well baby...

John had his well-baby check-up today.

He's huge! He's grown more than two inches and three pounds since his first birthday. At that check-up, he had grown a couple inches as well, but only two ounces. The doc said not to worry that one time, but if the same growth rate happened again at this check-up, he'd call a pediatrician in to assess him.

Thankfully, that wasn't needed! He's 25 pounds now, and stands about two feet nine inches tall.

He got two shots as well, which I wasn't expecting. One I can't pronounce - have no idea what it was for. The other was chicken pox, and he gave me a choice on that one. It's kind of a controvercial one - I'd heard that it wears off when they become teens, then they catch it and it's much, much more severe.

The Doc said that isn't true at all - it gives lifelong immunity. He may still get shingles, but you can say that about anyone who's had chicken pox. And even if the vaccine doesn't work, he'll get such a mild dose of chicken pox, it won't be a concern. He said it's been a routine vaccine in Japan for more than 25 years, and the adults who had it aren't getting chicken pox, so it's proven to be an effective vaccine. It all sounded good to me, so I said OK. I'm sure the anti-vacine lobby will be very disappointed in me, and will accuse me of helping to fuel some drug-resistant super-bug, but at least John will be able to keep up on his school work during that week or two when everyone else in school is home sick with chicken pox.