Time for some actual parenting

Small babies are pretty basic in their needs. Caring for them is really just managing the 5 basic necessities of life (Food, Water, Air, Shelter, Clothing).

1. Food-Carrie is pretty much in charge of the dietary needs in Lily's life. I have ventured into this area some, but delivering the nightly bottle, and a foiled attempt at sharing little popsicle, isn't saying much.
   
2. Water-Lily can't have just plain water yet (baby kidneys aren't quite ready to manage salt/electrolyte balances), so, perhaps the water in this case is bathing? Bath time is actually fun, so not really a problem, plus after a few days she starts smelling like a foot and you end up wanting to give her a bath.
3. Air-Lily is on her own here. As long as we keep her sleeping on her back, and I stop putting blankets on her head (during play time), this one is a piece of cake.
4. Shelter-We would have a house whether Lily was here or not. Her arrival though, has actually forced us to update one of the bedrooms, which has improved the quality of our house, and thus it's value. So, depending on how you look at it, Lily has actually helped us turn a profit....for now.
5. Clothing-Prior to Lily being born, my favorite evening activity was buying baby onesies that were "funny". Since her birth, we have been EXTREMELY fortunate, that nearly every visitor comes bearing gifts. It has been quite easy (and a little fun) getting her dressed, thanks to everyone's kindness. I would guess that if Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar dropped by today, they would bring something from Carter's or Baby Gap, instead of incense and oil.
   

So, as you can see, keeping this little girl alive and healthy has not required much "parenting".

That changed a little this week.

On Tuesday, Lily went for her 2mos. checkup, which is also the age in which you must decide whether or not to vaccinate. This is a touchy subject for many parents, and certainly should be discussed, but with my background specifically in Disease Prevention and Control, I was all for it (I never really felt comfortable with the concept of Herd Immunity, and as many parents opt out of vaccinations, the herd is getting smaller).

For those of you keeping score at home, or want to test my educational recall, the current regimen for 2 month old babies includes:

• Rototec vaccine (for Rotovirus), oral
  
• DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, acelluar Pertusis), injection
  
• Hib-(Haemophilus influenza type B) , injection
• HepB (Hepatitis B), injection
• IPV (Inactivated Polio virus) injection
• PCV(Pneumococcal conjugate) injection
  

That's right, 5 injections, one at time, all at one time. This was one of those moments, where although we knew that it was going to hurt her, we felt that it was the right thing to do. I count that as "parenting".

Here are some pics of Lily in a better mood from that day.