(original date, Dec 9, 2009)
If there were such a thing as a merit badge for vaccinating your almost 5 year old. .... I earned it today.
Let me start by saying, yes we vaccinate, I know you may not, but we choose to do so, on a spaced out schedule, but nonetheless, we vaccinate. Thats not without saying that I have had my freak outs about filling a 7 lb baby full of antibodies when she was just days old. I left crying and angry with myself that time. Hence the spaced out schedule.
Back to my morning.
1st round of h1n1 vaccine last month, a shot for Ruby and the mist for Parkey.
All was well, Rubes didnt even cry.
There is a learning curve with the mist, but this time around it went really well, no wrastleing to the ground forcing the liquid up the nose routine.
We went back today for the booster h1n1, a shot for Ruby and since there wasnt a mist, a shot for Parkey, but she didnt know this was going to be an option.
ok, let me say that I really try to do a great job at not cussing in front of my children, but today was a huge exercise in self control for not only myself but for SP as well.
Ruby was a champ, never even saw it coming. Looked at me with the expression of "what just happened, oh wait a sticker, ok great"
Sp started screaming, yes SCREAMING in the bathroom, not even in the patient room, telling me all about how she...
"was NOT getting a shot today"
"I will NOT do it"
"I wont stand up, I wont go back in that room, I will NOT let you hurt me"
"I'M gonna spank YOU Mama!"
and in my brain was : "oh no she DID'NT"
(this was the line for me, like I said, she's 5 and doesn't cuss, but this was as close to a cuss as she can get, you DONT tell Mama what's going to happen, and you definitely DONT tell Mama she is getting a spank)
well..... that didn't go over to well with me, I have long ago lost all sense of embarrassment with my children. Happened way to many times over and over, so I wasn't going to let this bother me, for the sake of saving face (because we as mothers know, there is no such thing), it was all about the attitude at this point.
Besides every time we go to the doctor some kid is crying, but I just dont remember those other kids being as articulate as mine was being at this moment. Coupled with the fact that we are in the bathroom, I know you all have sung in the shower at some point, so you can attest to how great the acoustics are in a tiled room, all that applies here as well.
Kicking me and still screaming at me, I pick her up and carried her back into the room, which is no small feat when your child is in the 99th percentile for height and weight. All the while telling her "get your ass into that room and put your big girl panties on we're getting that shot weather you like it or not" "take a deep breath, in your nose and out your mouth, deeeeep breaths, its going to be ok, this is how we protect you from germs, deeeep breaths."
which worked for about 17 seconds.
more kicking, screaming, limp fishing, hitting, yelling at the top of her lungs, restraining, until... it was over, and SHE DID'T EVEN KNOW IT HAPPENED.
the nurse of steel declared, "Done!"
and in the hallway, not so under her breath "good grief"
SP looked up at me and said "She did it? Its over?"
Me "yes, all done, what do you think?"
SP beaming with pride "I didnt even feel it!"
Me" Imagine that!" and on the inside, "well, this is a maybe on the list of future counseling sessions conversations for her" and "oh crap, Ruby! are you here?" (she was, I was just so caught up in how to exorcize the demon out of Parkey take care of my eldest, that I was lucky the youngest was just following me around in the room)
I know that as soon as we walked back out into the waiting room on our way out, we were given the "was that your child screaming/what kind of mother are you/cant control your child/ was it really that important?" kind of stares.
and me (again on the inside) "YES it was, worth every bit of not being sick for a week to ten days, with potential for hospitalization due to after effects of the swine flu, and no I do not feel one bit of remorse from doing what we feel is best to protect our children, and yes, I am apparently raising a super drama queen, but by God she is going to be a healthy one"