Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Nurses who contribute to the problem....

Yesterday was Kyle's 4 year appointment with the doctor. Thank goodness we are now down to one visit a year. Of course if I had been reading all the parenting books like I am suppossed to I would have known prior to this appointment that Kyle would be receiving an entire military regiment of shots (aka the "boosters"). Good lord...how many diseases must they vaccinate against at once. So, we are in the doctors office and my very bright 4 year old asks me if he is getting a shot. I look at him quite surprised as one, well it did not even cross my mind that he might and two, it actually did cross his mind. I pull the nurse aside and quietly ask if Kyle will be getting shots today. She being ever so helpful tells my that, yes he will be getting 4 shots. Not just 1, but 4! Fantastic...no time to prepare for this one. So, I do the next best thing... bribery. I calmy try to explain to my child that he will be getting 4 shots, after already having to pee in a cup (totally foreign to him....and of course my 2 year must have one as well cause he is thirsty!) and getting his finger pricked but to no avail. Hence, bribery. Kyle at this point is caught between total terror and cool fasination as only boys can do. Time for shots come and the nurse explains that Kyle will need to lay down so she can put the shots in his legs. All this of course will require my assistance and I am being asked to hold his upper torso so he will not wiggle off the table. Again...fantastic! I get to not only help inflicate pain on my child but be a part of the holding down process while he is crying cause the shots hurt....bad. Serioulsy, I did not go to medical or nursing school...I pay them a lot of money to give shots to my children...there should not need to be assistance from me. The upswing....the bribery worked (of course) and he wanted a candy bar (of course) and he picked a Twix which has two bars (of course) and he got to eat one before dinner (of course). This on top of the cookie from the bakery, then the chocolate milkshake milk with dinner and the other half of the Twix after dinner, Kyle did not go to sleep until 10:30 last night. Even better... I got to leave for most of the evening for a meeting and my husband got to deal with Kyle. Figure it is a fair trade for having to be a part of infliciting inhumane torture on my 4 year old.

7 comments:

NH Yocal said...

My 4 year old too had his checkup a couple months ago and they whipped out the shots. I too was surprised. I used to have this little vaccination book that I so faithfully kept when he was an infant which now is probably stuffed away firmly in a place I will not find until on accident.

Ah well, I told the nurse to make them as quick as possible if she didn't want to go home with a black eye (from my son kicking her, not from me of course...he he). He is very strong for his age and holding down usually requires 2 people.

karen said...

"When I was young, they didn't have these nice, fast, little needles. The doctor used to poke a hole in your tushy with a BIG knife and then stick a straw in so he could get the medicine to your blood. THEN, you had to have six stitches and - even after all that - you STILL could get the measles. Consider yourself lucky!"

:)

Lady Epiphany said...

Four shots?! Geez. When Lauren has to have 2, she screams bloody murder. The last time, after getting worked up about having a flu shot, the nurse dropped the needle and had to go back to the lab to get a new one. Of course, by the time she returned, Lauren was absolutely beside her self. They don't make the kids lie down, but I had to hold her on my lap with my arms crossed in front of her so she couldn't either grab the needle or hit the nurse.

Anonymous said...

next time take a stuffed animal or doll with you. show them that the stuffy is getting a shot just like (kid name here). distractions are great. (i'm a good shot giver...lol;) when (kid name) is a teenager breaking the rules you'll prob. wish you could inflict some pain! LOL...

Anonymous said...

Karen! How COULD YOU! (*only the spinal tap had a needle that big).
Spice: I hope you gave them the right cup!

*pal said...

poor baby...i know he's 4, and "todd's the baby," but he's still my little lovebug.

Lady Epiphany said...

Ashley gets 1 WMP for this.