Hit Me With Your Best Shot
I’m now anti-vaccination.
No, I’m not one of those crazy parents who think that they cause autism. It’s because I’m one of those parents who know that they cause extreme crankiness!
Yesterday we took Henry to see the doctor for his two-month check-up. Everything went swimmingly: he’s gaining weight (a little more than a pound since past month), his head grew (a centimeter and a half), and he grew more than three inches. Three inches! In one month! No wonder half of his 0-3 month pajamas don’t fit any more.
Of course, while the exam went well, the shots didn’t. He had to get four of them, so the nurse jabbed what looked like a series of 10-inch skewers into his legs, two in the right thigh and two in the left. Oh, the tears. Oh, the wailing. Oh, the pouting.
We were able to calm him down enough so that he allowed us to dress him again and put him back in his stroller, but by the time he and Kristen got home (I went off to work), the crying began again, and it didn’t stop until he went to bed. That he avoided napping made things even worse.
To pile on the pain (or pain at least), Henry, who has been sleeping wonderfully until 4 or 5 in the morning, woke up at 11:30, 2, and 4, regressing back to his old habits. Kristen and I, who are now used to those precious 5 or 6 straight hours of sleep, had no such luck.
Today, I’m a zombie and Kristen’s a ghoul.
Henry’s a little better today, but Kristen has had to keep him in the Ergo carrier all day long, and even a suggestion of being put in his crib for a nap is answered with a hearty nay (that nay being loud wails with an accompanying vibrating tongue). As crummy as today has been, though, it’s at least an improvement over yesterday, and bodes well for tomorrow and Thursday.
In all seriousness, I completely understand and appreciate vaccines. Things that children used to suffer from (and still do in much of the world) are all but eradicated in this country, and I’m very relieved to know that our son won’t have to deal with mumps or measles or the black plague. I’m just hoping that in the future, common side effects for these shots will change from localized pain and fever to a greater urge to cuddle.
We can only hope.
October 21st, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Ouch! Poor Henry! But yes, it’s all much better than having a kid with polio or something equally horrible.
I was a bad mommy and drugged Austin with infant tylenol before the appointment and then nursed him to sleep afterwards. I have the four month shots coming up soon and am dreading them.