2 Month Checkup

Yesterday was a big day for the kids. Xavier kicked it off with his first dentist visit ever. He is officially 2 years, 3 months, and 10 days old. His twenty teeth are perfect. He has already learned how to (briskly) brush his bottom left teeth, and tongue. He struggles, but can brush his lower right teeth. The upper teeth are still very much a work in progress. All is good, though, and the dentist was pleasantly surprised at how well behaved Xavier was. Next checkup is in December…we’ll see how he does then.

Following the dentist, we shuffled across the hallway to Hayden’s 2-month checkup at Town & Country Pediatricians. Hayden was seen by Dr. Donahoe for the second time, though, sadly, it was his last day with Town & Country, so she will have a new doctor next visit. Hayden is doing very well. It was her nine week birthday, and she weighed 13 lbs. 9 oz. That is the 90th percentile, my friends…she is a good eater! 2 months is also the BIG shot visit on the vaccination schedule. With Xavier, we admittedly went into the 2-month checkup a bit unprepared for the four shots and an oral vaccine for rotovirus. That was a rough visit, and he definitely suffered side effects for a few days afterward. So now, they have combined vaccine called Pentacel which, in one injection, covers Diptheria/Tetanus/Pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and Inactivated Poliovirus. We decided to hold off on the Rotavirus and Pneumococcal, opting to visit a month later for those. We had to sign a document saying that the Pneumococcal was offered as part of the official government vaccination schedule, and that they are not liable if she contracts the illness in the meantime.

On the topic of vaccinations, I actually tend towards following the recommendations. After our experience with Xavier, however, and in discussing it with my brother, sister, and others, I agree with my wife that 5 vaccinations in one visit is just simply overdoing it, and four weeks is not a big risk to take. With Xavier, this was one of the two sources of arguments between Kerry and I. My feeling is that while vaccines might appear to be excessive and dangerous (potentially unnecessary), you would feel awfully stupid and guilty if your young baby contracted polio or tetanus and died…right? Research on this topic provides little comfort as you have both sides presenting fairly compelling reasons to go either way. At about a year with Xavier, Kerry successfully swayed me to the feeling that so many shots so quickly is just not necessary, especially with our kids being home rather than in daycare, so we are now getting all the recommended vaccines for both children, just on a slower pace.

So, Hayden got a single shot yesterday, and shockingly, she barely made a peep. In fact, she was smiling at me not more than 10-15 seconds after the injection. Yes, smiling was her new trick last week, and she is getting good at it in a hurry.

After dealing with some silly billing issues (why can’t all medical billing have a printed due date?) we left the office and shuttled over to toys et cetera to get Xavier his reward for being so good. For those of you in Chicago, toys et cetera http://www.toysetcetera.com/ is a small independent toy store chain with three locations in Chicago and another in Evanston. For us, they offer the most comprehensive line of Thomas the Tank Engine toys that we have found…yes, larger than Toys R Us! Xavier had never specifically asked for a toy before, but last week he told us that he wanted “Duck” and it was a bit of an obsession for a few days. Well, Toys et Cetera didn’t have “Duck”, but fortunately, they had one better; they had an Amtrack engine from a brand that makes trains compatitible with the Thomas trains and tracks. We live blocks from Ogilve Station in the West Loop of Chicago, so Xavier is a bit of a train fanatic. Amtrack train spottings are a daily highlight fo him, so this was a fortunate thing to have happened on to say the least. I will look for “Duck” and hold him for the next rewardable situation.

So, I am proud to say we have two happy and healthy children, and I continue to enjoy feeling a temendous amount of pride in them.

If you care to share, I would love to hear people’s feelings on immunizations, pediatric dentistry, toy stores, or Thomas the Tank Engine…especially if you have personal experience with any of them. I will also be getting in touch with toys et cetera to encourage them to setup an affiliate program, then you can buy your toys right through this here blog!

Be well!