Well, March wasn't exactly "in like a lion and out like a lamb" at our house. Weather notwithstanding, it was more like "a lion in a decathalon of some sort" with church events, baby classes, hospital checkups, and work. (Ok, that was lame, but I tried. Moving on.)
We had the opportunity to go to a Newcastle Knights (rugby league) game with tickets from work, which included dinner in the corporate suite and some pretty good seats. That was cool; I've missed going to Amerks and Red Wings games like I used to with Deloitte. Jesse had a decent understanding of the game, and we sorted the rest out together. It wasn't quite as amusing as the time Laura and I went to a Knighthawks (lacrosse) game in Rochester, and affectionately dubbed the sport "baskesocckey" as we attempted to decipher the rules, but it was still a good time. I did get a bit stiff with my ever-heavier body in the plastic chair, but was able to put my feet up for the second half of the game, which we watched from the box.
I'm not sure if it was in March or late February, but we've encountered a previously unanticipated benefit of pastoring a country-ish church: a family in our church "came into some beef" and we have been enjoying some of the most tender steaks I've ever had since then. (Well, steak, and a roast, and some ground beef too :) Our little freezer, at one point, was full of meat. We've been alternating with chicken and experimenting some with marinades to keep things exciting, and Jesse is becoming an expert at grilling the steaks. He also made chicken parmigiana this week when I missed the train coming home from work and we had guests coming over for dinner. That turned out very good; recent experiments of mine (including satay chicken and a peach-chicken dish I didn't fully think through ahead of time) have been less successful. Edible, but less successful.
The last week of February, we attended the National Pastors' Conference in Tweed Heads (on the border of NSW and QLD). It was my first time into Queensland (unless you count the Brisbane airport), as our hotel was technically in NSW but across the street from Queensland. We had a great room with a beautiful view of the water, and I got to catch up with a high school friend who is pastoring a church in Perth with her husband. Who would have thought that Fillmore grads would find each other on the other side of the world? Anyway, that was a good trip. We took our time coming home and spent a couple of days in Port Macquarie, where we had the pleasure of wallabies playing in the backyard of our rented cabin/house.
The conference fun didn't end there, though. The first weekend in March was our District Women's Retreat, in a retreat center on Lake Macquarie. It was fun to get to know some other women from around the state, and hang out with a friend and her two-week-old baby.
I only have 3 weeks left of work (actually, it's only 12 work days, with one holiday and two Fridays off) before it's time to come home and wait for baby! We got a lot done yesterday in preparation for his/her arrival, and there's still more to do. I've been reading up on childhood vaccinations and have been trying to formulate a plan for those. I don't mean to make anyone nervous; we are planning on our child receiving all the recommended vaccines, perhaps slightly delayed from the planned schedule. What I'm struggling with at the moment is why my newborn baby needs a Hepatitis B shot. I haven't found anything that compels me to believe this is critical for a newborn, other than that it was the easiest way to make sure everyone is immunized against it. If anyone has an idea on this, I'm all ears.
And so all of this brings us to nearly the middle of April, with just over 5 weeks to go (give or take) until the baby's room is occupied. Crazy!
1 week ago
2 comments:
Hi Jess,
I just wanted to give you some info on the Hepatitis B vaccine. There are several reasons that the first dose is given at birth. One is to help achieve the goal of universal coverage with the vaccine; almost all babies are born in hospitals so it is an easy way to get everyone covered. Another reason is to provide "safety net" coverage against Hep B for your baby. One of the routine blood tests done on all pregnant women is a test for Hep B exposure. In the rare case that your test gives a false negative result (ie, it says it's negative but it's actually positive) the birth dose of Hep B is vital to prevent your baby from getting infected. The birth dose also provides protection for those babies at risk of developing Hep B in the early post-birth period. Your baby probably wouldn't fall into that at-risk group but I'm not certain. The recommendations from the CDC are that only rare exceptions should be made for delaying the birth dose, and then it can only be done for babies whose mothers are negative for Hep B and if the baby weighs at least 2000 grams. If the birth dose is delayed then the first dose of the vaccine has to be given by 2 months of age. If you did delay the birth dose, then the number of shots your baby would need at the 2 month visit would be greater than if they get the birth dose.
As a future pediatrician, I've done a lot of reading about the vaccines and all the controversy surrounding them. I'm not an expert by any means, but I would encourage you to talk all of this over with your pediatrician before you make any final decisions. On that note, make sure you have a pediatrician lined up before the baby is born; now would be a good time to work on that if you don't have one already. I personally would encourage you to consider adhering to the recommended vaccination schedule. I know it's a lot of vaccines, but the diseases they protect against can be deadly. I'm glad to hear that you want your baby to get all the vaccines, even if you delay the schedule. All my info about the Hep B birth dose is from the CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5416a1.htm?s_cid=rr5416a1_e
If you have questions I'd be happy to help. You can get ahold of me on facebook or through Brittany.
-Ryan
Thanks, Ryan! I was hoping someone who's studied medicine would weigh in... it seems like all the available information is either heavily pro-vaccine-schedule or heavily anti-vaccine-schedule, and it's been difficult for me to sort through. We'll definitely talk some of these things over with the pediatrician; I was in a skeptical place and wanted to have some information prior to talking with the doctor. Thanks again; hope all's well with both of you :)
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