Vaccination Notes & Halloween

Nate handled vaccinations much better than at two months. After the initial cries and possible a little fussiness in the afternoon he seemed to be fine. No fever, no ongoing fussiness, and thigh was not sensitive to touch 24 hours later like last time. Don't know if it was a side effect, but Nate slept for 10 hours last night, another record.

While Nate is not going trick or treating, in fact he'll probably be asleep for much of the trick or treaters tonight. We did dress him up as a monkey. I thought about finding a yellow hat and clothing and we could be Curious George and the man with the yellow hat. However, that didn't happen and we just had a monkey.

Four Month Dr. Visit

Today Nate made a trip to the doctor. Today he is exactly four months and it just happened to correspond to his four month checkup and vaccinations. Nate cried more today when actually receiving the shots and immediately afterward than he did at two months. We are hoping that his fussiness and discomfort later will be less than the two month shots. That is to be seen. We did pick up some baby acetaminophen (Tylenol) to help if he is in obvious discomfort or develops any fever.

As far as other updates from the doctors visit. Nate now weights 16lb 7oz and is up to 25 inches. So in four months he has grown 6 inches and over 10 pounds. We also got the suggestion that we should start thinking about slowing trying some solids in Nate's diet. So far Nate is 100% breastmilk fed. Over the next month we'll start adding things like rice, oats, and maybe some fruit to Nate's diet. Part of me is excited about this next phase. However, part of me is not excited about the change that not breastmilk only will bring to Nate's diapers. It has been a really nice run, which I guess has to come to an end at some point. I'll have to start getting my nose ready.

More flu & bacteria

Little addition to my recent flu thoughts. There was a report that came out during the week that noted that many of the people had the 2009 H1N1 flu and died also had bacterial infections. Many of these infections were missed. Doing testing of tissue samples from the deceased, approximately a third tested positive for Streptococcus pneumonia. This information makes me believe that H1N1 may somehow allow the body to be more susceptible to bacterial infections. These secondary infections may be more dangerous than the flu itself. Here is link to summary of report from CDC.

On the positive side. During the normal schedule of immunizations infants are given a vaccine to prevent pneumococcal infections. The streptococcus pneumonia is one of many bacteria that this shot is designed to protect babies against. Nate received the first of these vaccinations at two months. So while he won't be getting the H1N1 vaccine he will have some protection against one of the dangerous potential co-infections that have affected many that have come down with the 2009 H1N1 flu.

Flu

There is a lot of information floating around about the flu. Nate is not going to get any flu vaccine as he is too young. They will not give shots to anyone under six months. So it seems that the best defense is to make sure my wife and I are vaccinated. So last week we both went and received the seasonal flu vaccine. The seasonal flu vaccine contains the killed viruses. So you cannot actually get the flu from the vaccine. In some people, their immune systems will react and flu-like symptoms will occur. I've been lucky and have never had any issues with flu shots.

The seasonal vaccine contains 3 A-type (H3N2) virus, 1 A-type (H1N1) virus, not the novel H1N1 (2009 H1N1, Swine flu, etc), and 1 B-type virus. The seasonal flu vaccine does not provide protection against the 2009 H1N1 virus which is what all the talk this year is about. The 2009 H1N1 vaccine should be available in October. More info from CDC on seasonal virus here.

The 2009 H1N1 flu has a lot of people scared. The good thing I see is the virus doesn't appear to be very dangerous. The rates of death as a percentage seem to be less than some recent common flu variants and very importantly it does not appear to have mutated. The possible mutation is one of the scary potential scenarios that have been mentioned. A mutated virus could be much more dangerous. The 1918 Spanish Flu which happens to be a A-type H1N1 variant did mutate into the much deadlier version that affected millions. More info from the CDC on 2009 H1N1 here.

We'll still plan on getting vaccinated against the 2009 H1N1 flu as we want to make sure that we don't risk Nate getting the flu. Since we are caregivers of an infant under six months we are one of the recommended groups to get vaccinated along with pregnant women, and health care workers. While the 2009 H1N1 seems to be mild I would rather be safe as this flu like any flu can be deadly.

