This is the precious face I found when I went into her room this morning. Normally, if she is smiling, as soon as I whip the camera out, she will stop and stare at the camera. So, I had to be quick.
It was so fun this morning. After nursing her (she slept until 7am!!), I brought her into our bed and Aaron and I were just amuzed with all of her smiles. It was funny, everytime I said "What is that??!!" in higher pitch voices, she would smile from ear to ear and just laugh! Even though she smiles alot....she occasionally isn't happy.
But, for the most, she is such a great baby. She sometimes prefers play time on the floor to being held, which helps this momma get some things done.
Here is her at two months old... I should post all the pics because she kept tipping over when she would turn her head to look at the teddy bear--it was quite entertaining.
Her two month stats: Weight: 13 lbs 2 oz
Height: 24.5 inches
In other words...she is growing like a week. We made bets before going in what each of us thought she weighed. I won (although now that I think about it, we never negotiated a prize).
Aaron lost miserably...he thought she was 15 pounds. Geez, she isn't that chunky!
Our peds appointment was less than enjoyable. It was down right awful! Her assigned pediatrician is one of our friends, but she is "deployed" to Germany for two months. So, we were assigned to one of the others...will NEVER go back to him. As many of you know, we have made a very personal decision to not vaccinate at this time. We are going to do it gradually and spread them out. Now, I understand that this is very controversial and that there are some very strong opinions on both sides. As a health care provider, my job is to inform my patient of all options and the associated risks and benefits of each option. Each patient then makes up his or her mind for what is best for them. This pediatrician absolutely went off on us about how he could not believe someone with my medical background/training would ignore hard medical facts/sound medical advice. Everytime I would state our reasons for delaying/altering the schedule, he would request me to show him a peer reviewed article. I could even get a point in. Maybe I should tell him that intimidation, condescending attitudes and arrogance is NOT informed consent. I was so speechless. Then, he gave this smart ass look at Aaron and asked "do you agree with her decision"? Poor Aaron had smoke blowing out of his ears by this point and he said "100%". I kindly asked for the document to sign that said we are declining the recommended vaccines. He gave me an article from the American Academy of Pediatrics and suggested I read it. I did, but did not agree with all the points.
First, it states that some babies will experience a fever, pain at the injection site, ...and can have seizures...but, there are no longterm sequelae from these. I STRONGLY DISAGREE. My friend, Laura, had a son that was completely normal until his 2nd or 3rd vaccine series...after which he had seizures. He is now 3 years old and has significant motor delays since the vaccines. You can read her story here. Tanner's story really touched me and caused me to do a lot of research. There are so many stories out there of children who had obvious behavioral changes after vaccines...this to me is long term sequelae. Secondly, not all vaccine reactions are reported to a national database...how do we really know that they are safe. Tanner's pediatrician said that the reaction was not caused by the vaccines. Laura's point was that if she prescribed an antibiotic and a patient had a reaction later that day, it would be from the antibiotic. So, why the insistence that vaccines played no role...I doubt that pediatrician entered the "reaction" in the database. A book I read, and highly recommend is What Your Doctor May Not tell You About Children's Vaccinations by Stephanie Cave, MD. It is an excellent book. And, it does not take the stance that you should not vaccinate your child. Rather, it gives guidance as to precautions to take regarding safely vaccinating our children. I really think that some vaccines are unnecessary and that there are strong links to increased risk of autism, autoimmune diseases, etc. I don't necessarily believe that vaccines cause these illnesses, but some children are predisposed to them and the vaccines may push them over the threshold. Unfortunately, you don't know this until it is too late.
So, back to the pediatrician...I really was so speechless during the appointment. How can a provider talk to us like that? I know the AAP supports vaccines, but it is our choice. I can't imagine how we would have talked to me had I been an 18 yr old mother without a husband in the room. Once we left, I had to plea with Aaron not to go back and give him a piece of his mind. However, I now wish he would have. I wish I would have been more vocal about my beliefs, even though I don't have a peer reviewed article to necessarily support it. I just was in such disbelief that I was being talked to that way.
Well, I need to at least end on a better (less controversial) note...
This was taken before church. One of her favorite songs is "Jesus Loves Me"...so, she ignored mom's awful singing and loved the lyrics.
We hope you are all having a great weekend!!!
