Monday, October 01, 2012

"The Doc is in..."

A few months ago, my mom started talking about this new show that was about to start on Disney Junior.  We don't have cable at our house, but my parents have it at theirs, so my mom and Bean are the first to know about all of the exciting new shows.  It was called Doc McStuffins.

"Doc Mc-huh-what?" I asked.

"Doc McStuffins," my mom repeated.

(So laughable, really, that there was ever a time in my life that I didn't know Doc McStuffins, or how frequently her into song was going to be stuck in my head.)
Meet Doc!
Photo Credit:  http://disney.go.com/disneyjunior/doc-mcstuffins

My mom thought it looked cute.  It was supposed to be about a little girl whose mom was a pediatrician, and the little girl was taking after her mom and had become a doctor to her stuffed animals and toys.  My mom likes anything that proves to little girls they can be or do anything they want to be.

So we watched it.  And Sweet Pea?  Completely over the moon for this show.  Elmo?  Old news.  Veggie Tales?  So last week.  Her once-beloved Pocoyo?  One-year-old stuff.  Doc McStuffins is where it's at, and once Daddy downloaded some kind of Disney app on his phone where she could watch episodes, well, it's all been downhill from there.  I'm sorry to say that we've had quite a few Doc Stuffins-induced tantrums around here, because really, child, there are limits.

As annoying at this obsession can be, it's also pretty darn adorable.  Sweet Pea loves the songs in the show and sings them all the time.  There's a line in one of the songs that goes, "I'm gonna check your eyes, check your ears, find out how much you've grown..." and Sweet Pea repeats it constantly.  She'll come up to me and say, "Checka eyes, Mama!  Checka ears," and poke me.  In my eyes.  And ears.  So Gigi gave her the Fisher Price toy doctor kit (you know the one- we all had one circa 1985) for her birthday and now we've redirected her to poke her dolls in the eyes and ears with the little toys.  Or okay, fine, the cat.

My mom gave her a LaLa Loopsie doctor set for her birthday and girlfriend won't put that down.  It came with a little doll (Sweet Pea calls her Lucy) and a toy stethoscope that makes all kinds of funny sounds when you press it to someone's heart.  The frog sound is her favorite.
Favorite toy.Photo Credit: http://www.toytattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Lalaloopsy-Littles-Sew-Cute-Patient-Pic.jpg

(Aside:  I can't even describe in words how fun it was for me to know exactly what to get this child for her birthday, to know her little heart and little loves so earnestly.  It was SO FUN to tell family members, "Get her anything you want, but I know she'll love _____" and be so very right.  What a joy to watch her not only open her gifts with such delight, but to watch her love and enjoy them day after day.  Grownups really are right when they say it's better to give than to receive.)

So, maybe Sweet Pea is going to be a doctor some day?  She's check so many ears, eyes and heartbeats that she probably has enough residency hours to be one starting next week.

With all of this doctor excitement, I had mixed feelings about her two-year well-check appointment.  Sweet Pea has never yet made it through an appointment without screaming and crying like she is being tortured from the moment the doctor makes eye contact with her.  I had a feeling that this could go significantly better, but I also knew that it would end with- wait for it- shots.

So we talked about it.  All week long.  We talked about the doctor, why she was going, what would happen, how she could bring her Lucy doll and her stethoscope.  Friday morning came and we watched an episode of Doc on the computer before her afternoon appointment.

Things went okay at first.  She wasn't thrilled to be there, and wasn't thrilled with the nurse.  She liked weighing Lucy on the scale, but screamed and cried when we tried to measure her.  She warmed up again when we measured Lucy, and started to relax.

Then, the doctor came in.  A doctor we hadn't met yet.  A sweet, kind doctor with dark, curly hair.  And brown eyes.  And lovely dark skin.

Sweet Pea looked up at her timidly at first, and then adoringly, and as I watched her it instantly clicked; Sweet Pea totally thought it was Doc McStuffins.  Or maybe Doc's mom!

Sweet Pea giggled with delight through the whole appointment.  I sang the "Check Up" song as the doctor checked her eyes and ears.  There's another line that goes, "It's okay if you giggle, this will only tickle a little..." which I sang right when the doctor felt her tummy.  Sweet Pea cracked up.  She literally was as bouncy and excited as I've seen her say, on a ride at the carnival or chasing her cousin at the beach.  My mama heart was all a-mush.

Except I knew what was coming next.  Those awful, heart-wrenching shots.  Sweet Pea was practically dancing- no, wait she was dancing- around the room because she was so excited from her fun check-up.  I tried to explain that she was going to have little boo-boos.  I tried to tell her it was the episode we'd watched earlier that day, the one where Lamby has to have a rip stitched up and it hurt a little but it was okay because she needed the stitches to get better.  Sweet Pea didn't hear one word I said.

I totally teared up when the nurse poked that first needle in my little girl's arm and Sweet Pea looked up with shock and deeply hurt feelings that this had just happened to her.  We held her and cuddled her as she cried and got her a lovely, huge sticker.  And we took her out for ice cream, just because.

She did think the bandaids were pretty spectacular.  She was excited to get to have two.  
 
I love that my sweet girl already has passions.  Already has things she loves and is interested in.  I hate that she had to experience something painful, even mildly so, in the midst of something she loved.  I also know that life is a lot like that; all great things come with some cost.  Everything we love will also hurt us a little, too, but it's okay because in the end we love it so much that we keep on anyway and love it all the more so.  It gives me a lump in my throat to think that she will have to discover that, but I am glad that I get to know her little heart and walk it with her and hold her hand and buy her ice cream when the going gets tough.

2 comments:

  1. Doc McStuffins sounds really cute! I'm glad Wavy did so well her her 2-year appointment. The ice cream after was a great idea ;) It will be neat to see what these kids grow up to be.

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  2. so cute! my guys like doc mcstuffins too (shhhh don't tell!) and ry got a doctor kit for his birthday too! they've been giving check-ups nonstop. glad wavy did good at her check up - she's so brave!

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