4 month check up + shots

I'm so behind in writing this update. Even though Thanksgiving came early this year, somehow Christmas seems to have come faster. Since I'm writing this nearly two weeks after this fact, unfortunately my reflections may be lacking in detail.

On November 27th, the Blueberry visited the pediatrician for his 4 month well-baby checkup and more vaccinations. Let's start with the stats. He officially weighs 15 pounds, 3 ounces and measures 24.5" in length. That's nearly double his birth weight and a gain on roughly 5 inches in length. His head measured 42 centimeters, which is nearly tripled from birth. The doctor--the fifth different one he's seen since leaving the hospital thanks to the wonders of the military HMO care plan--was very positive about the Blueberry's development. He pronounced him free of the thrush that's been plaguing us since week 3, noted that the cradle cap wasn't serious, and otherwise seemed pleased. He reminded me about the importance of tummy time, which I know we need to work on. I liked the fellow although given his age and career (Army colonel), he seemed to be full of old-school philosophies and far from the cusp of current medicine. For example, when I inquired about when baby Tylenol should be used, he stated that he's of the mind to dose the baby regardless of discomfort, fever level, etc. Granted, I'd read that some parents dose their child prior to the shots to ward off potential negative symptoms but I didn't expect to hear that from an actual doctor. Yes, I know Tylenol's one of the purportedly more benign drugs as you can take it during pregnancy and give it to infants, etc., but I suppose the hippie in me just doesn't want to use any drug unless there's an actual need. Wait a sec, hippies used a lot of drugs in the 60s...um, I guess "progressive" or wannabe "natural" mom might be more appropriate terms. Anyway, what I did take from him was his opinion on what was a fever requiring a trip to the ER (over 103 + listlessness) and that was about it.

The shots...I had been warned that the second dose was worse than the first. Odd before they're simply boosters for the first round of vaccines. I had hoped that his newly chubby thighs would cushion the blow of the needle but no such luck. He shrieked even louder than before and seemed to generally more capable of expressing his agony than he was at 2 months. On the plus side, he fell right asleep and pretty much napped through the pain all the afternoon. Once at home, I dosed him with baby Tylenol for the pain which still seemed acute and was preventing him from getting comfortable. Around 11pm, he had a low-grade fever so we dosed him again. As far as I remember, he slept normally that night although his appetite was a bit diminished. The next morning he still had a low-grade fever but didn't seem to be in pain. (This is a switch from the 2-month shots where the fever was gone but he was still in a lot of pain.) I believe we dosed his one more time that morning and by afternoon he was his usual self.

Yikes, this is a lot sparser that it should have been. Hopefully I will be more diligent about getting this post up next time....