I was sorting through old photos of Wes and came across these. I took them on September 30th, when Wes was 2 1/2 weeks old, and had only been home from the hospital for a handful of days. I was trying to figure out how to do laundry with a newborn in tow. This is how I managed.

Looking back at these photos, I seriously can’t believe how big the kid’s gotten in the six weeks since these photos were snapped. He totally fills out that little bear sleeper outfit now.

Yesterday was his 8-week checkup and he weighed in at (cue drum roll) 6 lbs 15.5 oz (with diaper on). He also got some shots, which he was very brave about and only cried for a minute or two afterwards.

Our doctor was investigating to see if Wes would qualify for RSV shots. Since he was born early, has Down syndrome, and was on oxygen a while they thought he’d qualify. They called me on Tuesday and said he had qualified, then found out on Wednesday that it had fallen through. I’m bummed because we can’t afford the shots without insurance help (there’s one shot per month during RSV season, and they’re about $1500 a pop), and the doctor warned us that if Wes got RSV it was more likely to turn bad (e.g. into pneumonia or the like) than a non-DS kid because of his smaller respitory passages. He said without the shot we should be extra careful about bringing Wes in contact with germy people. Specifically, he suggested we isolate him like an eskimo in Alaska until springtime.

That’s not exactly convenient, is it. We’ll still take him places, but now I can’t help but feel extra paranoid about anyone who approaches our kid unless I’m sure he or she is entirely germ-free and not breathing too closely to Wes. I’m trying to not be concerned, but then I think about taking care of a baby who can’t breathe for mucus, or is back in the hospital, and I’m tempted to try the eskimo life.