Monday, June 4, 2012

Two Month Appointment or How To Make a Mommy Cry

Today was little Augie's 2 month check-up.

Newest stats: 

Weight- 13lbs 7oz, 81st percentile
Height- 23.5in, 66th percentile
Head Circ- 16in, 62nd percentile

He has gained 2 lbs and 7 oz (or 2lbs 3oz) in the past month! Wowwy-wow-wow! I am so proud of him for being such a good eater and living such a sedentary lifestyle. The doc said that the height (length?) will likely spike up to the 95th percentile in the next couple months because he has another growth spurt he has yet to go through. I am not sure how he knows that, but I will take it! 

Now for some sad news. Today Little Bear had to get 2 shots (I would only let them give two in a visit since I am a crunchy hippie and since his daddy had some HUGE complications with vaccinations when he was tiny) and then one oral dose for the Rotavirus. The most heart wrenching thing in the entire world is to see your baby scream for the very first time out of sheer pain. Sure, he has fussed here and there and maybe "cried"  a couple times when I didn't get him the boob fast enough at night, but he is not really much of a crier. Reality check, mama-- your baby can make tears! It was THE WORST THING EVER to have to hold his fat little leg down while the nurse gave him the shots. Even more terrible, before she stuck in the needle, my sweet little happy boy gave the nurse a big smile and was preparing to flirt with her, and then WHAM. She stuck him! His eyes then bolted over to me, his face turned red, he immediately began screaming in a way I had never head him scream, and TEARS came streaming from his big blue eyes. I felt like a monster. Then guess what? We do it to him AGAIN! I seriously wanted to pick him up, run into the wilderness where there are no communicable diseases for him to be in danger of and just live forever, vaccine-free. After the nurse finished and left I just sat there, nursing him and rocking back and forth. I had tears in my eyes and just kept repeating "I'm sorry" to him, over and over. 

This may seem like an overreaction to something so normal, but I am telling you-- I had NEVER truly seen my child cry. I think that if he had suffered through colic or just been a more stressed out baby for whatever reason I might have been tougher about it, but yeesh, I was unprepared! I assume that with time (and more shots) I will  freak out less about this. I hope. Or else, as my sister said to me earlier when I called her in distress, "This is going to be one hard year!"

3 comments:

Elizabeth Foreman said...

I'm sorry to say it doesn't get much easier as the years go on--for mama or babe. In fact, it can be even worse later on when they start to recognize the doctor's office! Then you've got a crisis, even when no shots are scheduled! There is a simple way around this, without having to worry about forgoing vaccines for the rest of his life--LET DADDY BE THE BAD GUY! Seriously, daddies are more equipped for the necessary torture that is "the shot", especially Forest, you know, cuz he's a tough Army guy! Same goes for xrays, catheters, and blood draws, which unfortunately can happen, even to the tiniest of babes...I've been through all those things, and trust me--EVERYONE is happier when daddy goes. Mama avoids the tears and gets all the lovin' afterward...win/win for you!

Unknown said...

The mean nurse hold's Lilly down... I don't have to do that. I get to be the one that saves her from the mean lady. lol. I also give her a little Tylenol before hand and that seems to help.

E-Wok said...

Tylenol before the shots is a great idea. Does really help.