Hayden's first doctor's appointment

Yesterday I took Hayden to the clinic for the Army's first look at him. He's gained almost a pound in two weeks, so he's up to 9 lbs, 8 oz! So apparently nursing is working out for us. They measured his head and his length (he's proportionate!), and we met Dr. Garde, the pediatrician on post. Unfortunately there's only ONE pediatrician, so for our next appointments we may be going off-post. But we'll wait until January to see!

Dr. Garde checked his heartbeat and breathing, his belly button and abdomen, his circumcision site, and basically poked and prodded all over while he slept the sleep of babies (especially the ones who have just been fed, burped and changed). I learned we have to get another "heel stick" because the American standard is to check for about 22 disorders and issues, while the Germans only check for about half of that. We also have to get a shot of Vitamin K, because in the states it's administered as a shot and here in Germany it's given at birth as drops, which aren't absorbed as well. We would have gotten both of those done yesterday, but the lab and immunization section were both closed from 1200-1300 and of course, our appointment was over at 11:45. She also gave us some vitamin D drops, which are given to breastfed babies. We've been giving him the tablets that the german hospital gave us, but you have to dissolve them in water and they're a terrible pain, so we'll see how this goes.

I asked lots of questions and Dr. Garde assured me Hayden's development is all "perfectly normal" and that he's doing well. No immunizations until his two-month check up, so I have from now until then to steel my nerves for that. We'll be going back tomorrow for them to stick his heel and give him his shot, and then running about a million errands to get lots of paperwork done. I spent an hour yesterday getting his German birth certificate, which we'll need for his passport, only to find out I also needed the International birth certificate in order to enroll him in the Army's system. Bummer! So tomorrow we'll be going back for that as well, and possibly taking his passport photos. There's lots to be done to get him all squared away, and not a lot of time to do it, so wish us luck!

Learning is fun!

What a great week for learning more about our baby! I started a new book, The Happiest Baby on the Block, and so far it's one of my favorite baby books! It's very logical, and since I'm a "why?" person, it's answering a lot of my questions. Reading more about babies makes me more and more excited to meet our little boy!

I also went to a class at ACS (Army Community Service) on post yesterday, the "OB Orientation". I thought I'd never get to it! They recommend this class at the clinic when they tell you you're pregnant and start making your appointments. It's basically an overview of your pregnancy and the German hospital system, as well as a look into all the paperwork you'll need to submit once the baby is born. I found out I was pregnant in March, and the class had already taken place. In April, I was in the states; in June, I had morning sickness. I was all set to go in July, and Jay came home early...the day before the class! In August we were on leave, so FINALLY it worked out this month. And boy am I glad it did! Much of the second half of the class was repetitive from the classes I've already done and books I've read, but the paperwork section was most helpful (and overwhelming!). There's so much we have to do once Hayden is born to get his birth registered in Germany and the United States, to get his passports, to get his health insurance taken care of, his social security card and to make sure all our ducks are in a row to move back to the states...all in three months! But now that we know exactly what we have to do, it's nice to be able to start getting it organized! I also discovered today that the German government can actually reject our baby's name on his birth certificate! They have a book of names, and if it's not in there we actually have to contact the consulate (via the Army) to get a memorandum to have the name we want put on his birth certificate. We can actually "consult the book" before he's born, so at least we can figure out if they're going to tell us no. Can you imagine such a thing in the states? What would celebrities DO??

I discovered yesterday that if we want to tour the hospital, we can do so with the Army's program for newcomers (even though we've been here two years!) or with our own doctor. One of the girls in my class has the same doctor I do, and said if we make our appointment his last appointment on a Thursday, he goes to the hospital to check on his Friday surgeries, and would be able to show us around. We're excited to see where all the magic will happen, and to pre-register to speed up the process when it's go time!

Finally, Susan sent me a great article about kids and nutrition from the NY Times. I highly recommend it for my gestating and parenting friends!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/health/healthspecial2/15eat.html?em

I'm looking forward to finishing up my book this weekend, and starting a new one! I also made homemade chocolate chip cookies last night for my grateful husband, and they turned out great. Fall is in the air in Germany with cool temperatures and very chilly mornings for Jay to get up to at 5:30. Luckily, Oscar and I don't venture outside until much later, when it's warmed up a bit. Looks like we're in for a cold winter, so I'm getting ready to start stocking up on cold weather gear for Hayden. It gets more exciting all the time!