The title doesn’t have much to do with this post, other than the fact that Emily had her 4-month “shots” today. Hence I got the word “shot” in my head, and the natural progression is to sing Shot Through The Heart by good ‘ole Bon Jovi. I dare you to not sing it for the rest of the day.
First, an update on yesterday. I did what we normally do on days like those. The boys no longer nap, and wouldn’t lay down for a nap no matter what I promised them. Even chocolate wouldn’t do it. Thus, I took them grocery shopping so that the following would happen on the way home:
A little nap goes a loooooong way. For both my sanity and their, um, lifespan.
As I said above, today was time for Emily to get stabbed in the leg with those big long needles. It went MUCH better than last time. I really don’t believe it could have been any worse.
There were only (Only! Ha!) three shots this time. She did cry a bit, but would pop her thumb in while I rocked her and it was much less traumatic this time around. For both of us. Praise God for thumbs!
She’s 26 inches long and weighs in at sixteen pounds. She is a big girl, that’s for sure. She will be towering over me before I know it.
One of the volunteers in the hallway was all sweet and talking to her and then said to her, “I thought you were a boy, but I guess not, since you’re wearing pink.”
PARDON ME? Does this look like a boy to you?
Hardly. Give your head a shake, woman.
And while the health nurse was nice and all, they always make me feel like I am an idiot. I know that they are given things to say by “The Authorities” on the subject of babies, but this is my third time around. I may not be the expert on every baby, but I am the expert on my three. At least for today. Tomorrow they will be sure to mix it up and I will have to figure them out all over again.
She asked if I had given Emily solids. I told her that I had once, and she really enjoyed it. Matthew and I thought we would start giving it to her more regularly if she started waking up in the night again. And she has; she woke up once the last two nights.
The nurse then told me that the recommendation was to wait until she is 6 months old. Whatever, dude. If she is hungry, I am going to feed her. That is what my doctor suggested, and it worked for both boys. Graham started solids at 4 months because he was HUNGRY. He is still hungry. That kid can out-eat me any day. 4-6 months of age was the recommended age to start solids four short years ago.
Sometimes I would love to tell people where they could shove their “recommendations” but that would not solve anything, now would it? So, I will just continue to smile and nod when others give me their “recommendations”. Then I will go ahead and do what works for my family and me. That way everybody is happy.
Oh, and in case you forgot, “Shot through the heart!”
21 Comments
That picture of the boy is hilarious!
Emily is of course a girl, people are funny you can have your kid completely in pink or blue and they will think that they are the opposite of what they really are. Umm, hello???
When I used to work at a day spa (as a receptionist) I did ear piercing, ONLY ears! Anywho moms would often come up and want to get their baby girls ears done so that “people would know that she is a girl”. Ear piercing is not going to help the people out there that can;t tell that a little girl is a girl when she is already wearing a pink dress! People…
Comment by kristin on February 28th, 2007 @ 2:26 pmPeople are dumb! I got asked if my 9-month old BOY who was wearing blue overalls, blue socks and a blue/white T-shirt with cars & trucks on it was a boy. Go figure!
I’m humming that song now … and I’m sure I will be for the rest of the day!
Comment by Hannah on February 28th, 2007 @ 3:00 pmI meant to say “I got asked if my 9-month old BOY … was a girl”. DOH!
PS. I’m glad Miss Emily did so well with her shots! Oh, and I agree with you. Feed her if she’s hungry!
Comment by Hannah on February 28th, 2007 @ 3:01 pmThanks…I certainly will be singing that for the rest of the day.
“Oh how nice twins AND and a boy and a girl”. I still can’t figure who the girl is! People certainly do make you shake your head in wonder!
Would you believe that Olivia is almost exactly the same for height and weight? Today she weighed in at sixteen and a half lbs and measured 25 and half inches. The doctor measured her three times to be sure. Weird cuz she looks so much chubbier than Emily. And feels so much heavier. Maybe Emily carries her weight in her bones.:)
Comment by christyheigh on February 28th, 2007 @ 3:11 pmI also forgot to say that Dr Severide asked if i had started solids yet and that it was okay to start at anytime. Livia’s not even four months yet. Not all kids go by the books YO!
