2 month check-up

Andrew went for his 2 month check up on Monday. I was dreading the appointment so much because of all of the shots. All of my friends warned me that it was really bad. I know that Andrew will have pain in his life, and that I cannot stop it all. Some pain is good, even--not letting him have every toy that he wants, making him share, etc. My heart just aches so much whenever he isn't happy. If his bottom lip pokes out, it is almost more than I can take. So, I decided to research pain management for infant shots and thought that I would share what I found since most of my blog readers are moms or moms-to-be.

I read about two different types of numbing creams that have been proven effective in several studies. There is EMLA (prescription only) and LMX (over the counter) We decided to use the LMX based on our pediatrician's reccomendation. You must apply it to the thighs one hour before the shots. You will not find it at chain pharmacies, such as CVS or Walgreens. You must go to private, neighborhood pharmacies. Tuscaloosa friends: I called several places and could only find it at Northport Pharmacy.
I also read that it helps to give an infant sugar water right before the first shot and continue to dip the pacifier in it during the rest of the shots. The sugar mixture should be 1 tbs sugar and 3 tbs water. If you have a friend who works in a hospital, ask him/her to get you Sweet Ease from the nursery. It is the sugar mixture used to calm infants in the NICU.

I am so glad that we went to the trouble to help Andrew's pain. He barely cried at all and did not have any reactions after the shots. It was so much better than I expected. We will absolutely do it all again for his four month shots.

At his appointment, he got a great report! He is in the 90th percentile for both weight and height. I was concerned that he was too big, but Dr. Roberts assured us that he is just fine. His hematoma is almost completely gone, too.

I was looking through my camera today and saw some pictures that I meant to post. Last weekend, Joey and I went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We love Cracker Barrel for the yummy food but also because we get to see Aunt Debbie. When we asked our waitress for the ticket, she told us that somebody had already paid for our meal. Hmm...I wonder who did that??

Here are a few more pictures from the last few days: