When this time of year rolls around, I start to feel dread - dread because I know what is ahead of me and it starts from the moment I hang up the phone after making the appointment. As the day gets closer, I formulate a plan - what will I say to her? when will I say it? what will her reaction be? When the day finally approaches, it never goes as smoothly as I hope.
It is the dreaded flu shot day. The day of the year that Abi fears the most.
Trying to follow the doctor advice, I told her about the shot before we got to the doctor's office (although I'm not sure her doctor fully grasps what this means!) By the time we walked through the doctor's office doors, her face was blotchy and her eyes were bloodshot from crying and I think I heard "I don't want a flu shot" about 500 times! Keep in mind that I only told her about the appointment 30 minutes beforehand. To make a long story short, the appointment ended with Abi screaming at the top of her lungs, 2 nurses physically holding her down, a doctor giving her the shot and an emotionally-drained Mommy in tears.
The anticipation of the shot is much, much worse than the shot itself. In fact, I'm pretty sure she didn't even know that she got the shot until the nurse gave her 2 Princess stickers and suddenly she was all smiles again. The only positive I could take away from the experience was that it was done and I don't have to think about it for another year....although at this rate, I'm not sure what is worse - taking our chances on getting the flu or dealing with the dramatics on flu shot day!
1 comment:
Oh man poor girl! And mama! Is she too young for the nasal version? Shots are always hard - hopefully one day it'll get easier!
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