More S-H-O-T-S

William, I hate to be the one to break the news to you, but here goes: your mother is a wimp.

The little prince got his second round of vaccinations this afternoon. I cried last time he got a series of S-H-O-T-S, but I thought that I'd be perfectly okay this time around. You know, an old hand. A pro. A seasoned parent. The been-there-done-that blase type of mother.

Bwahahahahahaha!

We attended the hospital's weekly breastfeeding meeting today, then wheeled ourselves over to the pediatrics clinic. As the nurse, Toni, prepared to give William his shots, David offered to let me leave the treatment room. I thought that sounded like a good plan, but then I reconsidered. He IS my child after all, and I really should be present for all his medical treatment at this stage. So I compromised. I stood off to the side, well away from the stretcher-gurney thing, close to the door.

I was fine while Toni put William on the gurney and carefully unsnapped the bottom of his madras overalls. I was okay when she asked David to hold his hands out of the way. But when she inserted that first syringe into William's chunky little thigh, he realized the betrayal. This wasn't a friendly little visit with Miss Toni, the nice lady who wears bright yellow scrubs printed with Tweety Bird and tells him how handsome he is. William sucked in his breath. For an instant, he was silent, with his little red mouth gaping wide open like a ravenous baby bird. Then he let loose with a screeching wail that rose and rose, in octave and volume. His face (actually his whole head) turned the tomato red that has become his trademark when he gets upset or angry. He squirmed and wriggled frantically, and tears began to drip down his red cheeks.

And that was when the tears welled up in my own eyes.

I took a couple of deep breaths and tried to blink back the tears. David held his little hands and murmured to him. His cries bounced around the treatment room, even though Toni worked fast to get the rest of the vaccinations out of the way. It was all over in about 30 seconds, but oh my, what a long 30 seconds that was. Whew. I am such a wimp. Imagine how I would have reacted if William had needed serious medical treatment. This was just a routine series of vaccinations--and I am very, very pro-vaccination. I belive strongly in the benefit of having all children vaccinated (for personal reasons and for the whole group immunity thing), and of course as a pediatrician, David does, too. But gah, it is just no fun at all to watch needles inserted, regardless of how quickly, into your child.

But at least the four-month vaccinations are over. William has his four-month well-baby check-up with his new doctor later this week, and I don't anticipate any trauma coming from that. No needles involved.

And I resolve to handle it better when William has his next round of shots. That's at six months. Stay tuned.