I found a couple other interesting H1N1 resources. Local hospital in Austin is tracking H1N1 info via twitter. For more see twitter.com/setonh1n1. A flu tracker, complete with maps from Rhiza Labs can be found here.

My final thoughts. The flu is mainly transmitted via the air through coughing and sneezing. If you are coughing or sneezing please cover your nose and mouth. If you are showing symptoms you can also help decrease the spread of the virus by staying home.

Post-vaccination Notes

So a little 36-hour post-vaccination note. The first couple hours after the shots were no different than Nate's typical day. However, after a few hours he decided to express some of his displeasure. He was starting to meltdown. After quite a bit of walking around and swinging we did get Nate reasonably calm. We found that doing some babywearing in the front carrier was quite effective at keeping him calm. The injection sites were noticeably sore as touching near them would set him off.

Nate also had what we believe was a slight case of diarrhea. After a fairly normal night, the day after was filled with more sleep than normal. Now after about 36 hours Nate seems to be back to his normal self. I think before the next shots (at four months) we may do a little research on taking baby Tylenol or other medicine to reduce pain and swelling.

Growth and Pediatrician Visit

We knew Nathaniel was a eating and growing well. We didn't realize quite how well. He is now 12lb 6oz (5.6kg). So he has doubled his birth weight in two months. His length is good, but at 22in (55.9cm) he is still a little short. We knew we were not going to have a basketball player, this just confirms. All else went well with pediatrician visit.

Being that this was Nate's two month visit it was time for vaccinations. He got four different vaccinations. One was oral and the other three went into his thighs. Two into left thigh and one into right thigh. He took the shots like a champ. There was some crying, but between the cold Dr's office and the shock of needles that can certainly be expected. Now we are hoping that if there are any side-effects they are minimal at most. So no more shots for two months. One shot was DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis), IPV (Inactive Polio), and Hepatitis B combined, the second shot was Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b), and the third was PCV (Pneumococcal Vaccine). The Rotavirus vaccine was given orally.

Infant Vaccinations - How much does it hurt

Two months will be here before we realize it. Don't know if it is time flies when you are having fun or sleep deprivation makes us not realize how fast things have gone.

One of the things that happens at two months is vaccinations. We are both pro-vaccinations. We just can't see Nate having to deal with many of the diseases that are so easily prevented. So at two months here are the recommended vaccinations: DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis (whooping cough)), Polio, Hepatitis B, Prevnar (pneumococcal bacteria), HIB (Haemophilus influenzae bacteria),and Rotavirus. Then there are followups and additional vaccinations at a year for diseases like measles, mumps, and rubella.

I do understand the arguments that some people have that by vaccinating you are not allowing the immune system to optimally strengthen itself. But then some of those same people are the ones sending their kids to things like measles parties. To me that just seems like a recipe for disaster. Diseases like measles can be really nasty. Others worry about the safety of vaccinations. That may be a topic for another date, but every study I've ever seen says that vaccines are safe. Yes, there can be some side-effects, but the minor risk is so much less than the reward.

So one of the things that crossed my mind is how much pain will we be subjecting Nate to when his shots are administered. I'm thinking there will be three or four pokes. Now when I think about it when I get shots they really don't hurt, except for that initial sting. Now a baby does have to deal with the shock which is probably the worst and most upsetting part of the whole process. My reading seems to concur that this is most likely the case.

One of the vaccinations I most want to get Nate is the HIB, which protects against pneumonia and meningitis. We recently had a friend who's daughter came down with a case of bacterial meningitis before she was vaccinated. Even catching it early they spent many days in the hospital, several spinal taps, lots of antibiotics, and many prayers. She recovered nicely. However, after reading how serious meningitis can be to a child anything I could do to prevent it I will.

So I'm also going to try and make sure that I go to the pediatrician with mom and Nate, if nothing else to comfort mom during the process.