Survived: first immunization shots

On Thursday this past week Avalon had her 2 month check-up. The good news is that Avalon is growing like a weed. She was 11lbs 14 ounces, 23.4 inches long, and her head circumference was 39.1 cm. This puts her in the 75th percentile for weight and height and the 55th percentile for head circumference.

The bad news is that Avalon got her first immunizations. Although the shots are not pleasant for the baby they can be even more traumatic for the parents since, as my mom put it, "parents who have so diligently worked to be sure no harm comes to their baby and then, they bring her somewhere and those people make her cry." The four vaccines that she received this day are Pediarix (shot), Hib (shot), Prevnar (shot), and Rotavirus (oral). She had no problem with the Rotavirus, most likely due to her developed skill at taking Trivisol. Then the shots came. Naturally, as soon as the first needle hit her thigh she began to cry. Fortunately the doctor was really quick with the three shots. After it was all over, she probably only cried for a minute or two. Whew. I think we got off easy. Although talking to other parents, they say that the immunizations only get worse as the kids start to have memory of what happens at the doctors office.

Later that day, Avalon did develop a fever up to 100.8F at which point we gave her some children's Tylenol. In the end, we gave her the Tylenol twice and she seemed to recover great. To celebrate the successful check-up and passing the immunization test without too much reaction, we decided to go to a soccer game that night (pictured above). Despite Camille's jacket, the game was UNC-Chapel Hill at Duke. For those who don't know, UNC has been a perennial powerhouse in the sport. I bet about half of the women's national team players have come from UNC. Currently UNC is ranked #2 in the country. This year, Duke also has a good team and is currently ranked #9. So this was definitely a good game to watch. In the end UNC beat Duke 3-0, but it was a hard fought match. One indication is that UNC normally substitutes a lot since they are handily beating their opponents. But in this game, they basically left their starters in the whole time.