First Halloween

We didn't get Aaron a costume for his first Halloween, but his Auntie Lia gave him this scary onesie which he wore to his 6 month checkup (it was delayed due to the fires last week). We think Aaron looks good in black, but it's not a color baby clothing typically comes in.

At his checkup, Aaron weighed in at 18 lbs 11 oz, so he is definitely slowing down, which is great since he's getting hard to lug around. He measured 27.5 inches, or one inch longer than 2 1/2 months ago, and his head circumference was 46 cm, 2 more than last time. The pediatrician didn't tell me what his percentiles were, but she said she had been worried his head size would be off the charts this time and was glad to see that his growth had slowed down a bit.

Thom had a meeting he couldn't get out of at the same time as Aaron's appointment, so this was the first set of vaccinations I had to handle on my own. Usually, Thom holds Aaron while the nurse administers the shots and I look away. It actually wasn't as bad as I expected. The first vaccination is oral, which he never seems to mind (I'm sure they sweeten it). I had him sitting in my lap for the shots with a pacifier in his mouth. I watched the nurse plunge what must have been at least a 3" needle into his leg (not all the way) and he didn't so much as flinch. But then she did the second shot and he howled and his face turned red as huge tears spilled down his face. She said that was the shot that hurt most babies. We still had two more shots to go on the second leg, but she went quick. As unpleasant as it was, I managed to calm him down within a few minutes and he was smiling by the time we scheduled his next flu shot (they do 2, one month apart at his age).

The one thing that is frustrating about pediatrician appointments, and I've heard other moms tell me it is the same at other offices, is the waiting. I had to check in 15 minutes before his 10am appointment. The nurse didn't call us back until close to 10:15. Toy Story had started on the big flat screen TV they have in the waiting room while we were waiting there. After taking his temperature, weighing and measuring him, the nurse left us to tell his doctor we were ready. Since it was close to feeding time, I fed Aaron while we waited. I could hear his doctor in the hall and then in adjacent rooms. It was after 11am by the time she arrived, so I was really glad I'd fed him. At least she apologized, but Aaron had been getting pretty antsy and tired and we'd had to pace around the small examine room to keep him calm. Having waited so long, I had no qualms about asking her my dozen or so questions I'd saved up for the appointment, all of which she answered and a few more. I'm sure the next mom had to wait even longer than I did...unless she was smart enough not to check in 15 minutes early. By the time we left, it was 11:30am - enough time that Toy Story had finished and was starting over again.

The day after his shots, Aaron threw up after breakfast. I had fed him oatmeal cereal, and winter squash for the first time. Then I nursed him. Then he threw up. It was the first time I've seen him throw up. I guess I can't be 100% sure it wasn't just spit up, but it sounded more like vomiting and there was more of it. I took his temp and it was around 100. I looked over the literature on the vaccines and several of them indicated vomiting and low fever were possible side effects in the days following the shots. Probably not a good day to introduce a new food since I couldn't be sure it wasn't the squash that had upset his tummy (although he has since had it again without similar effect, although we waited a full day to try again).

We had plans to visit my friend Biriz (who had invited me over for coffee) and her 1 year old daughter Alara and since he seemed to be feeling OK, I decided to go anyway. We stopped by my old office first to visit since it was close to Biriz's place and still too early to go over (we had to wait until after Alara's morning nap). I guess it was too much. By the time we got to Biriz's, his temp was over 101, so I stripped him down to his diaper and gave him some Tylonol.

He did OK at first, but he was really tired at that point and I tried to put him down in Alara's crib, but he couldn't sleep. He ended up getting so over-tired, he just couldn't calm down. I got him to quiet down a few times, but then Alara would cry a bit and it upset him so much, he'd start crying inconsolably. I think it was all from the shots. So we came home sooner than I would have liked and he took a nap. Not a long one, but when he woke up, he was feeling much better. And his temp had been down under 99.

We will have to visit Alara and Biriz again when he is feeling better. Biriz had made a wonderful cake with almonds and citrus that she served with coffee and had Aaron been in a better mood, it would have been a very nice afternoon out. Fortunately, Aaron seems mostly back to his normal self.