Immunizations

Baby S had his four month check-up yesterday. He's doing really well. Doctor says that he looks healthy, happy, and smart. He's 25 inches tall and weighs 12.1 lbs. He's in the 10th percentile for weight (he's a skinny baby, but the doctor says he's looking good), the 45th percentile for height, and the 80th percentile for head circumference. He has a big head like his daddy! It's a hard head like daddy too because he's (baby not Hubs) head butted me a couple of times and it really hurts! The doctor probably thinks I'm one of those crazy moms because I ask all kinds of questions and I write everything down. Last time, he said, "We have a print-out of all of this for you." And I replied, "That's nice," and continued writing everything down. It's just how I am!
Anyway, Baby S also got more immunizations yesterday. I think shots are the hardest on the mom. Hubs always comes to the appointments and he gets to be the one to hold the baby for the shots. I seriously almost tear up every time! Baby is a trooper though. He'll holler when they do the shot but calms down pretty quickly. I'm a sucker for the quivering lip though. If he holds onto that ability, I'll be buying him a brand new car when he turns sixteen! So it all went well. This time, I gave him a little baby tylenol before the shot and that seemed to help keep him calm and happy for the rest of the day. Last night he was a little fussy but not too bad. But this morning he woke up with a fever. He was hot to touch from his head to his little toes. I took his temperature and he was at 102.2. Again, he was being such a trooper. Even though he wasn't feeling good, he would stop crying and give me one of his million dollar smiles and then start crying again. I fed him, gave him some more tylenol, put a cool washrag on his head, and let him sleep. I was wishing I hadn't used all my potatoes on Sunday though. Whenever we used to get fevers, my grandma would put sliced potatoes on our heads, and, I kid you not, it would draw out the heat. She also used to rub vinegar on our chests when we had a cold or congestion. That also worked but I don't know if it was the treatment or the fear of getting the treatment that made us get better. It stunk so bad!! Anyway, Baby is doing much better. He still has a bit of a fever but he's napping right now and not fussing. I wonder a little about the immunizations though. The books say that this is fairly normal, so I'm not worried. However, last time he got immunizations, we didn't have any problems or side effects. He was a little fussy for a few hours but that was it. Later, we found out that our insurance didn't cover two of the immunizations and we had to pay out of pocket. (Don't get me started on insurance!) This time, the doctor's office said, "Oh, in that case, we'll just give you the state shots this time." These shots are covered by the insurance. So, I'm left wondering what the difference is between the two? Obviously, there is a huge price difference. But is there a quality difference (you get what you pay for)? It makes me a little suspicious. I know that any state approved immunization has been tested and deemed safe, but is what's good enough according to the state, good enough according to me? I know I'm one of those bull dog moms. I'm just a little defensive about my little one! Looks like another research project is coming on!