The doctor washes his hands (of our vaccination schedule)

So today was Babe-O's four month well-baby visit, which is a bit of a misnomer because with her cold she isn't feeling like such a well baby. Regardless, off we went, knowing that we'd have to have the potentially awkward "we're not hippies, but we're not down with the traditional vaccination schedule either" talk. He was very upfront, and told us plainly that we were more likely to die in a car crash on our way home than to see any complications related to the vaccines – due to metal content or anything else.

Fortunately, he is also aware of the fact that she is our baby and it is our call. Besides, we aren't doing anything crazy. We are just spreading the shots over more appointments than the standard recommendations. So today, instead of getting a fistful of shots all at once, she got half a fistful today and will get another half a fistful next month at a quickie appointment with the nurse. The doctor simply said that he'd do whatever we wanted, but if she contracts Polio or Amish or something due to the funky schedule, he's not responsible.

Bottom line: today was a home run. Rewind to Babe-O's last set of shots (which were administered per the recommended schedule): she was stuck with needles until she screamed and hyperventilated until she threw up. After that, we got her home, where she spent the rest of the day tired, cranky, and looking ill.

This time around, her first vaccination was administered orally, where she just had to suck on a sugary little medicine wand for a bit. She was thrilled.

After that, she had to deal with one needle stick, which means Mom whispering happy things into her cheek while I held her little arms down (traumatizing for all concerned). Babe-O cried for about twenty seconds and settled right down.

After that, I headed back to work, but reports from the field indicate that the baby was happy and upbeat for the rest of the day. Big improvement over the last time around.