the eric update - day 165: another 'well baby' peds visit! and a Really Big Field Trip!

this post has been updated. see below.

we had yet another "well baby" visit with our peds doctor so he could make sure that little odin is growing well and staying healthy. it really is astonishing that he's gained almost three pounds since his last visit. yes indeed, if you look close at the scale, you'll see that he weighed in at 10 pounds 5.5 ounces!

and there's no doubt about it - he's getting a bit pudgy!

when you compare his weight, length and head circumerence, he's still a little small - when you take into account that he's only two months old, in age adjusted terms today ( happy age adjusted birthday to odin! ).

it's strange to think the we think he's absolutely gigantic, but really he's "only" in the 25th percentile even when you compare him to full-term two month old babies. not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, and the pediatrician couldn't be happier with his growth and overall health. and if you look at his growth curve since he left the nicu, he's on track to to be smack dab in the middle of the curve in another few months.

update:---------

i forgot to mention the really big news that odin has been doing so well with his reflux that we officially go the go ahead to stop giving him his reglan! there's a small chance that he could need to go back on it, but since his dose hasn't been increased since he weighed 5 pounds, i think it hasn't been therapeutically effective for some time. we'll still keep giving him zantac for a bit longer, but i think we'll also be able to stop that soon enough. whoohooo! no more medicines!

also - odin is doing so well that his pediatrician doesn't want to see him as frequently as we have been and we don't have to go back to see him until the end of february or march!

and right before we left we found ourselves talking with odin's doctor about when to start him on solid foods! kris and i laughed because it hadn't even occured to us that he might be getting ready for solids. but anytime between two and six months adjusted, odin will probably start showing us signs that he's ready for solid foods. the good doctor told us to watch for him "birding" or watchin our food as we eat it.

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and then it's time for his second round of vaccines. he doesn't like it one bit and it's obvious that it makes him quite uncomfortable but it's over quickly and within 5 minutes he's settled down and fast asleep.

we're going to drive the the UP today which is our first Really Big Field Trip and will likely be a 7 or 8 hour drive. we'll watch odin closely and hopefully he doesn't have any uncomfortable side effects from the vaccination that a bit of tylenol can't cure.

whether or not to vaccinate your children can sometimes be a touchy subject and it's yet another area where everyone has their own opinion, but i don't have time to do the topic justice because i need to get the car packed!

wish us luck on our Really Big Field Trip!

update:---------

phew. it was a long 8 hour drive with occasionally harrowing slippery, snowy, blizzardy conditions ( but nothing unusual for a trip to the 'dah "u.p.".

for those of you not familiar with michigan, when you drive to the upper penninsula from the lower peninsula, you go over the makinac bridge which is the longest suspension in the united states. on windy, blustery, wintery days, cars have been known to be blown off the bridge; there were high wind warnings and two the bridge lanes were closed, but we made it over unscathed.

odin did remarkably well. he woke up every three hours for food and then decided after seven hours that he'd had enough of being in the car seat, but after a half an hour of protesting, he fell fast asleep.