Also Known As...

Ashton, today we had your four month appointment. I admit I was nervous. We took Kade along. The clinic is never on-time; and I was planning for babies in melt down. I had a couple of questions for the doctor, so I was looking forward to the appointment. I was going in with optimism that this appointment would give me some answers and we would all get along with ease. I even was prepping mentally for you’re AKA.

But alas I experience another moment of mommy embarrassment. I didn't realize they were calling your name. They called it. I heard it. They called it again. I looked around us and there sat a preteen girl with her Dad. Odd, but whatever I guessed the patient was in the restroom. The nurse stared at me. I mean really looking deeply at me. I looked at the nurse blankly. She walked over and said, "We will see Curtis now. This is Curtis, right?"

I dropped the ball on the name- AGAIN. I do this every time we are at the doctor. They have it on record Curtis AKA Ashton and yet only Dr. Hoffman calls you by Ashton. I prep myself to be conscience that they will call out "Curtis". I need to be on alert. I flunked. Good thing we have 18 more years for me to get this whole name thing right!

I stroll you, Curtis, down the hall and carry Kaden in my arms as we follow the nurse to the exam room. And there we go the first sign of melt down- Kaden begins to squirm and scream once we enter the room. I explain to Kade that it isn’t all about him. This is not his party, but it is for you. I try to bribe him with snacks and juice. It doesn’t work. I ask if we can just move along. We do.

You are healthy. You fall into the 50% tile for both your head circumference and weight. You are in the 75% tile in your length. Of course you are overheating. You are a hot box. Always hot, so I keep you in a diaper most days. Even dressed so sparsely you get a heat rash! It is nuts. Dr. Hoffman confirms what I already knew. You can begin solids now and definitely by 6 months. However, he advised waiting a little while because you are not growing rapidly, so it could give you weight gain. The worst of the news is we will continue to see one another at the hour of three o’clock in the morning for at least the next month. The Dr. told me we could begin to schedule you today, but we again had until month six. I will give you one more month… and then you are on your own, Curtis! How I dread sleep training. It is miserable for everyone involved.

Through Kaden’s crying I hear music to my ears that I have to have repeated: He is advanced in his stages. Wait, what? Did I hear the word advanced? It is not typical for a 4 month old to already roll front to back and back to front. This is something you should be exploring over the coming weeks. Your leg strength and balance allows you to hold your weight far longer than the average infant at this same age. He put you down into a sitting position on the table and you gripped one another’s hands. You held your balance and weight perfectly. He educated me. This is normal for a 5-6 month old. You are Super Curtis! I can’t believe all your advanced powers.

Through the appointment you squirmed and Kaden cried. Thank goodness Dr. H is hands-on and held you most of the appointment. It became vaccination time. I knew this would go south real quickly. However, this is my battle and I was going to take it by the horns. The nurse saved me. She gave me two options. I opted to take Kade out of the room as you poked you two times in the thighs. You cried loud enough to have Kade want to go back in and get you. We did. We loaded up and headed out.

We made an appointment for your six month and Kaden’s two year checkups. As we were leaving I hear, “Bye-bye Kaden and Curtis….or I mean Ashton!”