Doctor's Appointment and First Shots

Our big boy is up to 13 pounds 6 ounces! He’s 24.5 inches long. In terms of percentiles, he’s in the 75th percentile for weight and in the 90th for length. And surprisingly, even though we joke that he has a huge head, his head circumference (16 in) was absolutely average (50th percentile). He’s still not quite up there with Big Willie, but he’s catching up. Here’s a comparison shot of Q with Willie…at 2 weeks and yesterday:





Quinn also received his first vaccinations today. We've been doing a lot of research on vaccines since his birth trying to make the best decision for his health. There is a lot of information floating around out there about the potential negative side effects of vaccines. With conditions such as asthma, allergies and autism on the rise, many people point to the increasing number of vaccinations our children now receive as a potential culprit. We read the literature on both sides of the issue - both pro and anti vaccine. We consulted the "Vaccine Book" by Dr. Bob Sears. We finally decided that we want our son to be protected against any potentially life threatening illnesses, but that we would forgo certain other vaccinations. We will also only let him receive one aluminum-containing vaccine at a time. This means that we will have to visit the doctor more often than most, but feel that the inconvenience is worth our peace of mind. I feel that we’ve been very lucky to find a pediatrician who is extremely supportive of alternative vaccination schedules. She encourages parents to make informed decisions and is very helpful and objective in her guidance and support.

So he got a shot and SCREAMED. But I actually cried more than he did. In less than a minute he had forgotten all about it, but not me…I cried for a good 5 minutes… Here’s a photo of his little band-aid.



Other news from the doctor’s office are that Quinn is impressively strong for his age. She commented on how well he holds his head up and also how strong his legs are. She predicted that he will skip crawling and go right to walking. :) We’ll see. Here are a few more photos of him doing what he enjoys most…standing up. Thanks to Jaime for his cute little rocker onesie. Also, I have to mention that the hat he’s wearing is an IU (Indiana University, for all of you non-Hoosiers out there) hat…I was so shocked to see it at a TJ Maxx in NC that I had to buy it.