Sophie (at 22 months) Rocks the Plunket Nurse!

Sophie had her ‘Plunket‘ check (health-nurse) this week and it was really just a formality as I know she is absolutely fine on all levels. When it came to her ‘weigh-in’ Sophie started to cry (a rarity for her!) and I said to Sophie, ‘Well, never mind, it’s really not necessary as you’re obviously not emaciated!.’ Also, Dan and I are much slighter in build that your average New Zealander – especially compared to a Pacific Islander! Anyway, the end result was she’s weighing a little below average (click here for her personal growth chart -ooo, ah!), but that’s all good – damn right it is! The most important factor is that height and weight are progressing on a continual upward curve from birth; which they are both continuing to do so.

The nurse was very nice, but very traditional – in a Victorian sort of way! Our old Plunket nurse in Brooklyn was awesome – all ‘pro-extended breastfeeding’ and very encouraging. This nurse was, ‘Well, as long as it suits your lifestyle…’. For goodness sake! I’m happy, my children are happy, I know she only has my best interests at heart, but really, she made me feel like a total hippy! Then she asked, ‘Does she eat meat?’ – well, yes, but the way she asked was in an accusatory tone of, ‘Are you an extreme vege and don’t you know your child should get some real meat!’. Not that there’s anything wrong with vegetarianism, it’s just this Plunket nurse seemed to have an angle on it! I had to explain that Sophie must have been a T-Rex in another life, as she’s an utter carnivore.

When she asked about sleep I rambled on in my response (as I have a terrible disposition to do!) and said, ‘Fantastic – two hours nap and twelve hour’s all up at night – though I spend half of the night with her on the double futon in her room.’. Well, then there were questions… ‘Just a question with regard the night feed, does she remain latched on?’ – Reply: ‘No, I know about the risk of tooth decay, she doesn’t go to sleep latched on and she drinks nothing but either milk or water during the day.’ I failed to mention Sophie’s penchant for chocolate; but she makes up for her vices with a strong appetite for broccoli, peas, cucumber, carrots etc.

And her other question, ‘How does your husband feel about this?’ – my word, how personal! What does this really have to do with the health of my child!

Anyway, my response: ‘I share the love! I go to bed with my husband and when Sophie stirs around 1am (ish) I spend the rest of the night with her, my husband raves about the positive benefits of extended breastfeeding to his colleagues (frightening what men will talk about after a few beers on a Friday night!) and couldn’t be happier.’ Well, that seemed to satisfy her. For a moment I thought she was going to ask how our sex life is!

Enough already!

In short, Sophie is thriving. She is extremely bright, happy and healthy. She is stringing together sentences, knows all her colours, is counting to five, has an amazing memory, talks in past tense and uses tons of pronouns. Sophie rocks and we all love her!

After the check-up we celebrated with story-time at the local library and lunch at ‘The Cross‘. Charlotte came along for the whole ride as she’d had a tough night with the incredible storm that hit Wellington on Tuesday, with lightning striking more than 10 times in less than an hour, and winds which continued through Wednesday (at 130kmph!).