Yesterday, at two months and three days of age, Lucy received her first injections. I’m not sure who cried more, Mama or Baby.
With a doctor’s appointment rapidly approaching for Lucy, we knew we needed to make a decision about which vaccines Lucy should receive, and when. Jon got assigned a bunch of reading (so Ann wouldn’t freak out reading about the possible side effects), and we had a good talk with our pediatrician. He reassured us by saying that the three vaccines we were considering were the ones he administered to his own grandchildren.
Lucy was brave, crying for a bit as she realized she had been poked, but then instantly being calmed by a meal at Mama’s kitchen. After we got home, Lucy took a nice nap….
…And awoke screaming in pain a couple hours later! Jon and I frantically tried to calm her — and being frantic doesn’t contribute naturally to calming. It seemed that Lucy’s legs were sore from the shots. So, we gave Lucy her first dose of grape-flavored infant Tylenol (which she seemed to love, actually), swaddled her, set her on Mama’s lap, and hoped for the best. Fifteen minutes later, Lucy could be found nursing contentedly as usual. Hooray for analgesics!
For the rest of the evening, we let Lucy live the life of Riley. She seemed to have a tiny fever (which the Tylenol was helping to fight), so she snuggled up on the Boppy, nursing and snoozing on and off for four hours. Mama enjoyed reading an Agatha Christie novel, and just felt glad that Lucy seemed comfortable. We told Lucy that being sick is no fun, but you get to stay in your pajamas all day long and watch movies and drink as much orange juice as you want, so it’s not so bad. After receiving another dose of Tylenol, Lucy got swaddled up and put down to bed, where she slept for her usual seven hours and awoke just like the baby we’ve known for two months. No harm done!
In reflecting on this event in Lucy’s life, here are a few things I learned:
* No *wonder* they schedule multiple vaccines on one day — no parents wants to see their baby poked and feverish more than they have to!
* It was super-easy to tell when Lucy was crying from pain, as opposed to normal hungry crying or fussiness. We had never seen her feeling under-the-weather before, so now we know what it looks like.
* Watching one’s baby get poked with a needle was *way* harder than I expected it to be.
Besides the vaccinations, the doctor’s appointment was full of good things: Lucy’s weight gain is terrific (10 pounds, 5 ounces!), she has grown two inches (23″ long now), and Dr. Minkus commented on how strong she is. (Lucy routinely tries to stand up in our laps.) When asked, “What things should we be doing to aid Lucy’s development?” he replied bemusedly, “Have you been reading Plato to her?” :)
We take this opportunity to cheer on Lucy’s strong body and fortified immune system: Hip, hip, hooray!
Seeing a child getting a shot or any type of needle test doesn’s seem to get any better. Charles got his kindergarten cocktail just two weeks ago…three needle pricks. His brothers held his hands down and two nurses gave him the two more potent shots. Seeing our five year old wince in pain and then say ohhh that smarts was very difficult. Alex and Joseph were better than I was.
I dont want to be hyper spiritual but seeing my little ones in discomfort often turn me to the cross and the incredible love the Lord has for us.
my doctor had us give her tylenol before the shots and they she didn’t get so sore. She has never cried more than two minuets with the shots. just a thought for your 4 month shots.
We also did tylenol before the shots – but our doctor had us bring it to the office with us because they want an accurate temperature before shots (because if there’s a fever they postpone the shots).