2-month Doctor's Appointment

It was a sunny afternoon in Knoxville, Tennessee, today and Reagan needed to start wearing her stylish shades before we run out of opportunities to wear them as she grows bigger this winter!  She looked GOOD on her way to her 2-month doctor's check-up appointment.  

When we arrived at the doctor's office, they first measured the length of Reagan's body, the circumference of her head and weighed her. 

Reagan has grown a lot since August!  She was only in the 5th percentile for weight when she came in for her 2-day check-up appointment.  Today, Reagan weighed 11 pounds and 6 ounces, and this measurement put her in the 50th percentile among other 2-month old babies... right smack in the middle for weight!  I can't believe that she could gain that much in just two months... well, maybe I can, because I feel like I am feeding her just about every hour of the day!  We're so glad that she beefed up a little!  Reagan measured 22 inches in length, putting her in the 25th percentile. (She was 19 3/4 inches at her appointment a few days after her birth in early August.)

 After the nurse finished the measurements and left the room, we needed to wait for the doctor to come see us to check on Reagan's development as a 2-month old.  (By the way, her right eye is MUCH better now since we went to the doctor 2 weeks ago for her eye infection.  No more green-yellow gunk in her eye!)

 So, since we were waiting for a good five minutes already, naturally I took this opportunity to take some more photos with my phone of a happy 2-month old Reagan!

 That's because I knew what was coming.........

 The 2-month appointment is when Reagan gets a bunch of shots.  The nurse even told me, "It's always harder on the mom than on the baby."  

 Well, the doctor came first and checked on Reagan.  He said that Reagan was "very healthy" and then complimented me with a "Nice job, Mom!"  It felt good that somebody, and especially a doctor, would tell me that I'm doing a good job!  I'm trying hard every day, but often I feel like I don't know what I'm doing as a first-time mom.  I have to admit..... I had two mental breakdowns last week and David came to my rescue.  I'm not really sure how I'm going to find time to make lesson plans at night and prepare for classes the next day when I also need to take care of Reagan after I get home from school later this fall, but it will somehow all work out.  I'm very thankful to my mom, Susan, and mom-in-law, Nancy, who are going to leave the husbands temporarily for a few weeks to help us take care of Reagan when both David and I will work full-time in October and November, until Reagan goes to daycare in December.

Anyway, the doctor said that Reagan's neck was very strong and she was even able to sit up for a few moments by herself.  He said that she had a "beautiful head shape," not showing signs of flat head or cradle cap.

 The only concern that David and I had was that Reagan had been extremely gassy lately, so much so that she was often crying hysterically because of it, until she was able to release some of her gas.  He just said it was normal and nothing to worry about.  The doctor said that Reagan would soon get rid of the Moro reflex, or the "startle reflex," when she flings her hands and legs up in the air suddenly.

And then it was time for what I was dreading... the plethora of shots that the nurse was about to give to Reagan.  The nurse walked in and gave the shots to Reagan quickly.  When she gave Reagan that first shot, Reagan screamed at the top of her lungs!  It was the loudest, shrillest scream that I had ever heard from Reagan!  The nurse said, "I know, baby!  This is the worst part of my job!  But you'd rather have these shots than get any of these nasty viruses!"  I was on the verge of tears!  I don't know if I can watch her get shots again when she will need some more at her 4-month doctor's appointment in November!

 After the nurse put the tiny bandages on Reagan's thighs where she gave Reagan the 6 shots, she handed Reagan over to me, so I could calm her down and feed her  for 15 minutes before leaving the doctor's office.  Poor baby!  Below is the "after photo" before we drove home.  The mood was a little different than when we first entered the doctor's office.

We gave Reagan some baby liquid Tylenol tonight after she continue her shrill crying like she did in the doctor's office today.  I'm still a little scarred as her mother from those 30 seconds when the nurse gave her the shots!  I just wanted to wrap my arms around Reagan for the rest of the day after those shots! 

The doctor said that we should keep talking and reading out loud to Reagan, because listening to us will help her to learn to communicate when she's ready to talk much later on.  My goal over the summer before Reagan's birth and from then on was to read more and watch less television.  I will always remember what the upper school principal at my school said during an assembly once: "No one ever looked back on his life and said, 'Gosh, I wish I had watched more TV.'"  I fight my every urge to watch my pre-recorded Bravo TV shows at 3:00 AM when I should continue to read to Reagan from the French short story books that I have from college during our late night feedings and diaper changes.  Though, every once in a while I need to treat myself with my guilty pleasure TV shows!