The First Doctor Visit

Just after giving birth, the nurse asked us Tim if we had chosen a pediatrician. That decision seems to be a big one and fell, of course, into the category of "we have plenty of time for that." Luckily, in passing, I had asked our friends Cara and Matt how they chose their pediatrician. They were very happy with their choice -- a local practice where one of the doctors is a member of our church. I mentioned this briefly to Tim and he had the presence of mind after the birth to remember the conversation. I had to remember the name of the practice for him but we could at least answer one question that evening!

I think our choice is going to be a good one. Even though they weren't actively involved in Stella's care in the NICU, we met several of the doctors at the hospital when they were on rounds and we met another on Thursday when Stella went in for her very first check up. Dr. Lemmen pronounced Stella healthy and beautiful. She also said that we shouldn't take Stella out in public until she had passed the 2 month mark and to limit her visitors, especially not letting small children touch her. Stella's immune system still isn't completely developed so we have to be very careful. She weighed 5 lb 2 oz and was 18 1/4 inches long. So exciting that she's passed the 5 pound mark!

She'll go in next Thursday for another check up. If everything is OK then, we'll be on the regular well baby schedule (2 mo, 4 mo, 6 mo, etc). No special visits needed:-) Next week we'll see Dr. Gibson, our fellow Chapel Hill member and I'm excited to see how much she thinks Stella has changed since she saw her in the hospital.

Stella has had another good day of eating and Mom and Dad are learning when she is really hungry and when she is just fussing. We also have another hamper full of laundry as she is really good at spitting up. She's still a bit too small for the smallest of the cloth diapers, so we're using disposables until she grows enough. Hopefully that will be soon so we don't have to spend too much money on Pampers.