2 months old!

August 14, 2011

Growth parameters measured on August 10:
weight: 4,390kg (9lbs, 10oz)
height: 56cm (22 inches)
head circumference: 39cm (15.4 inches)

French Healthcare Experience #4: Vaccines

Zachary is now 2 months old! So, hard to believe. In addition to the developmental milestones that this age brings - smiles, coos, a little more head control - this is also the age for his first set of shots. And so, with a little bit of hesitation, I brought him to the doctor (Owen came along too as Sean was at work) last week for his shots.

Now, the first thing to know about getting vaccines in France is that you have to bring the meds to the doctor's office yourself. So, before the day of the appointment, you must get a prescription for the vaccines and go pick them up at the pharmacy. Since pharmacy's may run out of their supplies, it is always recommended to go several days in advance. So, for the past week we have had the vaccines in our refrigerator - a reminder each time we would go get some food of the upcoming event.

The other thing to know is that drugs are significantly cheaper in France than in the US. On average, our co-pay is less than 1 euro for our drugs and the total cost of the drugs themselves have never been over 20 euros as far as I can remember. This is for drugs such as antibiotics, pain meds (the tylenol and advil equivalents for kids are by prescription only here), cough syrups, etc. So, we were a bit surprised to see that the cost of the vaccines was over 100 euros though it was completely covered by our insurance.

But, other than that, the appointment was very similar to those we had in the US. Since August is the month of vacations in France, our appointment for Zack's 2 month well-child check was with the substitute doctor and not our regular physician. In France, substitute doctor (medecin remplaçant) is a profession, like substitute teachers. At our last appointment with our PCP, she assured me that her replacement this time was wonderful so I wasn't too concerned when I got to the office. Of course, I'm always a little anxious about seeing a new professional because of the language issue. I'm always a bit insecure about whether I will understand let alone be understood. But, in general, this physician was fine. She answered my questions with patience and even made a little small talk as she was preparing the needles (Zack had 2 shots). And, much to my surprise, despite her coldish demeanor towards Owen (who, after waiting for an hour at this point wanting me to play with him and was interrupting my conversation with the doctor to ask me questions), she even patted Zachary on the back a few times after I picked him up following the shots and offered a few words of reassurance to him, "C'est tout. C'est fini. Ça va." (That's all. It's finished. You're ok.)

For those interested to know, the vaccines are mostly but not entirely the same regimen as in the US. For children at risk, they give a vaccine for tuberculous at birth along with Hepatitis B. I'm positive that Zack did not get tuberculosis because I remember having a conversation with the sage-femme about it but I can't remember whether he had Hep B. The vaccines that Zachary got at 2 months are known in France as Prevenar 13 (for pneumonococcus) and Infanrix hexa (covers diptheria, polio, tetanus, Hib, pertussis, and Hep B) which I think is primarily the same as in the US though I remember in the US that Owen was also rotavirus too. Another difference is that here, as I handed over my check and carte vitale (health insurance card) to the doctor for payment, she handed me back a prescription for the next round of shots - to be given in 1 month. This surprised me because in the US shots are normally given in 2 month intervals. But, as I am repeatedly reminded, we are NOT in the US anymore.

Funny faces

Zachary is a smiling machine (when he isn't crying, that is). But it's his other faces that make us laugh. Such beauties include these faces seen from August 5th:




And these:


And, of course, Zachary's smiles are precious:

Zachary's first photo shoot

One thing that the French and US cultures both seem to share is the desire to feed upon the bleeding hearts of new parents. Baby products are expensive and abundant (though the French government pays out mother's money prior to the delivery to help subsidize your costs of setting up a nursery and monthly mother's money until the child is 3 years old to help pay for diapers and formula).

But I digress. In anycase, we learned within hours of Zachary's birth that regardless of whether you are recovering in a maternity ward in Boulder or Bordeaux, one of the first visitors you will receive is a photographer who offers to take pictures of the newborn and then tries to sell you a package of photos for an exorbitant cost. And, of course, between the sleep deprivation and the hormones, you give in and buy some.

So, without further ado, here are some of my favs from Zachary's first photo shoot, taken on June 15.







This one isn't a great angle but it's the only one of the three of us.
I am really sad that there are no professional photos of Owen and Zachary (since Owen wasn't at the hospital with us) but we have certainly made up for that with candid shots. :)

Family resemblance

Zachary really does look like his big brother as a newborn. We scanned through Owen's baby photos and found a few examples. Can you tell which boy is which?












And here they are both wearing daddy's favorite outfit.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Today is Sean's birthday! I have become a bit obsessive the past few days trying to create a Raymond family Smilebox. I finished it late last night so, in honor of Sean turning 34 years and Zachary turning 1 month and 1 week, here is my Smilebox creation:

Photo album made with Smilebox

1 month old!

Hard to believe that Zachary is already 1 month old! He is a feeding machine, having gained over a pound since birth, and is starting to be much more alert and even giving a few smiles.

He's also a decent sleeper though, par for the course, his developmental gains also mean that it is easier for him to get over-stimulated which makes getting him to sleep much harder than it was a few weeks ago. And he is suffering from mild thrush (yeast infection of the mouth) and reflux which isn't helping his comfort. But these are just minor and short-term bumps in the road.

To try to keep all of us as even-keeled as possible (especially sleep deprived mom & dad), we have been trying to get out of the house as much as possible and it has been an amazing help to have the grandparents around for much of the past month. (My parents left on July 4 and the Raymonds arrived on the 13th). Here are some pics from our outings:

Bordeaux Quai, June 19

Arcachon, July 1

Baseball in Bordeaux, the Pessac Panthères v Monligny Cougars, July 10

Miroir d'Eau, July 2


Bordeaux Quai, July 3

Also, in honor of Zack's 1 monthiversary, it's probably a good time to write my own recollections of D-day. Obviously, I trust Sean who was significantly more lucid than I was but I do have a few memories to share. I have added them in blue font to Sean's original post.