Six Month Check Up

Today was Jude's 6 month check up. More to come on Jude being 6 months later this week (his appointment happened to be a few days early).

He had follow up shots to all of his 2 month shots. Since he got all of the 2 month shots, he of course got their follow ups. We were offered the flu shot and I declined it. I got the "talk" about how we don't live in a vacuum. I listened and again declined. I felt judged - but whatever. So, later on when he mentioned the H1N1 vaccine, you can only imagine how I felt even more judged.

His stats:

Weight: 15lbs 5.5ounces (20th percentile)
Height: 26.5" (50th percentile)
Head Circum: 16.5" (20th percentile)

He's on a pretty consistent path.

The appointment for the most part went the same. We went into the room, Jude got weighed and measured, the doctor came in and checked him out, then something different... he didn't ask the normal series of questions about the house etc. I thought it was weird, but let it go. Then the nurse came back in and gave Jude his shots :( and told us 'the doctor will see you in his office now'. I had to this point never gone into the doctor's office. Everything was always done in the exam room. I immediately had a million things running through my head "is there something to be concerned about?". I guess they just needed the room, because he just went over the normal chat in his office - it was actually very nice to not be dressing Jude and talking to the doctor.

We were advised to continue a lot of tummy time as he'll be moving around soon. He said developmentally he's right on track and doing well.

We also discussed food which is something we've really not been all about lately. I guess it was all the party hype that slowed it down, but we have not really been doing the food thing very often. This is fine as right now he's just experimenting with textures and tastes, but the doctor advised us that even though breast milk should be his primary source of nourishment, we should eventually begin to start some sort of schedule with his meals. Starting with one meal a day (no matter how big or small) and slowly working up to three just to start the idea of meals. I personally feel we have plenty of time for this and will continue to experiment with foods at a very gradual pace until he seems more prepared. He's very interested in putting everything except the food we give him in his mouth... (to this point he's had rice, carrots and butternut squash)

So, in conclusion, the appointment went very well. I have a healthy little man and he's adorable and wonderful and ALMOST 6 MONTHS OLD!

Firsts and Lasts

Jude's First 4th of July:

For the fourth we had quite a bit of running around. First we needed to go to see Ryan's niece for a belated birthday wish. Afterwards we headed over to spend time at my mom-mom and pop-pop's. We had thought about doing some swimming, but having had spent some time at the pool in the days prior we decided against it.

After some quality time with the family we went over to Bryan's for a little party. Being that Jude has been getting on a pretty consistent schedule lately we had to leave earlier than expected to get him home and in bed. In the end we didn't get to see any fireworks and were home before it was even completely dark out. We thought that we might be able to see some fireworks from our back deck, but we were wrong. Instead Ryan and I got to sit on the couch and spent a little time watching TV together.

My Last Day Home From Work:

Today was my last day on maternity leave. I'm not 100% sure that I've really come to terms with the fact that tomorrow I will be dropping my little man off at day care... in the care of someone I don't know very well for more time then I've been away from him collectively for the last two months.

Today I started by sleeping in just a little to spend some cuddle time with Jude. I thought for sure we'd go out and about, maybe taking a walk or something in the morning before his 2 month check up, but I was wrong. I remember looking at the clock thinking I had hours before I had to be at the doctor's office and at some point I looked again and I was basically running late. So, we ran out the door for his check up.

Jude is growing like a weed. He's 23 and 3/4 inches long, 11 pounds 12 ounces. I try to avoid the whole percentile comparison thing, but I'll throw out that he's in the 75th per. for his height and 50th for his weight. The reason I mention this is because his head is in the 15th percentile. The poor guy is destined for a peanut head like his father.

As you can see from his 2-month photo, he's been growing very well (he's trying to roll over on the toy box too- not smart).

In addition to the typical growth check, we discussed his feeding schedule, home life and much more. I brought up the thrush and the doctor said that it doesn't appear that it's too bad (maybe we caught it early on - or maybe it started to clear up a little on it's own). He told me just to be sure to clean his mouth out with a q-tip. I'll be treating myself with a little cream.

