SHOTS!

It is so hard to be a little man. Part of turning "One" meant more shots. It is amazing what they will subject children to in the name of public health. He was scheduled to receive some 9 different immunizations/shots on his one year well baby visit. There was no way in good conscience that I was going to allow that to happen. After negotiating with my pediatrician, we agreed to give him 3 of the vaccines plus do a blood draw. Thankfully, the nurse who did the vaccines was very quick with the needles. She did 3 shots and band-aids all within 10 seconds! He was such a tough little dude! He cried a bit but quickly soothed himself. Little did he know about the blood draw.


Band-Aids on both arms and a thigh

Prior to the blood draw, we were waiting outside the lab and Scrumpy chose to entertain the technicians with some "dancing boy", shaking his hips from here to there. I think if he knew what was to come, he would not have been so jovial with these guys.

Okay, as a mother, this was probably the hardest thing I have had to endure. While he sat on my lap, the held his arm down. They fashioned a tourniquet, while one technician held his bicep and wrist. He then began to cry from the "restraint". Another technician did the blood draw and Scrumpy started to cry a cry I had never heard before. He was just in pain! It was heart wrenching. While he cried and cried, the technicians said it was the easiest blood draw they have ever done on a one year old. We offerred him a sugar-free lollipop, but he was so upset it took him a few seconds to realize there was a tasty treat in his mouth. Once he got a lick of that cherry goodness, it was if he forgot about the pain. They bandaged him up and we were off.

Arm bandage from blood draw

I'd like to say all the trauma was over, but alas, due to the new vaccines, Scrumpy spent the next 10 days or so having fever after fever, waking up in the middle of the night, upset and cranky. While I do not regret the immunizations, I am eternally grateful I fought to split up the vaccines. I cannot imagine how miserable he would have been if he had had to have ALL the shots they had suggested. This multiple shot mentally of the health field might be a little bit extreme. Their little bodies cannot handle assaults like that. While one mind of thought is to get it over with all at once, there is something to be said about inflicting pain little by little.

Examining the lens cap

Photo trying to put lens cap back on lens
Never fear, Scrumpy is back to being Scrumpy. It's as if the shots are a distant memory...until next time that is.