Cruz's Four Month Check-Up

Yesterday we had a visit with Dr. Asturias for Cruz's four month check-up.  Dr. Asturias has two clinics.  We had only been to one of those.   At  the one we use Dr. Asturias is only there on Monday's from 12-2.  It is a small window to schedule a visit.  Since we were not able to come into Guatemala City for a Monday appointment we decided to try his other clinic.  It is WAY across town and we quickly learned that it won't be near as convenient to go there in the future.  Anyway, it was good to know where it was just in case.   The office is located in a very nice strip mall.  We were able to find a parking spot right in the front door (it has been cold and raining ever since we arrived on Tuesday).  We immediately noticed about 5 men/ guards standing outside the office.  It is normal for almost all stores and businesses here to have armed guards, but, I thought- it's a pediatric clinic!  Do they need that many???  Well, as we sat waiting for our turn to be called we noticed that as women would leave one of the men were going with them.  Turns out they were bodyguards for some of the other clients. Crazy, huh.  We were definitely out of our league.  We work with some of the poorest in this country and we found ourselves among some of the elite.  We are thankful to our colleagues who live in the City and work with these upper class people.  It is definitely not our calling and would be a hard group to reach.

So, back to the appointment...

He weighs a whopping 18 pounds and 2 ounces!

look at those thighs!

he is 25.5 inches long

His new favorite thing is definitely playing with his toes. I could hardly get a photo of him without his legs curled up and him pulling on them.

our happy boy!

Dr. Asturias finally came in and checked him out.  He was very impressed with his growth and development.  He could not believe his size.  ha  He said Cruz was a very healthy little boy.  Praise the Lord!  One of the reasons we love Dr. Asturias (other than him being a great doctor) is the fact that he is SO encouraging to us.  He tells us over and over what a great job we seem to be doing and what great parents we are.  That is very refreshing to hear and to know that we're doing it right.  We feel at times that we are just on our own and are "winging it".  It's good to hear that we are on the right track.

After our time with the doctor, the nurse came back in to do his vaccines.  He first got an oral rotovirus vaccine.  He gagged through most of it and with the final drops, he threw it all up.  :-(   They said he most likely had enough in his system for it to still work. 

Next was his much dreaded (for me) shot.  Poor baby!  He took it well and only cried until we could pick him up.

Look how red his face turned- breaks this Mama's heart.

He got a cool "Cars" sticker on his leg (which I save for his baby book), and then we were on our way.  We are so glad that shots, check-ups, baby doctors, etc. are a part of our lives now.  This parent thing is pretty fun!