Clara's fever

Yesterday Clara had her four month appointment with our new pediatrician (the same one as her cousins...yay for a dr!). She weighed 15lbs 2ounces and is 68 cms in length. 90% for both. It's funny, because I always think of her as being small-in comparison with Sophie at this age. I actually asked the doctor if her weight was okay, and that was when she said she was the 90%. Funny how our perceptions can affect even the body image of our kids! When Sophie was three months she was 18 pounds, so at 4 and a half months only 15 pounds seems small!! Anyway, she got her two shots, which I still doubt the decision for. I feel that I haven't educated myself enough on the anti-vaccination situation, so it's difficult to make an informed decision about it. I am thinking of buying Dr. Sear's new vaccine book that is all the up-to-date information about the decision to vaccinate. I hated it with Sophie, and I hate it with Clara. I hate knowing that we're putting something foreign in her body, although I know that it's supposed to be a good thing.

Last night she had a rough night. Her legs (where she had the needles) are obviously really sore, because when I moved or held her a certain way, she would just scream. And last night she had a fever in the night, so I spent a couple of hours with her downstairs....rocking her, kissing her sweet face and trying to persuade some Advil into her (another thing I hate giving at the beginning). She also has had the 'family sniffles' that we all seem to be fighting, and that was really not making her very happy either. She couldn't breathe to breastfeed, and so I had to resort to the nose sucker....which she HATES. You would think that she's in a Siberian torture prison when I use that thing. Poor bunny. Anyway, it worked wonders, and then she was able to get back on the breast and feed. And eventually fall asleep again.

There is something nice about having alone time with your baby in the middle of the night. Of course you don't want your baby to be sick, and of course you don't want to be sleep deprived, but the stillness and time together can be comforting.

When she did get to sleep I put her in between us in bed, so that I could keep an eye/ ear on her all night. I loved having her sweet little person in our bed.

This morning her fever was gone, and she seems more herself. Her little legs are still sensitive, but I think that the worst is behind us.

Sophie on the other hand had some 'bear-ish' moments this morning. She went back and forth from being adorable and sweet to being .....a toddler not at her best (to try and be tactful). Being up for two hours in the night makes a mama that is not very patient. And listening to her cry, sob and wail for what felt like absolutely nothing (I'm sure in the toddler brain it was VERY important) made me NUTS!! When I'm not tired and on my game it's still irritating, but I can usually handle it. When I'm feeling exhausted Sophie and I can be like a downward spiral. She will sense my impatience with her and freaks out even more, which makes me more impatient. Ahhh, why is parenting so incredibly challenging???!! Anyway, as soon as we got en route to the park with cousin Annie and grandpa, things got exponentially better. The upside of the two's are incredible...the downsides of two's are brutal. I love her so much....I need to work on my patience.

Anyway, that's our day so far. Now that we have a computer in the kitchen I will hopefully be posting more frequently. :)