Shot and a beer

The big two-month doctor visit is behind us.

Jack now weighs 10 lbs 2 ounces (25th percentile, up from the 10th) and is 22 1/2 inches long (50th percentile). So he's gained a little over three pounds and two inches since he was born.

His hip click is gone, so we don't need to get a follow-up ultrasound, and he hit all the developmental milestones. The doctor was pleased and said he looked great. No low temps, so no need for a hospital stay. Which is always nice.

He also got stuck with four needles.

After much thought and the having of grand ideals, we decided to let Jack get vaccinated.

We had originally been anti-vaccine. The possible connection to autism was scary and I couldn't see putting him through possible mercury poisoning.

My mom and sister were horrified at the thought of Jack not being vaccinated and railed on me every chance they got when it came up. Josh's sister was in the no-vaccine camp and told us about her friend who didn't do it and offered to get more info from her.

But in the end, our pediatrician stressed how important it was to get it done and told us that vaccines no longer contain the mercury, which acted as a preservative. He directed us to the Philadelphia Children's Hospital website, which is a great resource for vaccine info, and we did some research.

So we bit the bullet and let them shoot him up.

During the first second after the first shot, he paused like "What the HELL was THAT?"

Then a split-second later, he started to wail. He wailed through three more shots, and after the nurse put his Snoopy band-aids on, I picked him up and tried to stop the crying. He calmed down a little and I nursed him, and he quieted right down.

We walked home from the office and he was out like a light in the stroller. He slept for about two hours. At the four-hour mark after the shots, he was sleeping in my arms and started to cry -- a pain cry -- in his sleep. It broke my heart to see him like that.

I gave him some baby Tylenol and it helped and he was able to sleep. He was down for the night by 7 p.m. Poor kid was worn out.

He slept quite a bit the following day and seemed just a little bit off. He might still be feeling the effects today, BECAUSE HE REFUSED TO TAKE A DECENT NAP. Once again, today, our first day in Bloomington for the week, he was all about the non-nap.

He would sleep 10, 20, 30 minutes. My mom is here helping with Jack this week, and she tried all her tricks. Rocking. walking. Bouncing. Swinging. This kid was having none of it.

I am starting to think the travel throws his schedule off. He seems to have bad days our first day back. Maybe babies get jet lag with a two-hour car ride?

(I have a photo of the aftermath of the vaccination, what with the band-aids and the BLOOD on his shirt, but there is no camera cord to be found. So I am sad and can't upload any photos. Bah.)