He Looks Awesome!

Those are the words spoken by Caleb's pediatrician today. Caleb had his two month check up this morning and we got a great report from Dr. K. In this picture, Caleb has already been weighed and measured and is waiting for Dr. K to come see him. This is a great picture to tell you about Caleb sucking his fist. He puts his hand up to his mouth as if to suck his thumb, but doesn't actually get the thumb out. The thumb is tucked firmly inside his fist. We can't decide if we should help him find his thumb or let him eventually discover it on his own. So far, we have settled for the latter.

Anyway, I'm sure you are waiting for the stats. Caleb now weighs 12 lb 8 oz. He has more than doubled his birth weight. He is 22 3/4 inches long which means he has grown almost four inches since he was born. Dr. K showed us a growth chart. Caleb was born into about the 5th to 10th percentile. He is now in the 75th percentile. Dr. K said she expects Caleb to be a fat baby which is a good thing at this age and she expects him to stay at the high end of the growth chart and maybe come back toward the 50th percentile around the time he starts walking because he is being nursed exclusively. Dr. K examined his reflexes and said he is a strong, healthy baby. As she left the room, she said Mom is doing a good job with the nursing.

I was pleased when she said this. Caleb is very healthy, thanks first of all to God and second to Mom. I didn't blog about it in the beginning, so only our family and a very few friends new that Mom was struggling with nursing and was very concerned and frustrated. She and Caleb were having a hard time growing accustomed to the whole nursing thing. But Mom persevered, seeking help from every source she could find and she never gave up. She and Caleb have become seasoned pros and as Dr. K said, Mom deserves a lot of credit for Caleb's health. Mom is a great nurturer and I am grateful I have such an incredible partner with who I am raising Caleb.

Caleb also received his first round of shots today. We were very apprehensive about this day because we knew that some babies have rough days reacting to the shots. So we did not know what to expect.

Of course, Caleb did not like the shots themselves. The nurse first gave him an oral vaccine before doing one shot in each thigh. She then stuck him with the first needle in his left leg and Caleb started crying and my heart just broke for the poor little guy. She quickly gave him the second shot in his right leg and before I knew it, she had little Snoopy band-aids on both spots. You can see one of his band-aids in this second shot. Caleb was a trooper and he was done crying before we even got out front to pay. I am so proud of him.

We spent the rest of the day waiting for the other shoe to drop. Possible symptoms include irritability, fever and diarrhea. Caleb really never did develop a fever. The most exreme sympton we noticed were two realy full (REALLY FULL) diapers about half an hour apart after we ate lunch. Other than that, he exhibited no unusual crankiness and showed no other real physical symptoms. He did sleep alot today, but we are not sure if that is related to the shots or his day yesterday. He hardly napped and we kept him out pretty late last night. Maybe the key to surviving shots is depriving the kid of sleep.

Although Caleb reacted really well, today was still an exhausting day. Mom and Caleb have already settled in for the night and I am going to join them soon. As I lay my head on my pillow tonight, my mind will be full of grateful thoughts of the wonderful litle boy with which have been greatly blessed.