Cranky Poopy Baby

I haz a cranky baby.

She just hasn't been the same since her shots on Thursday. She's typically kind of a whiny kid to begin with (most of my days are spent finding ways to keep/stop her from crying), but it's been ten fold the last few days. The first couple she was kind of sluggish and tired, had a bit of a fever that night and the next day (nothing a little baby Tylenol couldn't handle). But the last couple days? Sheesh. Cry City.

I don't want to be that mom who stuffs her kid's face with meds when she's cranky, but I have read that the Tylenol can help the mood swings, even if there's no fever. I mean, she's essentially half-sick right now, her little body doing its all to absorb the vaccinations. It's hard to find reliable information online about what to do in this kind of situation, but a lot of mom-forums I came across say crankiness for up to a week is normal.

A week!

Oh and she finally pooped today. This kid was saving it up. For eight days. Imagine eight days worth of poo, all at once. It was horrific. You'd need space-age diapers to contain that much (which I do not have, so you can see my problem). Gross.

But I still love her!! <3

Three Little Shots

Ezri got her first round of vaccinations today. Poor girl was not impressed. I had read that nursing while they're giving the shots helps, and the doctor agreed. I can't say it made any difference, since I have nothing to compare it to, but she seemed to calm down relatively quickly. It's been about 6 hours, and no excess fussiness, no fever, she seems to have taken them well.

Recently on Facebook a conversation was started about whether or not to vaccinate children. I'm still surprised at how many people are against vaccinations. I'm not a "drink the koolaid" kind of person, I've done my research. I know that they study that claimed a link between vaccinations and autism, after extensive peer-review, wasn't only found to be questionable, but elements were flat out made up. Yet, somehow, since this debate has been opened, people can't seem to reevaluate this new evidence. Thank-you, Jenny McCarthy.

Ezri's paediatrician commented with sincerity that vaccinations have changed his job, for the better. He reveled at not having to treat meningitis anymore, and noted that the only children to contract it in BC are unimmunized. Why don't we see polio anymore? Because of vaccinations.

There's more evidence coming out about the benefits of spacing immunizations out differently, which I admit I'm not entirely read up on. But that's the neat thing about science: constant reevaluation, revision, improvements, and research.

I know everyone has an opinion on this, but at the end of the day, not all opinions are created equal. Some are based on a rational understanding of scientific evidence with a healthy dose of perspective and question-asking, and some are based on fear of modern medicine and a misunderstanding of biological processes. Sorry if you don't like it, but that's just the truth.

Peering In a Tiny Window

Well, it's been more than a month since my last post. Ezri kind of "woke up" from her newborn slumber and became very active and needy. She requires constant holding and stimulation, I barely get a moment without her in my arms unless Josh is there with me. Ironically, I started a blog post a few weeks ago about how she sucks up all my time, but never finished it because a paragraph into it, she woke up and required my attention.

Since this "awakening" she's lost her ability to sleep in her bassinet. It takes her forever to fall asleep enough to put her down without waking up as soon as her back makes contact with the mattress. During the days, if I can successfully put her down, she wakes up within minutes. During the nights, I simply can't spare my own sleep it takes to assure she's deep enough under to put down. Consequently, she's been sleeping in bed with us most of the time.

I promised myself I couldn't co-sleep, but as a parent, you kind of end up doing what works. Some advice I got from a fellow parent while I was pregnant: Before kids, you can afford to be self-righteous with your ideas about parenting, judging other parents. Relish in it, because it's the last time you'll know everything. After kids, you lose that ego and find yourself doing things you never would have guessed, just because they work.

One of my favorite parts of having Ezri in bed with us is that first moment, when she's still wide awake after feeding, I crawl into bed, placing her next to me on her side. We stare at one another, face to face in the dim blue glow of the night light, and I see a person.

A real little person.

It reminds me of when I was a kid and would play with a particular doll house that my grandparents had. It felt more real to me than any other set I'd seen, and when I peered into the window at all the tiny furniture arranged just so, it felt like I was looking into a house. A real little house. It felt so magical, so wondrous, imagining the tiny people that lived in this tiny house inside of our giant house. When I look at her in those moments, I feel the same wonder.

As exhausting and time consuming as she is, it's glorious.