12 month check up, updates

So the poor kid had 2 immunizations and they took 2 vials of blood. Small vials but she still wailed with the most intensity I've heard to date. Both when they took the blood from her hand vein and when she was given both immunizations.

On the upside, she went a whole day with only one nap at about 3.30 until just before 5. I'm being sarcastic about that being her upside.  The upside to mommy was that she didn't scream for an hour afterward like she did when she was much younger. She was in the baby ergo and fell asleep on me, which was nice. And then got to watch 3 episodes of Dora throughout the afternoon and early evening. She enjoyed that unusual pleasure of zombie TV time.

She did, however, grow!

She's now: 30" long, 18.4 lbs and 18" head circumference.

Hooray!

They wanted to give her the chicken pox vaccination. I was surprised that there is one, and then remembered oh yeah there IS one. And then said no. I was thinking about how much pain she was likely to be in today and then to give her chicken pox (low dose or not) on top of that just seemed unnecessary. My mom, an ex-elementary school teacher, tells me that she MUST have the chicken pox vaccination before attending public school. What? I thought that it'd be okay if she just got it like everyone else did before the vaccine. I guess not.

I'm not sure how I feel about this, especially since I don't know anyone who has gotten badly sick or died from chicken pox. But then again, I'm sure there's a reason for this. We have a few years to decide...

Solid foods and formula

At first I was sad that I was so easily replaced by a bottle of formula during the night. Now, a few days later I'm glad. I wish she'd not wake up three times a night but she takes 5-6oz each so I know she's hungry. I still am doing my best to stuff her with calories during the day and dream of the might she sleeps through for 11 or 12 hours.

In the meantime, I'm grateful that she loves spending time with Ismael. I did some manhattan errands today while he took her home from swim class where she promptly fell asleep for a 2.5 hr nap. She didn't nap much at my parents place yesterday nor this morning so I'm glad she was able to finally rest. She still needs to go to sleep at about 6pm but with this new bottle feeding going so well, I get to hang out with some friends tomorrow night and not be tethered at home waiting for her to wake up and need me.

She started to grind her little teeth yesterday. I think she's doing it because her teeth and gums hurt. She has three more top, front teeth just about to come down. When I take her to the 9mo checkup on Monday I'll ask about that and her eczema on her arms that still hasn't quite gone away.

Is taking a nap at 6pm a good idea or not? Carolina's mom and dad are about to find out! Yes, seriously