A Slice of Bryce (#24): 2 Years!!!

Bryce had his 2-year check-up on May 9th.  Here are his stats (because this is the only place I record them, and I will need them someday when he gets a growth chart for his room!):

Height:  35 inches (60th percentile)
Weight:  28 pounds (60th percentile)
Head Circumference:  49.5 centimeters (not sure of the percentile, but I'm sure it's HIGH)

I realized that it's been a while since I've done a child comparison picture post.  So I'll make this one a bit more interesting by including a picture of all 3 kiddos at their 2nd birthday parties...  So fun to look back at old pictures! 

Ivie

Macie

Bryce

A Slice of Bryce (#23): Sixteen Months!

This morning, Bryce had what was supposed to be his 15-month visit.  That I didn't get around to even SCHEDULING until he was about 15 1/2 months, which means the appointment itself took place at 16 1/2 months.

Oh.  Well.

Sooooo, here are his 16 1/2-month stats!

Height:  32 1/2 inches (75th percentile)
Weight:  26 pounds, 1 ounce (85th percentile)
Head Circumference:  48.5 centimeters (85th percentile)

So our sweet boy continues to grow!  He also survived (and quickly got over the pain of) 3 shots, which included this year's flu shot.  Nice to cross that one off the list for the year, at least for one kid!

In other health news, B is finally turning the corner on what I believe was a bout of croup this week.  After a couple of days home with Dale (I'm calling him Mr. Mom now), and today with me, he should be ready to go back to school tomorrow - just in time for another weekend!

A Slice of Bryce (#22): Thirteen Months!!!

It's just crazy to me how fast time flies, particularly after a baby hits that ONE YEAR OLD milestone!  I blinked, and I now have a 13-month old!

So on the eve of his 13-month birthday, I thought I better get the blog up-to-date with his latest measurements:

Height:  30 3/4 inches (75th percentile)
Weight:  23 pounds, 7 ounces (65th percentile)
Head Circumference:  47.5 centimeters (75th percentile)

And, as I like to do for comparison's sake, here are Ivie and Macie's measurements at 1 year:

Ivie

Height:  29 inches
Weight: 20 pounds, 11 ounces
Head: 46 1/4 centimeters

Macie

Height:  29 1/4 inches
Weight: 21 pounds, 8 ounce
Head: 47 centimeters

So, in summary, it appears as though as I move from one baby to the next, they get taller, heavier, and have bigger heads!

In other BIG news, though he took a bit longer than the girls, Bryce is officially up and walking!  He started taking a few steps here and there a couple of weeks ago, but this past Friday (May 18th), it's like he finally decided that it was time to go "all in".

I think you'll be able to see in the below video what I mean.  He went from 2-3 steps to walking all over the place!  I love this stage, where they are waddling back and forth, so proud of their accomplishment, but yet still a bit unsure with the footing.  Before I know it, he'll be running around, so I will relish this stage for a bit!

A Slice of Bryce (#18): Nine Months!!!

Whew! Bryce's ninth month was a busy one in the Herman house. Some for the good, some for the bad. But it's hard to believe it's over and my baby has begun his first 2-digit month...

First, I'll share with you his stats from his 9-month check-up:

Height: 29 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 21 pounds, 1 ounce (65th percentile)
Head Circumference: 46 centimeters (75th percentile)

I know, I know, your chin is probably on the ground. Mine was, too, after hearing that B had dropped from the 90th percentile in weight to the 65th! Our boy is slimming down now that he's on the move, it appears. Although it might have something to do with the fact that he spent all of last week throwing up due to RSV...

Anyway, for comparison's sake, here are Ivie and Macie's measurements at 9 months:

Ivie
Height: 28 1/8 inches
Weight: 18 pounds, 8 ounces
Head Circumference: 44 centimeters

Macie
Height: 27 3/4 inches
Weight: 19 pounds, 6 ounces
Head Circumference: 45 3/4 centimeters

So Bryce has them both by, on average, 1 inch and 2 pounds. Wow. Isn't it interesting the difference between boys and girls, even as babies? It's no wonder I feel like my arm is going to fall off when I hold B for very long. At least it can't ALL be blamed on the fact that the last time I formally lifted weights was the day before my wedding...

