Friday, May 7, 2010

Vaccinations at 6 Months

I have been so unreliable for the last year. I mean it! First, I had pregnancy brain, and I couldn't remember anything. Now, I have so much going on and not enough sleep, that I still can't seem to remember most of what I need to.

I'd rescheduled Oliver's immunization appointment to Thursday, May 6 at 1:30pm (rescheduled because, as you may have read, I'd forgotten his appointment on Monday and missed it). I wrote it on the calendar in bright blue marker and circled it. Seriously, it's the only thing on the calendar for this month.

Anyway, at about 3:15pm on Thursday, I was changing Oliver's diaper and suddenly remembered the appointment I was supposed to have made two hours earlier. Crap! I had wet hair, and Oliver had oatmeal on his clothes, but I grabbed him and ran to the car.

What could I say? What could I tell them? What would they think of me? Hopefully, they wouldn't look at us and label me as unfit. I finally decided I'd play stupid. They'd offered me appointments at 1:30pm or 3:30pm, and I took the 1:30pm one. I decided that once they told me I was late for the appointment, I'd look puzzled and say, "Wasn't it at 3:30pm? Shoot! I can reschedule it if you need me to."

Instead, they didn't say one word about me being late (which only made me feel more guilty). They simply took us straight in and gave Oliver his shots.

The nurse who helped us, Jenny, was the same nurse Oliver saw for his 2 month old appointment. She's very sweet, and she's so good to my Ollie Bear. She even gave him a book for being so brave.

Oliver's had a few reactions this time--none of which are severe, thankfully! At about 6pm, he started showing signs of pain in his left leg. He didn't want us to hold him, and he'd cry if we accidently touched him in that leg. When I changed his diaper, I saw that it was red and warm. This reaction is listed on our sheet as occuring in 1 out of 4 babies. I knew it was normal, so I didn't panic, but I felt awful for him. We gave him some Tylenol, and he slept happily. By morning, it was better.

Today, his poop was pretty runny. I still don't know how to tell if it's diarrhea, but maybe it was. Anyway, there's that, and he's been sleeping like no other! He's had three naps today. The one he's currently taking is 2 hours long and counting. I've gone to check on him, and he's fine. Still, this is his longest nap ever.

I understand his little body's immune system is working hard, and so it makes sense that he's tired. I'm going to let him sleep and nurse him all he needs. Still, I'm concerned about tonight. Will he be up all night? Hmm.

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