The last immunizations
On the list of “parenting things I’m glad to be done with” I think child immunizations tops the list. I’ve written about this topic before. In fact I write about this topic every time I have to take a child to be immunized. I have to write about it, because the experience is an emotionally laden one and I always need to process the thoughts and emotions. Patch had his Kindergarten shots today. That means I am done. I will never again have to hold a crying child in my lap while helpful, but potentially toxic substances are injected. They’ll all need boosters at age 12, but that is a whole different ball game. Twelve year olds can be logical about the need for shots.
I’ve generally been of the ‘talk things through in advance’ school of thought for immunizations. I like to warn my kids they are coming, why they must be done, and how it will all be handled. I have not had the brainspace to do that for Patch. I should have started weeks ago to prepare for today. But today arrived and I realized that I had a window of opportunity in which I can deal with potential post-shot reactions before life gets really crazy again. If I wait until after the craziness, I’ll have to stand in long lines with other parents who are in a rush to get the shots done before school starts. So I sprung the shots on Patch. I took him out for “errands” without clarifying that County Health Office = shots for Patch. I didn’t want to completely ambush him though, so I did not wait until we were faced with the row of needles before telling him. I told him in the waiting area.
It is a measure of Patch’s trust in me that while he cried and asked to be taken home, he did not flee. He huddled in my lap and tried to convince me not to make him get shots. It was hard. I don’t want him to have to get shots either. The nurses tried to help me distract Patch with stamps and coloring pages. He was smarter than that. He did not want a blueberry scented dog stamp, he wanted to not get shots. But he did get shots. The nurse was very quick. After it was all over, Patch and I talked about how scary it was before the shots, but afterward the shots did not seem scary at all. By the time we got home, he was happy to show off his bandaids and eat cheetos.
Now I get to bite my nails and feed him tylenol and watch for any frightening reactions to the injections.