2 Month Appointment

Jackson went to the pediatrician today for his 2 month appointment. That means shots. I'll get to that. He weighs 11lb 9oz and is 23 inches long. The slightly scary part is he only gained 1lb 6oz since his last appointment. To get an idea, he gained THREE pounds in his first month, so we expected more. He went from the 50th percentile to the 36th. That is our clue that he needs to eat more. The doctor agreed he needs to gain a little more. We are going to increase him to 5 ounces of formula at a time now, as he eats his bottles pretty quickly right now and seems to be able to eat more if we offer it. Now, the shots. He SCREAMED. Our boy can scream, by the way. We rarely let him and meet his needs on demand, but there is nothing we could do but watch him be hurt. I never get so sick to my stomach as when we are at the doctor and he is being hurt. I seriously have to restrain myself from hitting the doctor or nurse who is doing the hurting. It's like a serious deep anger that just erupts in me when someone is hurting my son. Luckily, I have self control. I just grab him the minute they are done and comfort him the best I can.

Since getting the shots, he has been very fussy. I should also say he has had a rough three days or so. He is fighting sleep non-stop - and by fighting I mean, dozing off, then kicking and wiggling and then getting angry that he isn't sleeping. It requires a great deal of hands-on attention from us, and it is exhausting. I know they go through phases and ups and downs. I really liked the phase before this one - eating every four hours on the dot, then having happy play time, then sleeping soundly for a couple of hours while I got stuff done. It was beautiful. The time has passed. So, after a few rough days, and now the shots, I am just taking it hour by hour. My to-do list has literally not been touched in three days. If you know me, you know that may be giving me an ulcer. But, I remind myself that he is more important, and it will all be ok. And it will. Despite his fussiness, he is so precious and I love him so very much. Daddy did take "before and after" shots when Jackson got his shots, but they are too sad to post. I'm not ready to remember in photo form yet:).

One milestone down - my baby's first very sad shots. Now, if we can get through the night without me crying, too...