It was Flu Shot day today.
Remembering last time we did this, this time....I took Bear.
We also didn't tell the kids what we were going to do until they were strapped in their seats and we were driving towards the highway.
(And that part of it? Troubled me. It felt sneaky.)
As soon as we told him, Cass got upset. Fiercely upset. We took his mind of it by letting him pick the order of who went first, second, etc (we were all getting poked - family togetherness! Whee!) and then deciding what we were doing afterwards (eat supper, or go see Papa?) and that seemed to work.
He was calm and a little apprehensive until we walked into the doctor's office, and then, he.....
...crawled under a chair in the waiting room.
The crowded waiting room.
(Meanwhile, Rosey is looking for a book to read and saying hi to another woman waiting. Supremely unconcerned.)
Then we were in an exam room, Bear sitting C up with him, soothing and talking to him, Rosey ogling the lollipop jar.
When the doctor came in, Cass jerked away when the needle hit him and had to be re-pricked (the trauma! THE TRAUMA!!!) and so I took him and put him in my lap afterwards (and when did my boy get so long??) and R had her turn.
While he sobbed, she stuck out her arm, winced, and asked for a band-aid.
(Why yes, they are completely opposite in temperment, why??)
His tears dried, he decided on a green lolly and we were off to see Papa.
Last year, I thought I was going to have to sit on him to make him stay still.
This year, he didn't run away.
But I still felt horrid.
10 comments:
Have you thought about getting the Flu Mist for him? SO MUCH EASIER.
About five years ago, G freaked out so much that her screams could be heard OUTSIDE the building. It took four of us to hold her down, including a male doctor.
Aw, I feel your pain (hee!). You and they will get used to them, though. The kids and I have been getting flu shots for a good 7 years now and they were exactly the same way (boy pitching a fit, girl sucking it up) at first. Now they both pretty much take it in stride because they know it's only once a year AND they know I'll buy them a little treat afterwards (this started out as a full-blown ice cream orgy and has devolved to a 99-cent bag of drugstore candy, yay!).
They were brave and so were you! It can only get easier.
Yeah, both my kids SCREAMED about the shots. Em because she was scared and Lucy because she's 15 months old and shots HURT.
I'm hoping that Emily will become more philosophical about it. We did a lot of talking about yes, shots hurt, but they help you stay healthy.
It felt like a bunch of hot air in the face of her tears, though.
Aw, poor little dude. He sounds just like my boy. I'm glad he made it out alive!
I guess I should consider getting flu shots for my kiddos too...
Poor kidlet! No one likes to be poked even if it's for the best.
We did the same damn thing on Thursday night. Leah used to be good about getting the flu shot until she had to get a vaccination that we'd missed. The school checks records and she'd missed an MMR, I think. We went to the walk-in clinic and the doctor there was a butcher. He managed to make her bleed while giving her the injection, and it made her scared of all needles. Sigh. Rae needs to be held and screams like she's being gutted, but then 2 seconds later, she's fine. Until the next October....
You did good, Jess. You have to play it the way you see fit and he coped admirably. It's always nice to know however long they get sometimes they just need a mummy-cuddle
Poor kid. I feel sorry for him, the anxiety of it all.
Flu shot isn't here yet that I've heard. 2/3rds of us are sick with flu. I'm next...
Pumpkinpie has been remarkably easy about vaccinations - in fact, she's been telling me that she LIKES them and can't wait to get her flu shot because she gets a LOLLIPOP afterwards! And she thanks the nurses, who then melt into puddles.
Post a Comment