I love you and you raise your kids WONDERFULLY!
ps.emily is such a sweetie!
Your boys are so cute. My mom used to tell me that she would drive around town just to get my twin sister and I to take a nap too. Emily is very cute too. And Emily looks very girly.
…and you’re to blame, you give love a bad name! No fair!!!
And yes, she ALL GIRL! I’m actually afraid if we ever have a girl that she’ll look just like her brother. NOBODY mistakes them for girls…ever.
Anyway, glad Emily’s shots went better this time…gives me hope for J’s next ones!
And AMEN to knowing what works best for you and your family. Sometimes they can be really condescending here too! Maybe it’s the ones who don’t have any kids of their own.
Glad you got through it anyway=)
Comment by Tanneal on February 28th, 2007 @ 4:48 pmGIRL, without a doubt!! That picture of the boys is really sweet! How old are they?
Comment by Ashley on February 28th, 2007 @ 7:35 pmHA! I don’t know the song so I won’t be singing it all day long Remember how everyone thought courtney was a boy? You’ll have to start doing what mom did…putting one of those bow headbands in her hair!
Thanks for the reminder of that song. I think it is going to be in my head for the rest of the night.
Jillian had her shots when we lived in Calgary but they were still nasty nurses. Kids are all different. It won’t hurt Emily to eat solids at 4 months. She needs food if she is hungary. I say go for it.
Emily is such a cute little girl!
Way to go with the shots! Jillian did better after her first ones as well.
PS. Arn’t naps great! Especially when you arn’t expecting them.
Comment by Kacie on February 28th, 2007 @ 9:08 pmDanya is to you ng to know that song….but thanks, I’ll have it in my head all day. The kids are as adorable as ever.
Love You
Comment by Mel on February 28th, 2007 @ 9:10 pmThe food thing is because the WHO has announced that babies should remain breastfed exclusively for 6 months and all countries are adopting that standard. However, it’s based (I did a literature search within peer-reviewed scientific journals) on the fact that babies under 6 months are very sensitive to gastointestinal infections and in developing nations, sanitation and sterilization for baby food could be an issue. For babies where us lucky moms can sterilize things to our hearts content, there is evidence that food can be safely introduced at four months (before four months there’s some evidence that some babies aren’t ready yet). The problem is that health visitors and nurses take the WHO recommendations as rules without understanding why they were made.
Comment by trish on March 1st, 2007 @ 12:32 amEvery baby is so different. I can’t stand when they try and compare yours to every other baby. You as a mother know what is good for your baby. Just keep doing what you are doing and your kids will turn out perfectly fine. Give yourself a pat on the back for raising 3 beautiful kids. Have a good day.
Comment by Jolanda on March 1st, 2007 @ 5:49 amI hear you on the health nurses….do they take a course on how to make every mother feel inadequate?
You know what you are doing! CLEARLY!
Gotta go sing me some Jon!
I have to agree with you on the feeding issue. Yes, you heard me. When Delaney was 4 mo old the recommended time to start was just that. With Avery I started at the same time but backed off because it didn’t agree with her. I only started Brooklyn after 5 months because I was lazy, and breastfeeding was so much easier than doing the whole solids thing. Emily is a big girl and if she seems interested and likes it, feed away. I know a girl who followed the “recommended” 6 months and her baby was even bigger. She also was up every 2hrs all night because he was hungry. What every works!!
Comment by Heidi on March 1st, 2007 @ 12:49 pmYour comments are exactly why I try to teach new parents that THEY are the expert for their babies and the reason we are given two ears. When we hear the “expert” advice, what doesn’t sift down to your heart and your gut - goes out the other ear!
We were blessed with four sons and then our daughter. She was dressed from head to toe in pink and someone asked how old “he” was. They are everywhere!
That was little Bad Medicine hey!
Came to me in my sleep last night 
People would look at Bec, dressed in a pink lacy DRESS for crying out loud, and STILL ask about my “son”. It was just strange. I assume it was because she had no hair for so long but still very odd. Emily looks perfectly feminine!
Comment by Robyn on February 28th, 2007 @ 2:06 pmLove the sleeping pic of the boys