I think I remember something about a new baby coming to your house? How are you all doing?

Heather

Thanks for asking Heather.

Alexandra was born 07/06/05 weighing 8 lbs 14.4 oz, 20 inches long. Mom and baby are doing fine. Dad is tired 🙂

She is a bit colicy (I think her stomache hurts) but nothing too major. The doc put her on zantac and she seems to be doing better (I hesitate to feed kids drugs, but I guess there is a balance between pain and medicine).

As for me, no cigar for over a week (lack of time), and I'm jonesing for one 🙂

Hope all is well with you - T

Congrats Teedubya.

Congratulations! If your wife is nursing, have her cut out the dairy and see if that helps. Also, if she is nursing tell her no fish, but to take a chelated cod liver oil suppliment. Very good for both mom and baby. I am glad to hear that all is well!

Heather

...congrats

Thanks everyone.

Heather - I think I'll just have her read this post rather than try to tell her anything at this point 🙂 She frightens me.

I've heard about bears and their cubs, but my ma and pop never warned me about sleep deprived Puerto Rican women and their baby's 🙂

Seriously, last night was a rough one, so I'll take any help/advice I can get.

Forgive my feeble tired mind, but was it you that was talking about the autism/thimerisol/mercury link? We found a Pediatrician who has earned my trust.

She found a murmur (long continuing story) immdiately, but also spent about a half hour to 45 minutes talking with me about the shots. She was really up/interested in the subject.

They don't use any vaccines with thimerisol/mercury, and have an arrangement that there are no vaccines given at the hospital. She preferes to wait and do it later in the office.

At this point, I'm not concearned about anything they do up until the MMR and Flu shots. The Flu is a non issue timing wise (we will not do it). The MMR is all I have to keep my eye on.

OK I made fun of over protective Puerto Rican women, but I guess I'm a bit overprotective myself 🙂

LOL! The first night after Gabriel was born, he was sleeping in the hospital crib on one side of me, and Rug was sleeping on a fold out on the other side. I couldn't move from the waist down (C-section) but I managed to get my baby and hold him all night long. I don't think I put him down for the first week of his life.

If you aren't going to be using a daycare, your baby does not need shots until she is closer to two years old. Let me see if I can find that link for you again:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller15.html 

There you go! If you know that there is no thirmerasol (sp) in the vaccinations, and you are comfortable with the timing of them, then by all means get her vaccinated. The MMR is a scary one, because they use a live virus. She really doesn't need that one until after age two, either. As long as you and your Ped are on similar footing, that is the big thing. You have to do what you feel is best for your baby. Don't let anyone push you into anything that you aren't comfortable with, whether it is no vaccinations or all vaccinations! Remember - they tell you it takes a village to raise a child, but the village is not there walking the floor in the middle of the night!

Heather

Oh, and about the murmur. Some children are born with a septal defect that grows closed by itself. Others need a surgical fix. I worked for a surgeon who specialized in pediatric heart surgery, and have met others. The men and women who are pediatric cardiologists and heart surgeons are some of the kindest, most compassionate people you will ever deal with. Please keep me posted on Alexandra's condition, and post a pic when you can!

Heather

I am comfortable with the vaccine issue. I get the sense our Ped isn't a rank and file, but actually got concearned about the issue and changed their practices.... to the point that the hospital treats this ped groups patients different (ie no vaccinations at the hospital).

The Murmur - we went to a ped cardiologist a day or two after leaving the hospital. She has a 3mm (small) hole between her ventricals (vena septum somethin somethin lol).

Evidently it sounded different than many murmurs so the ped was concearned. It may or may not close. If it doesn't, the biggest issue is antibiotics before the dentist (a few years down the road). No big deal I guess. I still hope it closes.

And you are right about Ped Cardiologists. I'm in the health care field, and have never seen a doc who so genuinely cared and was not rushed. Of course, I'm thinking her ped is right there too. If only I could find a doc like that for me.

Take care - T