Two Month Well-Visit

Thursday morning Harrison and I headed to Omaha for his 2 month well visit with the pediatrician.  The last time we saw her was when Harrison was 2 weeks old and at that point he was still a tiny little peanut--below his birth weight and a touch yellow from his jaundice.  I was anxious to get him back there to show off how BIG and STRONG he is just a month and a half later.  Harrison tipped the scales at 11 pounds 12 ounces (45-50%) and was 22.5 inches long (35%).  That's almost 4 pounds in less than 2 months!  Good job baby boy!  

Everything else checked out really well.  The pediatrician didn't seem concerned about his head preference or the flat spot that he has developed because of it.  Apparently the muscles on one side of his neck felt a little tight, but not to the point of needing any intervention.  She told us that if we keep doing lots of tummy time and encouraging him to look the other way that he should loosen up and "round out" in no time.  

The heart mama in me always makes sure that they take a nice long listen to his little ticker.  Everything continues to sound beautiful (no murmurs) and I was reassured (again) that he has a healthy heart.  I wonder if I will ever get to the point where I quit asking...

The 2 month appointment held something "new" for this mama...immunizations.  Don't get me wrong...I'm 100% in support of having your children vaccinated, but because of Charlotte's heart condition we were forced onto a slightly different schedule.  Vaccines = immune response = fevers = extra stress on an already fragile heart!  Other than her monthly Synagis (RSV) injections and a seasonal flu shot, she didn't have any immunizations until after her second surgery around 9 months old.  By that time she was pretty used to getting poked on a daily basis and shots were a walk in the park (well, maybe not a walk in the park, I'm not THAT cold hearted!).  I often wondered how I would handle a healthy child getting shots...would our previous experiences make me stronger?  Or would I become a blithering idiot and have flashbacks of all of the times my first born had that same scared, tearful face.  I honestly didn't know...until Thursday.

Surprise, surprise...as soon as the word "immunization" was mentioned my eyes filled up with tears.  Yup.  Big old tears.  It caught me a little off guard!  I mean, the needles weren't even in the room yet!  I quickly blinked away my tears and directed all attention toward my little man.  When the nurse came back into the room with her mean little tray of vials and needles I reluctantly laid him back on the exam table and snuggled my face close with his, whispering lots of loves into his ear.  I'm not sure I was prepared for where my thoughts went next.  My physical self was standing in a doctors office in Omaha with Harrison, but my mind instantly went back to the lab in Sioux Falls where we always went to have Charlotte's blood drawn.  I always did the same thing to her...snuggled in close, letting her know how brave I thought she was.  It was like I could feel my forehead pressed gently against her temple...her skin all warm and sweaty against mine as she cried.  I could taste her sweaty tears as I gently kissed them away.  That day with Harrison was total deja vu.  Same sweaty forehead.  Same salty tears.  Same loving words.  Same heart broken Mommy.  You can bet that Harrison got lots of lovin' when it was all said and done!  He needed it -- poor guy felt pretty crumby that night and the following day.

All in all it was a very good appointment.  Our little boy is healthy and happy and we are so incredibly grateful.