Oh, baby! What can I do?

There is a song that was popular when I was in high school that had the title line as part of its refrain.  I've been hearing that line in my head a lot the last couple of days!

Yesterday we went to the doctor for Esther's first American physical.  She checked out fine except for her weight, which we already knew was off the bottom of the chart.  (She is 27 inches long and weighs 14 pounds, 8 oz.)  The pediatrician didn't think there was any great cause for concern about her weight as long as she gains well from now on, but recommended that we feed her formula three or four times a day instead of the one nighttime feeding she has been getting, in addition to the solid foods she normally eats, so that we can up her calories.  Esther is a huge fan of her bottle, so I'll don't think the new regime will be difficult to implement.  (However, I may need to give her smaller feedings--last night she had an eight-ounce bottle before bed and another in the middle of the night, and she completely soaked her diaper and needed her pajamas changed both at her nighttime feeding and when she got up in the morning.)  After her session with the doctor, Esther got two injections and a tuberculosis skin test.  She did not, of course, enjoy the experience, but she was mostly in a better mood by the time we came home and put her in her crib for a much-needed nap.  An hour and a half later, she woke up VERY unhappy.  She cried unless I carried her, and screamed when I offered her baby food, even sitting in my lap (she did, at least, consent to drink a bottle).  I thought it was probably a reaction to the vaccines, but couldn't check the paperwork the doctor had given us while I was carrying and comforting my poor baby.  (This is when that song started running through my head!)  I have seldom been so glad to see Tim come home!  (And once again, I'm SO grateful that I'm not a single mother!  Hats off to women who have to do this on their own, but it sure is easier with a teammate!)  So Tim carried Esther and got her calmed down a little bit while I got a couple things organized.  We were finally able to get most of a jar of baby food into her by turning on a baby Mozart video and letting her zone out in front of it while she absent-mindedly opened her mouth for the spoon.  Then we gave her an early bath (which inspired some smiles!) and put her to bed.  This morning she woke up fussy again, with a fever, and very ambivalent about eating--she acted like she was hungry, but then would start wailing after a few bites.  It did make me realize how out-of-sorts she must have felt our first few days together, because her behavior this morning when she was feeling so bad physically was very similar to her behavior then.  Poor baby!  After a dose of baby acetaminophen and a very long morning nap, she woke up feeling some better and wanting to eat.  She just woke up now from a two-hour afternoon nap and she seems to feel fine.  Yay!  Unfortunately she still needs to get three more doses of these shots.  So I guess we'll be going through this at least three more times!  She also has a bunch of labwork she needs to get done in the next few days.  I'm not looking forward to that, either...

Linette