We’re smart people…. really!
G had his 1yr old check-up today (18lb, 28.5″ tall, 18″ head circumf, btw). Trying to be “good patients” S and I prepped our question list before heading to the appointment. Amongst them was “How do we use this thermometer?”
Don’t laugh! We got this really cool, and generous gift for G’s baby shower last year: a themporal artery thermometer. Except that we couldn’t get it to read properly. I tried scanning left to right, up and down, slowly, quickly, with the button pressed before the scan, during the scan… you get the point. Each time, G’s temperature read something like 77.blah or 82.blah (at best). Either way, something slightly over cryogenically chilled baby.
So I quit trying to use it. I had this fancy thermometer, and instead I was using an older digital thermometer and trying to keep my kid’s arm still for a minute while I shoved a thermometer under his armpit (I just won’t shove anything up his rear if I can help it — it’s a promise I made to myself). All in all, we had a wonderful electronic sculpture occupying the dresser drawer. Until today!
We took the thermometer in to the Dr’s office. Our pedi’s nurse took one look at it (from the door) and said “Oh, this is the same one we used to use!”
“Good! Can you show us how to work it?”
She had a perplexed look on her face, walked into the room, took off the cap (It had a cap?!?!?!), pressed the button, ran it over G’s head and got a reading. In the 90’s no less! Yeah, apparently step 1: take off cap. S and I looked at each other and he busted out laughing. I on the other hand felt apologetic “I swear we’re not mentally disabled, really”
In my defense the thermometer doesn’t even look like there’s a cap on it. And we did read the instruction manual, several times. It never said “take off cap”.
So we’re smart people… really! (Just take my word for it!)
Awesome. That is how I feel every time I am walking around the house looking for my glasses and Karl tells me to check my head 🙂