Finally it was time for his shots. This time I told them I only planned to do two shots. The nurse seemed very understanding, but said that only two shots would be needed as three of the 4 immunizations were all combined. One of the shots I planned to get today was included in the combo and the other was the one that was NOT included in the combo. Not being sure which was more/least important to me I again just gave in to what the doctor's office suggested and got everything. I could be wrong, but I think we've pretty much started the first of many of the series shots, so he'll be pretty much getting vaccinated on the AAP schedule.

After the appointment the day again blew by pretty quickly and before I knew it, Ryan was home from work. We had a few errands to run so we had a quick dinner out, picked up our rent check, a new battery for my car and decided to stop in the mall for a little shopping. As mentioned above Jude is getting bigger and so he's out growing a lot of his 0-3 month outfits. For some reason the stores feel it's necessary to put fall clothes out in the beginning of July, so it worked out in our favor as we picked up a few summer outfits at great prices!

Finally, after getting home it was time to face reality a little and get ready for my first day back to work. I got Jude's diapers and milk and my breast pump and parts ready for tomorrow and hung around on the couch for a bit.

I'm going to miss spending all my time with him...

Hopefully tomorrow will go well though.

Strawberry Fields Forever

1 Month (and check up)

June 5th Jude was one month! It's crazy how quickly time is flying by and how big he's getting!

Today we went to the doctor for his one month visit. He got one shot and in general just got checked out. He was 10 lbs 3.5 ounces and 22 inches long. When he was born, he was in the 25th percential and today he was weighing in the 50th. So, he's growing well.

What was interesting to me is that the nurse prac. told me that Jude should be on vitamins. I mentioned that he's exclusively breast fed, and should be getting everything he needs. Apparently though, the one thing breast milk doesn't provide is vitamin D.

However, she said that 'when' he's on formula he won't need vitamins. She assumed when I went back to work I'd be switching to formula. I mentioned I planned to pump and she just shrugged and continued. I asked if I should then supplement with one bottle of formula a day and she said he should be fine with just the vitamins. (anyone out there giving their infant vitamins??)

He had a hard time sitting up in the middle of the chair:

So we went with the side of the chair instead:

A New Cousin

Last week - June 3rd - my brother Kevin's wife had her baby. Jude now has his first cousin: Olivia. I believe she was about 6 lbs 4 ounces. Later this month we plan to make a trip down to NC. Originally it was for Jude to visit his mom-mom and pop-pop, but it looks like we'll be letting the kiddies meet.

A Party at Uncle Bryan's

This past weekend we went to a party at Bryan and Katy's house. Party was complete with moonbounce, slip n' slide and more!

Hypospadias Update

Today was a busy doctor day. We started early this morning with a visit to A.I. for Jude's hypospadias. Just yesterday I saw the last little piece of stitches fall off so was hopeful that he'd be able to check out was going on a little better.

Once all stripped down, he checked him out and said he does NOT have a hypospadias (insert confused 'why are we here' look)! I asked why they put him through the semi-circ, stitches and two doctor's visits if he doesn't have a hypospadias and he said it's not uncommon. Apparently sometimes the foreskin is so tight that when they pull back the skin it makes the hole look slightly off center. I wasn't entirely convinced, but was relieved that he was not going to need the surgery!

Then I was advised that in order to continue with the circumcision he'd need to be put under because of his age. I told Ryan it was his decision whether we were going to leave him uncircumsized or go through with the 'surgery' (circumcision) this November. His immediate response was 'go for it', but the thought of putting Jude under is just too much for me to make it that easy of a decision.

Our Final Decision on Vaccines

As you probably determined from the section above, we went forward with part two of the Hep B vaccine today. Basically I did some research on which vaccines are required for school and we will be getting those - without a doubt. Some I may be delaying, but obviously I'll need to get them. Since the Hep B was the only one scheduled for today we went with that one on time - I figured it made sense, since he was already 1/3 of the way there.

Some of the others, I've read, it's possible to spread out over a longer period of time and so over the next month I plan to research the shots on track for next month and determine if I'll postpone any.

Pretty much, as with almost anything else, there are a list of side effects for each vaccine. According to Dr Sear's book, spreading some of these out can reduce side effects which is something we're considering. I'm really wishing I had looked into this all BEFORE I had a child instead of making it up as I go.

Strawberry Picking (another 101 down!)

