Best doctor's appointment ever

I had the best doctor's appointment ever with Bethany today.

I managed to get us there early, so I wasn't stressed and running to get in the building which was a nice start. Then, before we went in, I told Bethany that we were there for her, and if she would let the doctor look and her and be good, then I would get her a treat afterward. A little bribery never hurt. I really didn't think it would help, though. She's had a phobia of doctors since she was nine months old and had pneumonia. She had x-rays and IVs and an oxygen mask and even got an ambulance ride. You'd think that she would be young enough that she wouldn't remember, but at her next check-up, she cried as soon as they tried to measure her head circumferance. But for whatever reason, when we got in, she was a perfect angel. She hopped up on the scale, stood over by the wall to have her height measured, and happily stuck out her arm for the blood pressure cuff. She started fussing once it tightened, but still, I was beyond shocked at how good she was. She was even really good for the doctor, and cooperated with her, too. The doctor (a resident) had a student with her. The student played with Bethany and Meagan, and colored with them on the paper that goes over the exam table, and basically kept them occupied while I talked to the doctor. It was really, really nice. Very low-stress for me, which is not normal when I take all the kids with me. After talking to the doctor for a while, she left with the student to go talk to the attending physician. While they were gone, Bethany looked at me and said, "How many doctors we need?"

The reason we were there was to screen her for Asperger's and/or ADHD. The doctor pretty much ruled out Asperger's (she's hitting all the milestones she should be hitting for her age) and gave a couple of questionaires to go home and fill out for the ADHD. One of them is for her old preschool teacher, so it'll take a few days to actually finish. Then I have to mail it back to a nurse who will look at it and call us back to set up a return appointment. Kinda complicated, but oh well.

Bethany asked me for a sucker for her treat for being good. I was so over-the-top happy with her, that she could've asked for something much bigger and I would've happily given it to her. We made a detour on the way home to get her treat, and she was perfectly content. I just hope this becomes a habit with her.