alexist

First, Aliza has her hip scan Wednesday, at Barnet Hospital.

Then next Thursday we have our 6 week postnatal checkups at the GP (never mind it's almost 8 weeks... the GP who does postnatal checks was off this week).

Then I came home to 2 things: one, a phone call saying they'd had a problem with the blood sample they drew from Aliza Wednesday, and I need to bring her back to Barnet hospital to have it re-done. That's on the 5th. (Great, I get to trek all the way up to hospital just for a blood draw. I HATE Barnet's system for blood tests, have I mentioned this?)

Second, a note that Aliza's due for her first jabs (DTaP/IPV/HiB 5-in-1 and Men C), and I need to make an appointment for the week of the 5th. Luckily this can be done at the GP's; I was worried I'd need to go to the baby clinic. Despite all the hand-wringing over multiple jabs, I'm all for them--Aliza gets 2 jabs now, and again at 3 and 4 months (same again) then nothing till MMR at 12 months. (Oh, just double checked the NHS site, and they now also do PCV, which isn't in the sheet printed in her health record; the sheets must have been printed before the changes in September. And Men C is only at 3 and 4 months, not 2.)

Sadly they don't do varicella (chicken pox) vaccine here :-( but they don't get it till 12 months anyway. I see the US has also introduced rotavirus, and Hep A & B are now recommended for all.

Which reminds me: I need to ask the GP about a DTaP booster. I don't know when my last one was, but it was definitely before I was 18, because I know I haven't had any immunisations since leaving the pediatrician's!

The HV mentioned BCG but I said I didn't want Aliza to have it. In the US, they don't give BCG; they screen every year for TB exposure. If you've had a BCG, your tine test will always come up positive, and it can cause problems and/or unnecessary chest X-rays.

Finally, I need to go for my blood tests in 3 weeks (need to make an appointment), at either Barnet or Finchley. The GP wants to do a full workup including insulin and glucose (not the GTT thankfully) so I need to fast, too :-(

According to this week's New Yorker (verified at http://www.opm.gov/fedhol/2007.asp), today's federal holiday in the US is officially Washington's Birthday, not Presidents' Day. It seems the latter term was devised by stores in the late 1980s. I vaguely remember when it arose, and I always thought it was a new name that was designed to encompass Washington's birthday (22 February) and Lincoln's birthday (12 February). But no. Lincoln's birthday is just a coincidence, and in any case, the holiday was shifted (from 22 Feb to the 3rd Monday in February) in 1971, well before the term arose.

Also, as the New Yorker pointed out, Washington's birthday can never fall on Washington's Birthday: the latter will always fall from 15-21 February.

First, music. I had my iPod plugged in to the car stereo yesterday. Pulp was on, Aliza was asleep in the backseat. Next song comes on, Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight". Aliza wails. I flip the song: The Temptations, "My Girl". Aliza goes back to sleep. I guess rap isn't her thing! She does seem to like Motown though.

She likes her new pacifier, but isn't very good at keeping it in her mouth.

She finally likes bathtime :) No more screams. I think I heard a definite happy gurgle :)