Alright, here are a few other memories from Bryce's 9th month:

1. I mentioned RSV above. He had quite a case (involving a 6-day fever, lack of appetite, throwing up, and very raspy breathing), and is still recovering from the double ear infection that came along with it. We (including our washing machine) will all be glad when the diarrhea from the medicine disappears. And I'm hopeful that the last-14-day trend of him waking up to eat once each night goes away shortly, too...

2. The army crawl is slowly turning into a "real" crawl, as Bryce is getting better at holding is belly in the air as he moves along. The crawl is still pretty slow, which I love! He also learned, in the past week or so, how to sit himself back up after crawling. Ahhhhh, it sure is nice to not have to pick him up every time he gets tired of being on his belly!

3. Though he's still working on pulling himself into a standing position, we moved his crib mattress to the lowest position this month, lest he learn how to do it in the middle of the night and decide to lean over his crib rail and try to fly. (Ouch.)

4. Once he's standing, though, he will take baby (literally!) steps while holding onto furniture. This, too, is very slow, and he's got a lot of work to do to perfect it. He also needs to learn how to sit himself back down gracefully. Currently, he just plops down and, more often than not, ends up hurting his bottom and crying.

5. Food. He's still pounding baby food and breastmilk like it's his job, but we've also transitioned into giving him some table food and water from a sippy cup. So far, he's tried chicken nuggets, french fries, pancakes, scrambled eggs, peas, and, of course, more than a 9-month old's fair share of frozen yogurt. So far, he doesn't seem to care whether it's Sweet Frog or Moonberries. That reminds me, though. I have GOT to get a picture of the face that he makes when I first put the yogurt in his mouth. It's soooo cold, and I think it shocks his senses, causing him to break into the most hilarious little scowl. But he's very soon thereafter licking his lips and "asking" for more! Definitely a child of mine...

6. Lastly, as the pictures below will show, it's becoming increasingly more difficult to get Bryce to sit still. He's always wanting to be on the move. So some of the pictures show this "activity".

A Slice of Bryce (#14): 6-Month Measurements

Bryce had his 6-month doctor's appointment this morning. Here are his stats:

Height: 27 3/4 inches (90th percentile)
Weight: 20 pounds, 5 ounces (90th percentile)
Head Circumference: 45 centimeters (80th percentile)

When reporting these percentiles to me, Dr. J said, nonchalantly, "The man is a moose." Ha!

I don't have Ivie's 6-month stats handy (i.e., they were pre-blog and are WAY UPSTAIRS IN THE BABY BOOK!), but here are Macie's:

Weight: 17 pounds, 7 ounces (75th percentile)
Height: 25 3/4 inches (50th percentile)
Head Circumference: 44 centimeters (75th percentile)

So B is 2 inches taller and 3 pounds heavier. At 6 months, we're already seeing the differences between genders!

A Slice of Bryce (#11): 4-Month Measurements

Just popping in to give an update on Bryce's physique following his 4-month check-up this morning. Come on. You know you're dying to know exactly what he weighs in at these days...

Height: 26 inches (80th percentile)
Weight: 17 pounds, 15 ounces (90th percentile)
Head Circumference: 44 centimeters (90th percentile)

I was really hoping that we would surpass the 18-pound mark, but he fell an ounce shy. Oh well. When I told Dale afterward that B had "dropped" to the 90th percentile in weight (since he was in the 97th percentile at 2 months), his response was, "He's thinning out!".

Not so much.

But it IS slightly amusing to compare his stats to those of his sisters at 4 months:

1) Bryce is a little taller - Ivie and Macie were 25 3/8 and 25 inches tall, respectively;

2) His head is a little bigger - Ivie's was 41.9 centimeters, and Macie's was 42;

3) But he blows them out of the water in weight - The girls were 15 pounds, 7 ounces, and 15 pounds, 13 ounces. In fact, he weighs more at 4 months than Macie did at 6 1/2 (17 pounds, 7 ounces).

Coming out of the appointment, the only thing that Bryce doesn't do that is "normal" for 4-month olds is roll over. He shows no interest so far, which might, as I've said earlier, have something to do with the fact that I don't practice tummy time with him. I'm sure he'll figure out the rolling skill soon enough. Since Ivie didn't roll over until she was 8 months old, though, I won't hold my breath.

