The Vet Visit With A Toddler

I took my golden girl to the vet the other day to have her lump checked out. Thankfully, it is nothing serious, some sort of sebaceous cyst that has developed because of a plugged hair follicle. Apparently, it is very common in older dogs and the vet assured me she does not have cancer (WHEW)! We are going to schedule the cyst removal soon (she has 2 of them that need to come off). Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

Anyway, I had to take my son to the appointment since my husband was working. I knew it would be difficult to juggle the dog and toddler, but really had no choice. I kept my son strapped in his stroller and for the most part he did fine. While in the waiting room, he would point and hiss at every cat he saw. Why does my son hiss instead of meow when he sees a cat? Well, because we live downtown now and there are a lot of stray cats. Needless to say, I hiss at them constantly to get them off my property. Monkey see, monkey do…

We were called back to our room and the vet came in to examine Bailey. Of course when he started talking to me, my son began acting like a typical toddler (yelling, back arched, screaming to get out of the stroller). There was an immediate shift in the vet’s body language. He suddenly had this “deer in the headlights” look and I swear he turned pale. He then shared that his wife was due with their first child in 7 days. I guess my laugh came across evil as I said “good luck with that”. I did not mean to sound ugly but I was over my son’s behavior and was ready to ask for a toddler sized muzzle.

The vet proceeded to ask me for advice (what is wrong with this guy, seriously…asking for advice from the lady with a bad toddler)? Here is what I told him in a nutshell. Expect less sleep at first and trust your intuition. Parenting comes naturally so don’t second guess yourself. My BEST piece of advice to new parents is to take baby out before they are mobile and enjoy dinners in restaurants because when they are toddlers, you NEVER know how they are going to act in public. Also, it won’t be as easy to do things with your spouse that you used to enjoy as a couple (traveling, movies, fine dinners, visiting wineries, etc.). Find new activities that are fun for the three of you and enjoy every second, because they do not stay babies very long.

He still seemed very scared and I told him the hard part isn’t when they are babies, it’s when they are toddlers! His color seemed to come back to his face after I said that. It was obvious that my kid’s behaviors scared the living daylights out of this man. He has no clue what he is in for! I really should have scared him with my advice, but was afraid he may faint!

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