Today I went Strawberry picking with Katy and Bryan. Jude of course slept through the whole event. It was on my list of things to do so I recently went online to farm that offered pick your own. We went to Filasky's Produce in Middletown. It seemed to be a little early in the season, so there weren't A LOT to chose from, but we ended up with a decent bag full.

Uncle Bryan - Getting Married??

As I may or may not have mentioned, Bryan and Katy have been tossing around the "m" word a lot lately. Ideally I think they're looking for a 2010 fall wedding with a rustic edge and just a casual laid back good time. Originally Katy said she could really see them getting married at Milburn orchard. They hold weddings and it would fit their Fall decor ideas.

While looking around online one day I found the "figure 8 barn". Katy and Bryan seemed to think it was the perfect location and so they set up an appointment to go look at it. They asked me to go and I of course said yes!

I must say it's a pretty cool property!! It's not at all your typical wedding venue, but I'm sure with the ideas that Bryan and Katy are throwing out it could be an awesome spot for sure!!

Work Around the House:

Now that Ryan is done at Lowes, we have the opportunity to do some work around the house. This past Sunday I decided to fix up our front yard a little. I didn't want to put a lot of money into it and just wanted to clean up some of the over growth.

I mentioned to my brother that I wanted to pull up the azalea bushes across the front of the house and his face light up. He asked if he could do it and I said he was more than welcome to. I found out the reason he wanted to do it is because he wasn't going to just dig it out or cut them down, he wanted to pull them out by the root. How you might ask did he want to do that?? With Ryan's jeep of course.

While we were busy out front Ryan did a little work on the bathroom - wrapping up some electricity. There are so many projects in the works right now, but I'm excited that we're getting back at 'em.

Before:

Flower bed in the front yard:

Front of the house with all 4 bushes:

After:

Slightly manicured flower bed (I didn't want to get into flowers, just make it look a little more well-kept)

One bush gone, 3 to go.

Vaccines

I was recently around some women who for whatever reason chose to opt out of some standard vaccines for their newborn/infants. When I was in the hospital and transfered to my recovery room, one of the first pieces of paper I was faced with was information on the Hep B vaccine. I was told that they would be back the following morning to give the vaccine if I wanted Jude to have it, so they wanted me to have the information to look over in advance.

Now, I got into the room after a long day around what, 9 or 10 o'clock? I had a newborn in my hands and already probably wasn't going to get much sleep. Having not done my homework on any of this before hand, I agreed to the vaccine - I don't want Jude to get Hep B, right?? But at the same time I thought to myself, if it's so necessary and important, should they really give you a choice?

Well, after being around others who opted out of certain vaccines I did a little looking around. I know I'm coming up on Jude's 1 month visit and if I'm presented with any standard shots I want to at least be semi-informed on what he's getting (I mean Hep B is pretty straight forward, but some of the other names I have no clue what it's about).

During my research I found some scary stories. People who gave their child the 2nd shot in the Hep B series (a 3 part series) thinking, like I do/did, that it was standard and necessary. When they got home that night they put their child to sleep and they never woke up the next morning. You have to wonder how much is true, how often these things happen, etc. But, considering the only way Hep B is transfered is through sex, needles, and other bodily fluid sharing, you have to wonder why they're giving it to newborns? I mean he's not a ladies man yet and hopefully not a junkie (other than that, it really recommended for people who work in hospitals and people who live with someone who has it). From what I've gathered it's not unreasonable to wait until their immune system is a little more mature to start with the Hep B when there's less of a chance for side effects. What I got from my research is that the only reason they give newborns the first part of the vaccine in the hospital is because they know they can get them all there (and because drug addicts and prostitutes aren't lining up for it, so they have to market it somewhere). If they wait for parents to get the shot later, you risk losing infants who might not get their well visits and thus lose a big chunk of the population.

Either way, I'm currently on a mission to research the vaccines Jude will be presented with and to make a decision with Ryan on what's necessary and what's really just a ploy for the pharmaceutical companies to make more money (like polio??? who actually gets polio anymore??). For example there are apparently 2 or 3 vaccines that are presented together that all come with a high risk for seizures. The research I've done recommends that these three be spread out over a period of a few weeks to lower the risk (good to know!).

AND since I was very much in the dark, I'll try to post some information here that I might come across in regards to things we will/will not be giving Jude so that maybe others will have some information going in.