Two Month Check-Up!

Baby Boy is 8 weeks old now!! Banner had his two month check up with his pediatrician this week, and we are pleased to announce that he is a healthy boy! Here are his stats for now:

-Weight: 10 pounds, 15.5 ounces -- we'll just call this 11 pounds! That means Banner has gained 4 pounds, 3 ounces since birth.

-Height: 22 1/2 inches, which means he has grown 2 and a half inches since his birthday

-Head Circumference: 39 cm (This was our first head measurement, so nothing to compare to yet!)

All of these measurements are the 30th percentile. We were glad to know that everything is pretty proportional, but we were surprised that he wasn't higher on the chart for height. Everyone comments that he is so tall, but apparently - he's not! :) Simply put, if Banner were in a room with 100 other kids his age, he would be taller than only one-third of them.

Banner is still dealing with acid reflux that we're hoping subsides in a couple months or less as his digestive system matures a little more. I'm dealing with all the laundry that comes with the mess of reflux. I'm not sure who has it worse - since Banner is not in any pain with the medication, he's just a "happy spitter" as the doctor calls him! :)

His development is right on track! He's a strong boy, but he has a strong will, too. He loves to look to the right, and for weeks I've been worried about his slightly mis-shaped head, so when we talked to the doctor about it, he suggested we pay more attention to how we feed, change, play with, and position Banner so we are not encouraging the head tilting to the right. I have made a point of doing this from early on - readjusting how I feed him by switching arms, interacting with him on both sides of his head, trying to get him to turn his head to the left when he sleeps, etc., but he just prefers that right side! In fact, every suggestion that is in the pamphlet the doctor gave us - I'm already doing! Good for me, but why is it not working?? So, the doctor taught us a few exercises to do with Banner to loosen the neck muscles. The exercises need to be done 3-5 times a day with three 15 second reps each. Banner HATED these exercises when Dr. B showed us. He WAILED and SCREAMED! He was bright red, poor baby! I just hated that he was so uncomfortable, and I also hate that we're going to have to do these exercises at home and practically torture our kid!

Before we started doing any of these manipulations on a routine basis, the doctor wanted Banner to have a neck X-Ray to make sure there wasn't anything else going on. He was just taking precautions to make sure we wouldn't exacerbate a pre-existing problem.

There's also a slight indention on the right side of Banner's skull. I showed the doctor what I was worried about - a small area about an inch long that dips down a little bit. Since we were already going to get a C-spine X-Ray, he added in a skull X-Ray to make sure everything was alright. Needless to say, this particular addition to the X-Ray agenda scared Sam and me a little. What could be wrong? The doctor just wasn't sure, so he wanted to take a peek inside. Talk about anxiety-provoking!! And, I was so worried about the shots?!

Speaking of shots, Banner had 5 vaccines given to him: 4 shots and 1 oral vaccine. Sam and I were EXTREMELY cautious about the vaccine issue. We have done a lot of research on immunizations, and we were reluctant to give anything to Banner at such a young age. Honestly, this is a whole other blog post for another time, but why would we inject our kid with these chemicals and viruses (some dead, some alive) when he's so little? They tell pregnant women to stay away from this and that, that and this - but then, once that baby is born, they load him up on tons of manufactured medications that have any number of side effects that we're not really sure of! So, weary of the government, the CDC, the drug companies, etc., and scared of the implications this could have for our baby, it's no wonder we did a lot of research and read up on all the literature out there. We're just trying to do the best for our little boy, but nothing really made us feel safe. Again, too much to go into in this particular post, but it almost seems like the doctors and CDC make parents feel just as guilty for not vaccinating as the Nipple Nazis do for not breastfeeding. (More to come on this topic in future posts.) But, we decided to go ahead and get a baseline indication for how Banner would do with these vaccines. We have every intention of giving him all of his immunizations, but we're just not sure on what time-table we want that to happen. We're still not entirely sure that loading up an 11-pound infant with 5 vaccines is necessary, but we did it. We can change our minds about future shots, but we wanted to go ahead and stay "on track" of the recommended vaccine schedule for now. I'm still unsure, and I just hope we made the right choice for Banner. Welcome to Parenting!

Anyway, the shots went well. I held Banner's hands as the nurses gave two shots at the same time in both of his thighs. He cried only when he got the shots, and as soon as I picked him up, he was quiet again. He did great!! I think it was definitely harder on me than it was on him!

Next, we headed over to the radiologist's office to get the X-Rays we needed. Banner was a trooper going through all of these positions that they had him get in with my help. I don't know who had it worse - Banner having to be held down or me having to be the one to do it. Sam had it bad, too, just having to watch the whole thing from the doorway. I stood next to my baby as he screamed and wrestled me for numerous images being made. Finally, it ended, though, and we could go home and relax! It was time to feed Banner, anyway, so as soon as we got in the car, he got his bottle which helped him relax.

Hours later, the doctor called with relieving results. Everything is normal! We'll have his skull rechecked at his four month check-up since they couldn't see anything wrong. I'm still wondering what the little crater is on Banner's head, but no news is good news, right? The doctor is speculating that the space is where the sutures have not calcified yet. So, we'll see what happens in the coming months. Hopefully, it will close up and not be any issue at all!

So, there you have it! Our first big check up since two weeks old! I'm so proud of my little boy. He was put through a lot, and he did a great job! Sam and I were probably more of a mess than Banner was. Worried and concerned . . . our new emotional states as parents! I have to say, my little chat with Banner before all of the medical chaos was helpful (to me, at least)! I told him before we left for the doctor that a) it would be cold in the doctor's office, and b) the shots would hurt. I told him I wouldn't lie to him, but that even though he had to go through the pain, I promised he wouldn't remember a thing. I promised him that it would hurt me more in the long run - that I would hold these memories for him for all of my life and that he wouldn't have to remember anything. I told him the same thing as he went through the X-Ray process. I whispered that I knew it wasn't fun, I knew he was hurting, but I told him that he wouldn't have to remember any of this because I would for both of us. It was just another lesson in parenting - another day on the job. . . because, I know this is part of my job as a parent - to hold the memories, to push back the tears I want to shed FOR him, to not let him see my anxiety and worry, and to cheer him on through all the pain and hurt. So the appointment was a victory on so many levels: clear check-up, parents who survived the tears, and most importantly, a brave, strong, growing Banner!