Today was Greta's two month well check. I was looking forward to this visit and dreading it at the same time. Looking forward because I wanted to see how much she had grown over the past month, dreading because she would get her first shots. (We declined the Hep B and vitamin K shots.) She did much better than I expected. The shots were the last thing they did so by that time she was tired of lying on the examining table. She cried more from us lying her down than she did from the shot. Also, the nurse was incredibly quick. I barely saw her do it and then it was over. I know vaccines can be a bit controversial so I won't get all into it but I will say we are opting to spread her vaccines out a bit to minimize the number of shots she gets at one visit, the number of live virus immunizations she gets at one time and the amount of aluminum put into her system. If you're interested in the alternative schedule we are using and just vaccines in general I really enjoyed reading "The Vaccine Book" by Dr. Bob Sears. I found it interesting to read the science behind vaccines and how they work. I also liked it because I felt well informed about what they were going to do to my child. Now onto the important stuff like how much she's growing! Today she weighed in at 11 pounds 10 1/2 ounces and is 23.5 inches long. She's pretty much staying around the same percentiles she was in when she was born except for her head. She shot up 30 percentiles this visit so the doctor wants to keep an eye on that. He said it's probably nothing to worry about unless she continues at that pace. I say she's just brainy! :-) He did recommend us starting a vitamin D supplement since she nurses exclusively. Is this common? I'm guessing so but would like to know if any of the rest of you have done it.
We received our new ergo last week but I haven't had a chance to try it out. The manufacturer recommends having a 2nd adult around when you put the baby in the first few times until you get comfortable and unfortunately we've had something almost every evening so Graham and I haven't had time where we are together and not somewhere else. I'm hoping to try it out this weekend. Just looking at it I think it will be a lot more comfortable than the Baby Bjorn we've borrowed from a coworker. The Baby Bjorn is great in that I can put her in it and do chores - however, my back does get tired very easily in it and I really would like the option to wear her on my back once she gets older which as far as I know, you can't do in the Baby Bjorn. Hopefully I'll have a better review of the Ergo and comparisons to the Baby Bjorn next week.
I went for my first flu shot on Tuesday. Greta and I were at Costco picking up detergent and I noticed they were having a flu clinic that day starting in 10 minutes. Graham and I had meant to go the night before to Publix but didn't get around to it. Before I could allow myself to chicken out I marched over to the pharmacy and rolled my sleeve up. Well actually, it wasn't that quick, but I did make an effort to do it before I talked myself out of it. It really was better than I expected it to be. Like most people say, the shot really didn't hurt, just the injection of the chemicals and even that wasn't that bad. The next day my arm was a bit sore but since then, no big deal. I also need to get a Tetanus and Pertussis booster and I know that that one won't be as easy. As I recall the Tetanus booster is one of the more painful shots.
Well, gotta end this post for now. The princess is waking up!
FAMILY!
9 years ago
8 Responses:
I didn't do the vitamin D or the multi they will tell you to give her next time. I let Emma have some sunshine on her every day because as far as I'm concerned, the God given sun is better than the man made supplement! They will tell you the multi is necessary because breast fed babies don't get enough iron, but that is not true and I never gave it to Emma. When they did the blood work at 9 mos, they said her levels were all great and they were assuming I gave her the multi. They never asked and I never told them.
Also, as far as percentiles go, my experience has been that they are worthless since they combine breast fed and formula fed babies. Breast fed babies shoot up the charts the first 6 months until they start solids. Then they mellow out and tend to fall back quite a bit. Formula fed babies are the opposite. Emma's first pediatrician tried to strong arm me into giving her formula at the 9 month mark, but everything I read indicated that her weight was dead on target for a breast fed baby. I was so worried until I read that, and I am so thankful I did. I cannot stand those charts! You know your baby so much better than they do, so if she's healthy then don't worry!
I never did the Vit. D or the multi either. I read about it and decided my babies were doing just fine on breastmilk and didn't need extra stuff! It has worked out great so far. :) I found a lot of good info on it here: http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/vitamin-d.html
I want that Dr. Sears vaccine book! I've heard great things about it.
Okay- just one more link. From the Dr. Sears website!
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/T023400.asp
Don't worry about the vitamins the doctors tell you to give her. All she needs is from you. My pediatrician goes to my church and she says that breastfed babies don't need anything else until at least 6 months. You don't have to add solids until she shows she wants them and the vitamins still won't be necessary then if you still breastfeed.
They constantly add new things to formula saying that they finally have the same composition as breastmilk and always find something they have missed.
Thanks for the info on Vitamin D. Y'alls comments pretty much back up what I was already thinking. I'll just make sure she gets out in the sun enough to charge up on that Vitamin D. Our front room get lots of sun during the day so we'll put her out in her diaper in there during the cold days when we don't get out on a walk.
Oh, and I didn't go out of my way to make sure Emma got vitamin D. I just didn't go out of my way to make sure she didn't, if that makes any sense! Don't worry too much about it. I don't see why doctors make such a big deal out of it!
I see two doctor's in our practice. The older gentleman told me that babies get enough vitamin d from 30 minutes in the sun PER MONTH (or some such ridiculously long period of time!) The other ped did recommend the drops, but we never took them. They never recommended a multi-vitamin, though. Kate did test a smidgen low in iron at her 9 mo. but the dr. didn't get hyper about it. She hadn't started any meats yet, and the doctor was hoping that after that was incorporated into her diet the iron levels would improve.
We delayed our shots until 6 months, and I was so surprised at how quickly it went. It was more traumatic for me than for Kate. And the trauma was mostly involved in the anticipation.
I know exactly what you mean about it being more traumatic for me than. I dreaded it for weeks and even the thought of her in pain made me sad. It's crazy how protective I am of her. :-)
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