today odin has his first rsv shot which meant he needed to get weighed to make sure that the home nurse gives him the correct dose. amazingly he seems to have gained almost a pound since his last weighin and tipped the scales at about 7 pounds 11 ounces or 4.5 kilos!

the weighin was likely a little skewed because he doesn't normally get weighed with his clothes on, but i'd guess he's still close to 7.5 pounds. so, despite some hand-wringing after his last weighin, he certainly doesn't have any problems gaining weight. at this rate, he'll probably cross the 8 pound mark by the end of the week. it seems like only yesterday that he was light as a feather and now he's getting to be as big as a bowling ball. wowza!

after the nurse lets the rsv shot "mix" for 20 minutes she gets down to business and gives him the shot in his leg.

kris isn't holding him becaue you don't want him associating the feeling of being held with the feeling of getting the shot. he squirms and squirms and lets out a few cries, but nothing too terrible. i'm fairly certain he won't be mentally scarred for the rest of life for having to suffer through the monthly shots.

the rsv shot only boosts his immune response to rsv and isn't a vaccine in the strict sense. in fact the immunoglobins in the shot are only about 60-70 percent effective in preventing illness.

interestingly we discovered today that the virus can live on open surfaces, including hand towels, for up to 2 days! yikes.