Brooklyn's 2 Month Doctor Appointment

This morning I took Brooklyn in to the doctor for her two week check up and to get her shots. I was not too excited about this appointment, but overall I think it went pretty well.
Brooklyn is 9 pounds and 8 ounces now and 22 inches long. She gained 7 ounces in 2 weeks and grew half an inch. The doctor said the slowing down in weight gain was ok though and there was nothing to worry about. She was gaining about a pound every 2 weeks. Brooklyn is currently in the 10-15 percentile for her weight and 25 percentile for her length which Dr. Beard said was good.

The main reason Brooklyn went in was to get her shots. They were wanting to give her 6 shots at once, but I wasn't about to let that happen. I just got done reading a book on all the immunizations and the affects that they have on children when they are given to them all at once. It gave me a look into both sides of the situations. The doctor that wrote the book gave her opinion and what she does with her patients about giving the immunizations and when. The doctor in the book suggests not giving children any immunizations until they are at least 4 months old and their immune systems are further developed and able to handle all of the vaccines. They think one of the major contributors, (based on studies, but not completely proven), to autism developing in children is them getting their vaccinations all in mass dosages. They think getting too many of them overloads their system and they are not able to handle it. Not to mention the mercury and other things in the vaccinations. I asked though and all of the shots that Brooklyn's doctors office gives are mercury free. They also do not combine multiple shots. Each shot is it's own individual one.

The suggestion given by the doctor in the book is to spread the shots out and only give them one at a time that way if there is some kind of reaction you know what shot the reaction was to. So today she only got the Rotavirus vaccine, which was oral, the HIB, and the polio shot. Then at four months we will go back in and start her DTaP shots and maybe one other. Dale's mom said Dale had a really bad reaction to that shot on the fourth dose so he never finished it. So before she gets that shot I will have to ask the doctor if she is at a higher risk for having side affects since Brooklyn's daddy had a bad reaction to the vaccine.

Dr. Beard wasn't too happy that I wasn't giving her all her shots today but I told her that it was a risk I was willing to take postponing them for two more months, especially since Brooklyn is not going to daycare and all. I told her since autism spectrum disorders run in her family that I don't want to do anything that might potentially increase her risk of getting it. Since it is still neither proven or disproved that vaccines don't cause it, her getting all the shots at once just wasn't happening and that I didn't mind the fact that I would have to come in every month for her to get a shot.

So anyway, Brooklyn was really good until they gave her the shots. Then she turned into a firey, red, angry looking Elmo and screamed at the top of her lungs until I picked her up. Then she calmed down a little but still cried until we got to the car where she fell asleep. She has been fine since though. I have to give her .4 of Tylenol every 4-6 hours as needed and massage her thigh 3-4 times a day with a warm cloth.

The doctor is also going to keep her on her acid reflux medicine until she is 6-9 months old since it seems to be helping with the spit up problem. She still gets fussy after she eats and still chokes up a couple hours after, which is why she wants us to keep giving her the medicine three times a day. She said eventually Brooklyn will grow out of it though and be fine.

Dr. Beard also said Brooklyn is going to be eating a lot more during the day and that it was fine since she sleeps through the night and she will start going through a real growth spurt here soon. I was concerned I wasn't producing enough milk and that she wasn't getting enough but the doctor said the 3-4 ounces she eats at a time are fine. The doctor said that I will know if she is dehydrated because of her number of wet diapers will decrease. So as long as that doesn't happen then she is ok.

I also had the doctor check all Brooklyn's joints because I was concerned since Brooklyn's daddy doesn't have any joints in ankles, and Dr. Beard said they were fine also. She was impressed by how strong of a grip Brooklyn had, how well she can already hold her head up, and how she was smiling and trying to laugh. I guess not all babies do as well as she is doing at 9 weeks, at least that was the impression I got from the doctor.

The next well baby check up is at four months. By then I think Brooklyn should be around 13-14 pounds maybe....I will have to call and schedule that appointment around the end of March. Overall, Brooklyn is perfect. I already knew that though!

Love,
Jennifer