A Slice of Bryce (#5): Two Months!!!

Hey there. Bryce here. Mommy is in the other room folding burp cloths (she sure seems to be doing a whole lot of that these days), and she just dropped her iPad on my lap and told me to "earn my keep" by typing up a two-month update for you all. I took offense to her wording, obviously, but I don't want her to cut off the milk every 3 hours, so I'll do as I'm told. Which, by the way, is not something I've learned from my sisters, particularly in the past few weeks. Mommy was even forced to start a "marble jar" system, which is supposedly going to help with the girls' first response to a request by Mommy and Daddy being "NO". The jury is still out on whether or not it's going to work. But I like looking at the colorful marble jars nonetheless.

Anyway, this post is supposed to be about me, not the girls, so let's get to it. In list format, since I'm already starting to learn organization from Mommy (and I know she's going to proofread this with her proverbial red pen and change it to how she wants it to look anyway).

1) I am smiling a lot these days. I like to call it my "get-whatever-I-want-someday grin", but Mommy says the internet calls it the "social smile", so I'll use that here so it sounds like I know what I'm talking about. For those of you with a Facebook account (which I'm happy to say now includes Nina and Papa, since Mommy set up an account for them when we were in Missouri), you've already gotten a sneak peak. For the rest of you, I think Mommy has plans to try to get me to smile for the camera in my "2 months" shirt later to include with this post. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to cooperate. Guess you'll find out soon enough...

2) Hold on a minute. I have to take a break from writing this to get Mommy to give me some medicine for my hiccups. I sure seem to get them a lot. Thank goodness Mommy has discovered Little Tummys Gripe Water. I don't really understand how that stuff works, but it sure does! Although, as I searched for a link to share with you, I read a review and it said that this stuff has parabens in it. I have no idea what that is, but I guess I better tell Mommy in case it's something I'm not supposed to have. Hmmmm, on second thought, I think we'll keep it our little secret. Whatever parabens are, I can deal with them. Those hiccups? Can't deal. They make me shake from my big head to my little toes!

3) Speaking of me and measurements, I had my two-month check-up on Monday morning. Here are my stats:

Weight: 14 pounds, 9 ounces (97th percentile)
Height: 23 inches, or 1 foot, 11 inches, as Dr. J put on my form for school. They were out of daycare forms, so he had to use a sports form. And 1' 11" just looked better on a sports form, he thought... (50th percentile)
Head Circumference: 40 1/2 centimeters (75th percentile)

More about my doctor's appointment in a minute.

4) I'm starting to love to sleep at night! And if I could get rid of this cold-slash-start-of-ear-infection, I might love it even more. My record so far is 9 hours between feedings, which was just last night! I've also had an 8-hour-and-40-minute night, and an 8-hour night, just to prove that it wasn't a fluke. If Mommy didn't put me to bed at 7:15p, I could say I've slept through the night at only 8 weeks of age. But when you go to bed that early, 9 hours and only gets you to 4:15a. Which Mommy says doesn't count. She's tough. But she refuses to keep me up past 7:30p or 8p. Something about 8p - 10p being "her time". I wonder who's going to break it to her that there is no such thing as "her time" with 3 kids in tow? She'll figure it out on her own, I guess. No sense ruining her vision only 2 short months into her life as a mommy of three.

5) Mommy thinks it's pretty cool that she can walk around me now, in circles, and I do my best to follow her voice with my eyes. Who knew that a simply turn of my head could make a grown woman so happy?!? I know I just said in #4 that she's tough. But when it comes to stuff like this, she's a pushover.

6) Guess I better mention something about my naps, since I'm only a couple of weeks away from starting school (just part-time to get me and Mommy used to it). Miss Linda is NOT going to be happy that I don't like to nap in my crib. Mommy says that we need to practice that a lot over the next couple of weeks. So I've decided to show her my disdain by only sleeping for 30 minutes, fitfully, and then screaming my everlovin' head off until she rescues me. Only to fall asleep on her shoulder from exhaustion when she picks me up. As a result, I've noticed that she doesn't seem to mind when "errands" get us out of the house around nap time, which means I get to sleep in my favorite spot. My car seat. I can sleep there for hours. So comfy.

