Jackson's 15 Month Checkup

I took Jackson to the pediatrician yesterday for his 15 month checkup. He now weighs 24 pounds and 8 ounces, and is 31.5 inches long. That means he's grown 10 inches since birth, and gained 15 pounds and 1 ounce. Big boy!

He did pretty well for the appointment - about his usual, I guess. That means he whined a bit and threw himself on the floor a few times, and the doctor asked me about that. I told her he is usually like this: very high intensity and clingy with me. His teachers say he's an angel, and he usually settles down better for Dan. The doctor said that's very normal. Kids about this age will be the most difficult for the caregiver they are with more often. She advised me to just stay strong, don't give in to his whining, and keep doing what I'm doing.

I also asked the doctor about a swollen lymph node in the left side of Jackson's neck. It's been swollen for at least two months, and you can even see it bulge out of his neck sometimes. The doctor was a little concerned about it. She wanted to do some blood work on him, and test his CBC and CRP (C-Reactive Protein). She said that would tell us if there's any inflammation or other issues going on. She said some kids just have a matted mass of lymph nodes that stick together and it's nothing dangerous. But doing these tests and checking on it will help us rule out things like cancer and whatnot. Then she went on to say it's probably nothing, and he probably won't need anything done to it - although she did have one mom insist that her child's be surgically removed before. But since I seem to be a "pretty laid-back mom," (Her words, not mine. Ha!!) then we probably wouldn't have to go down that route. So... we wrapped up the appointment and got two vaccinations and then went to get Jackson's blood drawn. And THAT was such a joy, lemme tell ya. Ugh!

Did you catch it? That little "C" bomb that was dropped up there? Yeah, I figured you did. Last night when I told my sister about what the doctor said, her response was, "Did you remind this doctor that the word cancer isn't one that should be thrown around in our family?" We don't play around with that word after three cancer deaths.

Of course, my head is worrying about the test results. I keep thinking what if there is something major going on? What if this explains Jackson's crabbiness? What if he's got a tumor pressing on his neck all the time, and that's why he can be so fussy? Aaaaack! I could work myself into a fretting frenzy by going down this road. So I choose to stop, and just not even ride in that car right now. There's no sense in worrying over something that hasn't happened and is very unlikely to happen. Right? Right. I'm sure he's fine. I'm sure he's fine. I'm sure he's fine. (If I keep repeating it, it might come true.)

Say some prayers, and I'll keep you posted on the results - of the tests and the prayers.