Two-Month Doctor Visit.

First off, let me say how much I adore Dr. Halden. He's awesome. He never makes me feel like a crazy, neurotic mommy, and he is just great with her. I like a doctor that talks my baby through things even knowing that she won't necessarily understand the words. She seems to like him as well, since she always smiles at him throughout the entire examination. She's so charming. Just like her mommy :)

Anyhow, the visit went well. Ava now weighs an even 11.5lbs (50%), and is 23" long (80%). Her head circumference is 15" (25%). What a little cutie patootie!

I also had the doctor check on something while we were there, since it had kept me up all night worrying. Last night Ava took a bath with mommy, one of her favorite things in the world. As I was holding her facing away from me and letting her kick and splash with her little hands and feet in the water, I noticed something...unique. Ava's cute little baby butt crack veers slightly to the right. Yep, that's right. She has a slightly crooked butt crack (there's just no nicer way to phrase that part of the body..you should've seen me trying to mention it to the doctor without using the phrase butt crack. "Um, can you look at this...right here. Behind her. At the top of the back of her diaper." HAHAHA). Anyhow, when I naturally got all freaked-out mommy and headed to the internet, I read that this can be a serious indicator of undetected spina bifida occulta, or some other misalignment of the spine. It can also mean a tethered spinal cord. All three things would mean major spinal surgery on my just-turned two-month-old precious baby daughter. Holy crapballs. I naturally stayed up all night worried sick, while my wee one slept pretty peacefully next to me in her bassinet. Dr. Halden said he was glad that I had noticed and would happily check it out, but after examination declared that it was just a normal variation, one that would probably straighten out itself, and that her backbone was perfectly straight and closed. WHEW.

Then came immunization time. In case I haven't mentioned before, I am severely allergic to the Pertussis vaccination (the P part of the DPT/DTaP), and after my first and only dose at two-months-old, stopped breathing. Yikes. Anyhow, I've been dreading these immunizations basically, like, forever, and was quite nervous. I wanted to make sure that she had it, though, especially considering that I am not vaccinated, and pertussis is making a comeback both in the US and in my particular area. No way am I going to risk infecting her. Adults can handle it. Babies die from it. Anyhow, Dr. H was great about it, and had us stay an hour after to make sure that she didn't have a reaction, since mine was delayed. It was heartbreaking to see her get the four vaccinations, but I'm so glad that she's protected, and she recovered quickly. I then nursed her in the patient room while we waited the hour to ensure she was ok, and we went on our way.

I'm going to take this opportunity to get up on my soapbox for a second. Please, please, PLEASE vaccinate your babies. I know that it's becoming increasingly common to opt not to vaccinate for fear of the possibility of side effects/repurcussions, but I am 100% opposed to this practice. Yes, the diseases we are vaccinating against are rare these days, but only because of the implementation of such an effective early vaccination program in the U.S. The U.S. has also seen an increase in what were previously thought to be eradicated diseases since this movement towards non-vaccination. This stems from both increasing populations of susceptible children, and increasingly populations of immigrant children who didn't have the privilege of receiving vaccinations. I do not mean to imply anything negative about the immigrant population, but as we see increasing immigration from countries without the luxury of vaccinations, we also see a corresponding increase in the spread of the disease within the U.S. because we are leaving our children susceptible. Please, for your children, DO NOT think that they're invincible. Your babies rely on you for protection, as does the country as a whole. If everyone relied on everyone else to get the flu shot and no one actually got it themselves, we'd have an entire country full of bed-ridden and hospitalized individuals. PLEASE VACCINATE. OK. Stepping down now.

Off to hold my baby and hope that I can make the rest of her day can amazing to compensate for the morning shots!