7) Alright. I'm running out of things to say, so I guess that means it's time to share with you the little bit of troubling news from my two-month doctor's appointment. Dr. J spent a lot of time listening to my heart with his stethoscope. And it was cold, so I was a bit squirmy, making it even tougher for Dr. J to get a good listen. When I finally calmed down enough, he told Mommy that he heard a murmur in my heart. And then he started using acronyms that I didn't understand (and, truth told, I don't think Mommy did either, though I did catch her Googling them when we got home). They were PFO and VSD. Dr. J told Mommy that she shouldn't worry about it (Yeah right. Does he know my mommy?), but that it was probably a good idea to go to a cardiologist and get an EKG to rule out VSD.

Like I said, I don't know what any of this means. But I don't want any of you to worry, because I feel just great. I certainly don't show any signs of this murmur causing me any problems ("failure to thrive" and "lack of appetite" are certainly not in my vocabulary), so I'm sure the cardiologist is going to tell me I'm fine.

But if you want to feel like you're helping, Mommy said I should tell you that you can pray for me. And for her and Daddy, because they're a little anxious about the test. My appointment is next Wednesday morning. I'll let you know how it goes.

Okay, I think that's it for now. All this typing has made me tired. I think I'll just put this iPad down and take a little nap...

My 2 Month Pictures
(and my accompanying thoughts about the process)

I told you earlier that I wasn't sure if I wanted to smile for Mommy. I decided to go ahead and give in. You know, back to the not-wanting-to-be-cut-off-from-the-milk issue. I'm afraid she's going to have me on that point for several more months...

But I wasn't going to give in easily. I started with smiling, but refusing to look at the camera. See?

Then, I moved on to making my smile disappear so quickly that, by the time Mommy got her eye back behind the camera, only half of it remained.


I got tired of smiling, so I thought I would just play with Mommy a bit and make silly faces. Like these:




So Mommy thought it might help to actually put her prop, this ball, on my lap. Like THAT'S going to make me smile! Good try...


This was getting really old. Seriously, Mommy, you're embarrassing me with the faces you're making at me.


Probably best for me to just go ahead and cooperate. But hurry to take the picture, because I'm about to fall over and I need you to catch me...


Okay, I'm balanced and happy now. Here it is, my parting smile. For now, at least, since I have a sneaking suspicion that this won't be the last time we have to go through this rigamarole.

A Slice of Bryce (#4): One Month!!!

Bryce was one month old yesterday! For someone who has likely averaged 5 hours of sleep a night since April 23rd, I can't believe that I can sit here with a straight face and say that "time flies". But it really does! Aside from gas pains that get him squirming, whining, and painfully grunting a few times a day, Bryce is a very sweet baby who loves to cuddle. And I'm quite happy to oblige!

Today was his one-month doctor's appointment, so here are his latest stats:

Weight: 11 pounds, 12 ounces (95th percentile)
Height: 22 1/8 inches (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 39 centimeters (50th percentile)

Woo Hoo, Dale! His head isn't humongous! And he is continuing his crazy weight gain. As a nursing mother, I love it!

To commemorate Month #1, I took the below pictures. Thanks so much for the "month" stickers, Megan! This is going to be a fun way to show his growth throughout his first year. Provided I can remember that I have them. One month down!

A Slice of Bryce (#2): Three Weeks

It's already been two weeks since my last Slice of Bryce post! Crazy. Time for an update...

1) Bryce still eats every 2.5 to 3.5 hours. And sometimes every 2 hours, particularly if it's nighttime (or at least it seems that way!).

2) Proof that he is a very good eater can be found in his weight gain over the past 3 weeks. Here are the stats:

April 23rd (Birth): 8 pounds
April 25th: 7 pounds, 14 ounces
May 2nd: 8 pounds, 13 ounces
May 9th: 9 pounds, 12 ounces
May 16th: 10 pounds, 11 ounces

So he has gained exactly 15 ounces each week. The mathematician in me loves the pattern in these numbers. The mom in me loves that he's flourishing! The organizer in me wonders if I should just go ahead and change his closet over to the 3-6 months clothes, since he's already filling out the 0-3's!

