a book about going to the doctor and started reading it on a regular basis. A few weeks later, Lilah's grandparents bought her a doctor's kit and we stared playing with kit while reading the book. Lilah quickly came to understand the names for the instruments and how to use them. We played with a stethoscope, thermometer, needle, and ear/eye/throat light to name but a few. We had also put a height chart on the wall and talked about it as we went through the story as well (even though the doctor does not yet measure her height on a chart).

Our 15 month appointment we much more successful that the previous visit. There were still a few tears and some fussing, but significantly less than before. We took the book and doctor's kit with us and pulled out the instruments and looked at the appropriate pages of the book before each step of the appointment. I really can't say for sure whether it was the 'practice' or simply that Lilah was having a better day and/or had matured since the last appointment that made the visit better. In my opinion, it doesn't really matter. Even if the book and the kit made no difference, we had a lot of fun playing with it (and still do) and I am positive that Lilah learned a thing or two along the way.

Some tips for making your appointments more successful:

1) Talk about the upcoming appointment the day before and/or on the day of the visit (talking about it any earlier could actually increase anxiety).

2) Read a book about what to expect at the visit.

3) Act out what to expect using a doll and/or a doctor's kit.

4) Let your child take something special to the appointment (toy/blanket) for comfort.

5) Ask the doctor to 'examine' you or your child's doll before examining your child.

6) Talk about the fun parts of the visit (toys in the waiting room, sticker/book prizes).

7) Be honest about the hard parts of the visit (ie. needles). Tell your child that it will hurt for a few seconds.

8) Distract your child while the needles are being given.

9) Provide a lot of praise after the appointment!

Good luck!

Road Trip: Part 2

Well, there really isn't much to say...the drive back to Baltimore was almost as easy and enjoyable as the drive to Ontario. Given how smoothly the initial trip went, we didn't want to change anything (don't fix what isn't broken). However, we did leave 2 hours earlier (7am vs. 9am) which put us home for dinner which was nice and we stopped less often (2X vs. 4X). It did take Lilah a little longer to fall asleep and she didn't sleep for as long (2 hours), but she was content throughout the journey. In the end, we arrived safely in Baltimore after 9.5 hours of driving.

I was so worried before we embarked on this journey that it would be a torturous 10 hours (or longer). I really should have given Lilah more credit from the get-go. She was a trooper and apparently she is a wonderful traveler. Looking back on the past year, we really could have saved ourselves some money on airfare had we had the courage it give the road trip a try. On the other hand, doing it when she was younger may have been less of a success.

Just as we discover that Lilah travels long distances well in a car, we will be getting rid of our car when we make our move to Chicago in a few short months. Our new mode of transportation will be the train. It will be a new adventure for Lilah and a more relaxing commute for my husband and I (hopefully). It will be interesting to say the least and I will be sure to post on the subject in the near future.

Road Trip: Part 1

We made the 9.5 hour drive from where we currently live in Maryland, USA to Ontario, Canada this past week. I really didn't know what to expect from Lilah, but was mentally preparing myself for it to be a LONG, challenging journey. Lilah has never had to travel any great distance in the car. I think the longest trip we have taken in the last year or so was about two hours. Anyway, I couldn't have been more wrong about how she would act! She was fantastic for the entire trip!

We debated for a long time about WHEN to do the driving. At first we thought getting in the car right before bedtime would be the best because she would hopefully sleep the entire way. We ultimately decided, however, to drive during the day because we thought it would nice for her to have time to settle down after the long journey, get used to her surroundings and then have a good, uninterrupted sleep.

I should mention that we used Lilah's infant car seat for this trip. She has always been pretty happy with her infant seat. It was only when we recently started using a new seat that she started to put up a fuss about being in the car. She is just barely under the height limit for her infant seat so we decided that we would use it for this trip because we knew she would be happier sitting in it. The next time we make the trip, she will have no choice but to sit in her new seat and my hope is that after she gets used to it and forgets about her infant seat, she will be content to ride in it.

Anyway, we started off the day by visiting the doctor for Lilah's 15 month needles. We hadn't really planned on this being a part of our adventure, but it may have helped in that it might have made Lilah a little more sleepy than usual. On the other hand, it could have totally blew up in our faces if she had developed a fever or had some kind of adverse reaction to the immunizations which apparently is more common with this round of shots.

We hit the road at about 9:00am and were able to drive for about 3 hours before making a stop. During this time, we read stories, played with a few favourite toys, watched a couple of Elmo episodes, had our morning snack and lunch. We stopped right before it was time for Lilah to take a nap so that she could stretch her legs and have a diaper change. It was a brief stop (~15 minutes) and we were back on the road. Lilah didn't fuss even a bit about getting back in her seat which really surprised me.

She fell asleep pretty bang on to her normal nap time and slept for a solid 2.5 hours which was FANTASTIC! That is a little longer than is typical for her and may have been a result of the immunizations. Whatever the reason, it was welcomed!

When she had fully woken up from her nap, we stopped for the second time (we had been in the car for close to 3 hours). It was another quick stop to nurse, stretch and change her diaper and again, there wasn't a single complaint about getting back in the seat.

We ended up making two more very brief stops (Duty Free, dirty diaper change) and were at our destination in just under 9.5 hours (the typical drive time). Lilah was happy as a clam through the very last agonizing minutes of the journey. I was so pleasantly surprised that it went so smoothly.

Things that worked for us:

1) I sat in the back seat with Lilah for the duration of the trip.
2) I packed a few favourite toys and lots of books (the toys/books that Lilah seemed particularly interested in in the days leading up to the trip.) We also took our labtop computer and a few of Lilah's favourite videos and several of her Cd's.
3) I packed lots of food for the journey (fresh fruit, yogurt, egg salad sandwiches, raisins, cookies, goldfish, cheerios, milk, water, juice.)
4) We had screens on the windows in the back seat to block out the sun and an extra blanket to drape over the car seat while she slept so it was a little darker.
5) I took her favourite blanket and a few of the toys she has in her crib for nap time.
6) We kept everything as close to our regular schedule/routine as possible (IE. snacks/meals/nap/nursing were all at their usual time.)

Hope this helps those of you planning road trips this coming summer! Think positively and happy travels!