Experience?

Macie had her 2-month doctor's appointment this morning. So, before I tell the story, let me first give her stats: 12 pounds, 11 ounces (90th percentile) and 22 1/4 inches (50th percentile). I didn't get the actual measurement for the head circumference, but Dale will be happy to read (he's got a training day for work so he couldn't join us at the doctor) that Macie is in the 50th percentile for head size, too. Phew!

So the measurements were the only boring part of this visit to the doctor. And not even entirely so...

Mac was sleeping when we arrived (isn't it amazing how only 5 minutes in the car can put a wide-awake baby to sleep, even when she has the hiccups?!?), and the nurse called us immediately back for measurements. Which meant stripping her down and, obviously, waking her up. We were able to leave the diaper on for the head size and length measurements, but then had to take it off for weight. As I pulled the diaper off, I saw that Macie was taking this exact opportunity to go potty. So I quickly put the diaper back over her to protect the table from a mess.

The nurse, Kim, witnessed all of this occurring, and said to me, "This isn't your first child, is it?". I laughed and said that I have a 2 1/2 year old girl, as well. She said, "Yeah, I didn't think this was your first. That was WAY too fast of a reaction for this to be your first baby." At that point, neither of us knew that I would have yet another chance later in the visit to "show off" my mothering skills...

After Dr. Dunk examined Macie, she explained the various immunizations that she would be getting today. Three shots and an oral vaccine (a new one for Rotavirus). "Poor thing," I thought to myself as I watched Macie kicking happily on the table, not having a clue that her world was about to be rocked with pain.

Kim came back in to give Macie her shots. We started with the oral one, as it's a bit easier to get a baby to swallow when she's not screaming her head off after shots. It started off well, with Kim commenting that Mac was doing a great job swallowing. Only tiny bubbles of liquid were escaping from her mouth. Apparently 2 ml of fluid is a lot for a baby to swallow, according to Kim, particularly when it doesn't taste like breast milk! As she reached the end of the syringe, Macie started coughing. Must have gone down the wrong pipe. So Kim sat her up for a bit to hopefully help the rest of the vaccine go down.

Then it happened. The phenomenon that I described in my October 16th post, entitled "My Hero". I could tell that we were seconds away from Macie throwing up, so I stepped in, grabbed the rag, and cupped it quickly under her chin. Just in time to catch MOST of the milk that flew out of her mouth. Probably a good two ounces worth. Macie had apparently decided that she was not cool with receiving the vaccine for the Rotavirus! She'd rather take her chances than suffer through the potential diarrhea (what's THAT in a baby who already poops 6 times a day?!?) and the vomiting (she doesn't need any more practice with that!) that are side effects of the live virus. So she handed it back to us on my burp cloth. I wonder if we still have to pay for it? I should have asked...

Anyway, after the dust settled, Kim said, "Now I KNOW this is not your first child! You handled that much too calmly to have not been through this before." I wanted to say, "Yeah, pretty much once a day for the past 8 weeks, Kim," but I didn't. I'll just let her go on thinking that I'm an experienced mother. What she doesn't know won't hurt her, right?

The shots that followed got the "status quo" response from a 2-month-old. She screamed, made big tears, and calmed fairly quickly when I was finally able to pick her up and cuddle her. She was sound asleep by the time I bent over to put her in her car seat. The "experience" in me thinks that she might have a bit of a sleepy day today...