Baby Shots Round Two

This morning was Braden's 4 month doctor visit. At his last visit he received his first round of shots. While I wrote here that the shots were not so bad last time, Braden seemed to be much more anti shots today. He clearly voiced his displeasure when the nurse plunged her needle into his chubby little thigh. It's hard to watch them cry from pain, but it has to be done. The painful crying doesn't last long before it turns into an I am mad scream. The I am mad scream can be gently calmed by a loving mother. It is at times like these that a baby just wants mommy. After getting dressed and put back in his car seat all was well again in little Braden's world.

The bigger news is that Braden has been cleared for green veggies. That is the doctor's term not mine. I would be more inclined to call it jars of green goo. Some of the jars I have seen remind me of the Veggie Boy drink that Woody once hocked on Cheers. It was a supposedly nutritious green slime that Woody advertised but hated. Frasier then hypnotized him into liking the drink which subsequently went out of business. Woody now a crazed Veggie Boy fan plans to grow kale so he can make his own green drink. You can be certain that no matter how much Braden likes his new Veggie Boy slime we will not be planting a garden and buying an industrial size food processor. I fully expect to have further stories to share on this topic after we take a test run.

The doctors tell you that it is of the utmost importance for your children to get proper nutrition during their early years. Our pediatrician said that a child grows about half of his total height by the time he is 2 years old. This is why proper nutrition for babies is so important. As I watch my new favorite show, Mark and Olly, I can see what the lack of proper nutrition can do to a person. The Machigenga men are about 5 feet tall. While they are certainly on breast milk at first their nutrition following that must not be too great. Apparently eating monkeys and bugs does not a tall Machigenga make. Knowing what is at stake Arica and I will forge ahead with feeding our little man spoonful after spoonful of the gooey goodness that will now makeup a vital part of his diet.

Immunization Baby!

I own about 15 Pearl Jam CD's most of which are live recordings from various places over the years. So I basically own about 10 different renditions of all their popular songs. For the last week or so I have listened to a live Pearl Jam concert rocorded in New York City over and over. This has warped my brain and thoughts a bit as I try to write. I am channeling a little Eddie Vedder from "Evolution" in the title today. If you don't know Pearl Jam you can see the video for "Evolution" here or you can just imagine I am a foreign visitor to our great country trying to describe what happened yesterday by screaming in broken English.

That's right yesterday Braden got his first round of immunizations. I was worried that we would have a Chernobyl type meltdown so I took off work an hour to provide my support. Mom's don't do too well when they see their little baby boy screaming from pain or at least the one living with me doesn't. Much to my surprise I was not needed at all. Braden cried but I have heard him cry louder before. The nurse was so quick it was all over before I knew it. She stuck him 3 times bowed to the crowd and made her exit. I am glad it wasn't too bad but I still don't look forward to doing it again in 2 months.

In other news from the visit Braden gained 2 pounds to reach the weight of 12 lbs 7 oz. He has grown 4 lbs 2 oz in 2 months and 3 days. It is amazing how fast the time goes by. I blame some of that on 6 weeks of a sleepless zombie like haze but still yet the boy is getting big. He holds his head up on his own and likes to be sitting up so he can see everything. He talks and laughs and is very interested in what is happening. He even laughed at our dogs through the sliding glass door the other day. I guess time goes by fast when you are having fun.