Last night, after taking turns with my wife to feed our baby at 3 in the morning, we had a busy start to the day. The reason? It was our child's vaccination day! Despite the drizzling rain, we were advised to get the BCG shot within the first four weeks after birth (up to day 34). Since our baby was on the 32nd day of life, we couldn't delay any further and visited the pediatrician as planned.
The pediatric clinic was much busier than our last visit for the infant check-up. Next time, I'll consider visiting on a weekday, even if I have to take a day off.
With almost 30 people waiting, we were fortunate to have made an appointment; we were the third in line. The check-up was similar to the last one, where the doctor checked our baby thoroughly with a stethoscope and explained about the vaccinations our child would be getting. They even cleaned our baby's nose! We were also informed briefly about the next vaccination, which I plan to research more on later.
The next vaccination is scheduled between June 5th and 10th. After receiving these details, our child was vaccinated in a separate room.
Hepatitis B Vaccine
Our baby received the shot on the thigh. To prevent movement during the injection, we held our baby down, and the nurse quickly administered the vaccine.
Our child cried loudly, but thankfully, it was brief. However, that day, along with the Hepatitis B vaccine, our baby also had to get the BCG vaccine, which is known to be more painful and can even leave a scar.
BCG Vaccine
This shot had to be administered on our baby's left arm. We had dressed our baby in cute short sleeves for the shot, but ended up taking off not just the top but also the cap. Unlike regular injections, this shot had to be delivered into the dermis layer of the skin, making it important to restrict the baby's movement entirely.
Our baby cried a lot, the most since the first night at Wonderweeks. But once we were about to leave, the crying stopped, making us feel both sorry and grateful.
We plan to monitor the scar from the BCG shot, and if anyone is deliberating between the intradermal and percutaneous methods, they might find our previous post about it helpful.
Child rearing means becoming familiar with the pediatrician, but visiting twice or thrice for vaccinations when our baby is this young, and potentially being exposed to other sick kids, was a concern. Therefore, combining the Hepatitis B and BCG shots felt like the right decision. If possible, getting them together is recommended since neither is accompanied by fever. Today, I focused more on recording our baby's vaccination than sharing information. If there are events with our baby, I'm considering logging our day's activities this way more often. Starting next week, I'll be using my paternity leave, a welfare benefit from my company, to focus on parenting with my wife for about ten days. We may not venture out, but I look forward to concentrating more on observing our baby's growth each day, even if it means less sleep.
Experience from May 6th, 2023.