3) Bryce really struggles with gas pains. And, unfortunately, it's proven to be the worst during the night. He's quite a grunter! And when he tires of grunting he moves to screaming. I don't really know what hyenas sound like, but I imagine Bryce could give them a run for their money. I wish I could say that his cry is cute. But it's not. It's actually pretty annoying. Good thing he's my baby, which makes everything about him amazing. Too bad that doesn't translate into sleep for a tired mommy...

4) I've discovered that the best naps are the ones B takes in his car seat. He will sleep for HOURS in there. I feel guilty leaving him in there when he's sleeping upon our return home from an outing, but he just looks so peaceful. And quiet. Ahhhhh, quiet.

5) Seriously. Is this not the most perfect baby you've ever seen?!?


6) And one more picture, just for kicks. Doesn't he just look CHILL here?

Not Much Time...

We're hopefully leaving the hospital in the next couple of hours, so I don't have much time to write. And, thanks to my Blackberry, this is the first time I've been on the computer since Bryce's arrival in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

But I wanted to get Bryce's birth specs out to the blogosphere:

Bryce Frady Herman
April 23, 2011
12:23a
8 pounds (even!)
20 inches long
13.5 inch head circumference

But the most important descriptor?

HEALTHY

Thank you, God, for the blessing of this sweet little boy into our family. Despite getting 6 total hours of sleep over the last 52, already being sprinkled because I haven't yet learned the art of changing an infant boy's diaper, and seeing the early signs that Bryce is going to take after his sisters in the spitting department, I'm, well, smitten.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Macie's 18-Month Stats

Macie had her 18-month check-up today. She was NOT a fan of the four vaccination shots, but I, for one, WAS excited that this was the last shot session (at least for vaccines) until she goes to kindergarten. So the Herman clan will get a break from the monster-sized tears until Ivie's prepping for school...

The only thing "of note" from the appointment is that Dr. Dunk saw the watery right eye that the rest of us have noticed with Mac for quite some time. She said that it's probably a blocked tear duct, and suggested we just watch it for now, since most kids will outgrow them by around 18 months (so maybe it will soon pass), and it's not necessary to have a procedure done on it unless it starts to bother her (which it doesn't appear to right now). So we'll keep an eye on that, but, otherwise, she passed her exam with flying colors!

Here are Mac's stats and, as always, for comparison's sake, Ivie's (at that age), too:

Macie

Weight: 24 pounds, 15 ounces (50th percentile)
Length: 32 3/4 inches (75th percentile)
Head: 48.1 centimeters (90th percentile)

Ivie

Weight: 25 pounds, 8 ounces
Length: 33 inches
Head: 48 centimeters

So, comparing these number with those taken at one year, Macie's actually put on less weight than Ivie did. Ivie made a 5-pound jump in those 6 months, while Macie only packed on 3. And they're neck-and-neck when it comes to length and head circumference. Definitely sisters!

Ivie (18 months)

Macie (18 months)

Macie's 1-Year Stats

Macie's one-year check-up was on Tuesday morning. It went as well as could be expected, considering she had to get 4 shots (3 vaccinations plus the first round of the flu shot). But they also had to draw some blood. Which reminds me. I can't, for the life of me, figure out why they can't devise a process better than pricking a baby's little finger (that part seemed okay, technology-wise, since they used a little box-type thing instead of an old-school stick pin) and then trying to get said baby, now screaming her head off, to hold her finger still enough so that the nurse can get the tiny trickle of blood to somehow drop into the smallest little tube you've ever seen. There must be a better way.

But Mac survived it all, and her favorite part was following the nurses around inside their nurses' station, "helping" with the various piece of paperwork that they were supposed to give me about the immunizations. At that point, Macie would have done anything to not have to be stuck inside that little room filled with painful memories of shots and blood!

So here are Macie's stats, and, for comparison's sake, Ivie's at a year, too:

Macie

Weight: 21 pounds, 8 ounces (50th percentile)
Length: 29 1/4 inches (50th percentile)
Head: 47 centimeters ("big", as described by our nurse)

Ivie

Weight: 20 pounds, 11 ounces
Length: 29 inches
Head: 46 1/4 centimeters

I'm a little surprised that Macie is a bit taller than Ivie was. Macie seems shorter to me, but maybe it's because she's still got those adorable chubby legs - that extra pound is all in her thighs!

