One Month Appointment!

Esme had her one month doctor's appointment today and she is growing very quickly! Our main pediatrician is Dr. Vincent Serafino. We also see Dr. Cambria.

Her birth stats were as follows:

Weight: 8 pounds 9 ounces (85th percentile)
Length: 20 inches (72nd percentile)
Head circumference: 36.5 cm (85th percentile)

At her first appointment (8 days old):

Weight: 8 pounds 14 ounces
Length: 21.5 inches
Head circumference: 37 cm

One month appointment (5 weeks and 2 days):

Weight: 10 pounds 10 ounces (68th percentile)
Length: 21.5 inches (38th percentile)
Head circumference: 37 cm (24th percentile)

I calculated these percentages myself so I had no idea they had changed so much until now! Her percentiles have dropped a lot but the doctors told me she was progressing at a normal rate. We will see what happens at her 2 month appointment in March!

I asked Dr Serafino about the dry bumps on her face and he recommended that I start putting Aquaphor on her face twice a day. He said it is normal baby acne and should go away soon. I have already been using Eucerin (at Dr Cambria's suggestion) on her skin. It was VERY dry for a while but has cleared up quite nicely! She is a beautiful baby.

After lots of debate and lots of reading, we have decided that Esme should get her vaccinations. She received her Hep B vaccination at the hospital but I wanted to do a little research into the vaccines before she had more. I was always pretty certain that I would have her vaccinated but felt that I needed to at least look into why some parents choose not to vaccinate. It is a hotly debated subject these days and it is best to be educated!

I found a lot of information on thimerosal an ingredient in some vaccines, and it's possible link to autism. There is a lot of debate as to whether it does cause autism but I think in this case it is better safe than sorry. The concern is that thimerosal contains mercury and mercury could be linked to autism. I decided that Esme does not need to receive vaccinations that contain thimerosal, especially when there are vaccines that don't contain it and never have.

Most vaccines have been revamped and are "thimerosal free." The problem with that is that the drug admin (or whoever) decided that "thimerosal free" means that the drug contains trace amounts of thimerosal. I think I read that it these vaccines are made with thimerosal but by the time it is complete most of the thimerosal has been removed from them. Anywho, I don't see any need to take a risk with these drugs. A trace is a trace and I would prefer to use the ones that have ZERO thimerosal.

Vaccines that do not contain ANY thimerosal and never have will be labeled "preservative free." I have obtained a list of the vaccines that are preservative free and will be requesting certain brands be used on Esme. I have a list for anyone who is interested! She can have all of her shots- I just want to be careful which ones she gets. This means she probably wont be getting any flu shots (although I have heard that there are now some flu shots that are preservative free) but I have never had any and I am doing ok!

Esme received her 2nd Hep B shot at her appointment today.