All is well

I almost forgot to write about Luc's nine month well baby visit. It happened about a week ago. I almost forgot because I guess there isn't much to report! Which is good, especially considering what happened last time.


He's a growing boy, now 20.5 pounds, 29 inches tall! His weight, height, and head circumference measurements are all within normal range, percentile wise (for whatever that's worth).

I brought up what had happened at our last appointment and how we were extremely uncomfortable that she had retracted his foreskin. I explained to her how we felt about it and asked her not to do it again. She had already started to examine him as I was saying this, but stopped when I jumped out of my chair and leaned across the table (you know, just to make sure she had heard what I said). I was not about to let that happen again. It was a total mama bear reaction. She seemed to understand, and said that she would respect our wishes and not retract (or try to retract) his foreskin. I felt much better. And less bloodthirsty.

We also came to a decision about vaccinations that we feel really good about. We've decided to vaccinate Luc (and any future children) on a delayed schedule, with no more than two shots per visit. We plan to delay some shots as long as possible, and to forgo a few others, if possible. We do believe in vaccinations, it's just that it's hard for me to handle the aftermath of four combination vaccines all in one day, all in one tiny little being. So I'm much happier about that. And our ped seemed to approve. He received two vaccinations at this visit and had absolutely no reaction.

I'm still a little conflicted about our ped. I mean, she is really nice. She does listen for a really long time. And I never feel rushed in our appointments. That's really important to me (because you know I like to talk). She has historically been very supportive of the things that matter to us most: attachment parenting, breastfeeding (until this appointment: she was going down the checklist of standard questions and asked what brand of formula we were using! I hesitated and she quickly corrected herself, but still...), cosleeping (also, until this appointment: she said something about being careful not to create bad habits), delaying/ separating vaccinations (though possibly a little impatient with my many questions), and the decision not to circumsize (except the inappropriate handling of his foreskin at the six month visit and the questionable advice that followed), and finally, homemade baby food and cloth diapering (she told us she did both of those things with her kids, who are teenagers now).

So for now, we will continue to see her. His next appointment is at 12 months.