Ivie (1 year)

Macie (1 year)

Macie's 9-Month Stats

We had Macie's check-up this morning. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that at the 9-month visit, there are NO SHOTS. Macie doesn't understand yet that she got off easy. But she'll know in 3 months... Right now, though, she's happily oblivious to what "every-3-months check-ups" mean for her for the next 9 months. (After 18 months, they apparently don't have to get any more shots until Kindergarten! Woo-hoo!)

So really, aside from having to wake up after only a 15-minute power nap in the car/doctor's office waiting room (not long enough to get in a full morning nap!), she had a pretty good day, and even got to hang out with Mommy for longer than normal this morning.

So here are her stats. And, for comparison sake, I'm throwing in Ivie's 9-month stats, too...

Macie
Weight: 19 pounds, 6 ounces (50th - 75th percentile)
Length: 27 3/4 inches (50th percentile)
Head: 45 3/4 centimeters (90th-95th percentile)

Ivie
Weight: 18 pounds, 8 ounces
Length: 28 1/8 inches
Head: 44 centimeters

Funny story about Macie's head circumference measurement today. I think I've mentioned before that Dale is very sensitive to this one; he has a fairly large head, and I think he's secretly terrified that the girls are going to end up with disproportionately large noggins. So each time Ivie or Macie has her head measured, he is quick to confirm with the doctor or nurse that it's a "normal" reading. Sadly, Dale couldn't be at the appointment today (he's in DC at a meeting), so he couldn't express his typical concern.

His absence was duly noted, though, when Dr. Dunk told me that Macie's head circumference was in the 90th-95th percentile. She snickered and jokingly said, without any prompting from me, "Macie, that's partly because of your big brain, and partly because of your DADDY!". We both got a hearty laugh out of that. Even Dale was amused when I recounted the story to him later.

Is anyone else finding it hard to believe that my baby is 9 months old already?!?

Macie's 6-Month Stats

Macie had her 6-month doctor's appointment today. Again a bit late, since she turned 6 months on the 10th, but I'm horrible about scheduling appointments enough in advance to get them at the right time. Thankfully, the nurses assure me that the immunizations at this age don't really have to be a certain amount of time apart, so my slacker nature (only with regards to scheduling appointments, mind you) won't affect the health of my children...

So here are Macie's 6 1/2 month stats:

Weight: 17 pounds, 7 ounces
Height: 25 3/4 inches
Head Circumference: 44 centimeters

She's in the 75th percentile for weight and head, and the 50th percentile for height. So she's just perfect. Though I didn't need a doctor to tell me that!

Here are a couple of pictures and a video from the doctor's office. I couldn't resist. She looked so cute sitting naked on the table, destroying the paper, staring at herself in the mirror, and chomping on her rattle.

Macie's 4 (and a half) Month Stats

Macie had her 4-month doctor's appointment on Tuesday morning. Yes, I certainly realize that Mac was 4 months old 17 days PRIOR to her 4-month appointment. And I also realize that half a month means a lot when it comes to stating baby's heights and weights, particularly when you go for appointments every other month! But I also can't help it that on the day of Macie's originally-scheduled appointment, we got what was most likely the ONLY snowstorm that we'll see this winter. It resulted in probably 3-4 inches of snow and pretty much shut down our snow-phobic southern city. Hence, the appointment was cancelled, not by me (I'm from Missouri, remember?), but by the staff at Chapel Hill Pediatrics who headed for the safety of their homes at noon that day.

So, anyway, here are Macie's 4 1/2 month stats:

Height: 25 inches (50th percentile)
Weight: 15 pounds, 13 ounces (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 42 centimeters (75th percentile)

Comparing that with Ivie at 4 1/2 months (using the median between her 4 and 5 month stats):

Height: 25 3/8 inches
Weight: 15 pounds, 7 ounces
Head Circumference: 41.9 centimeters

So Macie is a teensie bit shorter, a teensie bit heavier, and has a teensie bit bigger head. But you sure can tell they're sisters, can't you?

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...