Doctor visit and a Soapbox

Pepper had her 15 month check up yesterday. Her weight went from 8% (three months ago) to 41%... and her height went from 60% to 25%. Her pediatrician joked about how she's growing horizontally but not much vertically (notice the beginnings of her arms rolls in the above photo:)... but all in all, a pretty average baby! I really like Pepper's doctor. He's the same doc who checked her out when she was born, and I'm so glad we stuck with him.

She received 4 shots while we were there:( One flu shot, and 3 standard immunizations. After she calmed down, we drove home and she seemed okay. But after we got home she started freaking out off and on. She was wearing a skirt and every few minutes she would pull her skirt up, look at the glittery-silver band-aids on both legs, and re-live the whole nightmare of getting shots. Each time she would start wailing inconsolably all over again. We finally got smart and took the band aids off , and she calmed down. It was really sad... also a little funny, but mostly sad. My poor baby!

A word about immunizations: I was on the fence about them when I was pregnant. I heard and read about the possibility of immunizations being THE cause of autism, and like any parent, I wanted to do what was best for my child. I did a lot of research, read a ton, and talked to a lot of people. Pepper's pediatrician was really helpful... he never tried to persuade me one way or the other, but just gave me the facts as he knew them and some reading material. I decided to immunize my child, and will do it for all of my future kids. The debate regarding the cause of autism rages on, but I personally do not believe it is the cause. Parents need to make informed decisions with everything in their children's lives, and especially with immunizations.