It’s a Girl

Today everybody is home sick, sniffling through our third nasty head cold of the year. Yesterday we schlepped Delphine to the clinic for yet another visit, this time for a seasonal-flu booster shot. (The Band-Aids they slap on her thighs are cute, although she’s too young — and unhappy about the shots — to appreciate them.) And we have still more trips to various practitioners before the 2009 calendar year is up.

So, in these last few weeks of the year, let’s take a look at The Year in Numbers, medically speaking.

Clinic visits for Caroline during the last few months of pregnancy: 8
Clinic visits for Caroline after pregnancy: 4
Clinic visits for Delphine: 8
Clinic visits for Caleb: 1

Immunization shots given to Delphine: 8 so far
Immunization shots given to Caroline and Caleb: 1 each so far

Urgent-care visits for Caleb: 1
ER visits for Caroline: 1
Hospital stays for Caroline: 3
Ultrasound exams for Caroline: 2
X-rays for Caroline while awake: 2
X-rays for Caroline while anesthetized: an ungodly amount
IVs stuck into Caroline: 3
CCs of fluids and drugs pumped into Caroline: several liters
Nurses seen during 3 hospital stays: approximately 30
Doctors seen during 3 hospital stays: 8
Scars cut into Caroline’s torso: 5

Naturopath visits for Caroline: 4
Acupuncture sessions at naturopath: 2
Incredibly painful needles during those sessions: 1 at each

Dentist visits for Caroline: 3
Dentist visits for Caleb: 1
Periodontist trips for Caroline: 4
Lidocaine shots given to Caroline at the periodontist: 8
Lidocaine shots given to Caleb at the urgent-care clinic: 1

Audiologist visits for Caroline: 8

Times our health-insurance company has asked us whether Caroline might have health insurance elsewhere: 3

As you can see, having a baby is a lot rougher on the parents than it is on the baby. Apart from her three colds, Delphine has been robustly healthy from Day One. Better her than us.

Now we’re just hoping we’ll make it through the end of the year without coming down with swine flu. Yes, we signed up for the vaccinations at our clinic, but as of yesterday, they still had no idea when — or if — they’d be getting them in.

This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home sick . . .