I had a routine doctor’s appointment and thought it would be easy enough to bring my daughter. She’s pretty well behaved, just a little nosey. She likes to play with everything and tries to open drawers and such. She’s 2 years old, they do that. I mean, of course, I try to steer to toward something else or conjure up excitement over something so mundane that she looks at me like I’m crazy and she’s thinking, “Not going to work on me mom. That’s lame.”
This particular time, she was a little fussy and grouchy in the room. When the doctor began his checkup, she really freaked out. “No, mommy, get down,” she demanded, not happy that I was on the paper-lined bed. Then she began pushing my foot, saying, “Excuse me. Excuuuuuuseee meee.” She really did not want the doctor to touch me.
I tried to bribe her with snacks, toys, songs. She’d have none of it and seemed so stressed. My doctor tried to talk to her a little, though he seemed intimidated. I crouched down and told her that I was OK and thanked her for looking out for me, but that mommy needs to go to the doctor too, just like she does sometimes to keep her healthy. I asked her to shake his hand. She said, “Nice to meet you” and stuck out her hand, but she shied away from eye contact. It helped ease her mind a bit, but I could tell she was happy to leave.
