Friday, August 13, 2010

Shots

Avalyn got her first round of vaccines yesterday. I felt awful the whole day. Her appointment wasn’t until 4:15 PM so we had a long day of waiting. She must have been picking up on my stress because she didn’t nap all day, but she seemed pretty darn happy. Her happiness only made matters worse. Don’t get me wrong, I love it when she’s happy, her smile makes any bad feelings go away, on most days. Today, however, her smile was just a reminder that she trusts and loves me and I was going to break that trust a little. It sounds ridiculous but that’s really how I felt.

The nurses seemed to feel the same way. When we got to the office, we went through all the normal “well baby” checks. She’s measuring great. 24.5 inches long (95th percentile) and 12 lbs 8 ounces (85th percentile), which means she’s a thriving breastfed baby. I couldn’t be happier about that! After the checkup the nurse left so I could feed Ava while she got the vaccines ready. When she came back in, she brought another nurse with her. They gave her the oral injection first (which Ava wasn’t thrilled with) and had me hold her on my lap to give her the shots. I let them know I was sad because she was all smiles earlier and the nurse said she hated giving shots to smiley babies because she doesn’t like to be the one who takes the smile away. I understood that completely!

So, I held Avalyn on my lap, while she looked at her daddy on the chair across from her… the nurses did a countdown and gave her the shots all at once, two in one thigh and one in the other. The cry that Ava made was the most heartbreaking sounds in the entire world. I wanted to cry! Matt looked as if he was on the verge of tears as well. As soon as they put Band-Aids on her little legs, I pulled my little Avalyn into my arms and shushed her, telling her that everything was going to be okay. I don’t think she believed me.

After the nurses left, Matt said that Ava’s expression when she got the shots was horrible. I guess it took a lot for him to stay in the chair and not jump up and take her away from the nurses. I felt the same way. Even though I did my research and weighed the pros and cons of vaccinating my child, it doesn’t make the process any easier.

Avalyn’s only reaction to the vaccines was a slight fever. She slept the whole night and woke up with a smile so all is right in her world. Next appointment is October 12 and she will be getting another round of shots. I’m really looking forward to that…

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