Friendly Mom Advice - The 4-year-old check-up

Back in July of last year I had the displeasure of taking Big D to the pediatrician for his 4-year-old check up. I had been forewarned by the nursing and administrative staff at the doctors office that it's a good idea to bring help for this one, since it's a thorough check up and the child will be required to get several immunizations. Besides the fact that I had Little D who was 2 weeks old at the time, I thought I'd be ok to take my mom to help entertain Little D and deal with Big D if things didn't go well.

I HATE needles and medical stuff. It just makes me anxious, so every year, I let Big D get the nasal flu mist rather than the vaccine. It's as much for myself as it is for him so he had not had a shot since he was too small to remember it. Now at home we have a doctor's play set that has the little shot and so Big D's most common perception of shots was what he had played with.

The day of the check up, everything was going well and we had been at the doctors office for a while. Of course, when they completed his check-up, they called the nurse down to give Big D the immunizations. Before she got in the room, I told him that she was coming in to give him a shot. I explained that it would hurt for just a second a be over with.  I did NOT tell him that there would be 4 immunizations.

So Big D sat up on the table and I stood in front of him and held him like a hug and the nurse gave him the first shot. :-( Poor little fella broke my heart, crying, "Ouch, Ouch, Ouch!" And I was saying, "It's almost over. It's ok. It's ok." If it would have just been one, it might have been ok, but when the nurse said, "OK buddy, we need to do the next one." And he realized there was more, well let's just say that Big D learned how to climb the walls. He was terrified and digging to get out of there. Poor fella. Oh my goodness. I've never seen him so distraught.  It was so bad that myself, my mom and the nurse had to hold him down and we all cried.  I have never ever felt SO bad like I was just allowing him to get tortured and I was holding him down for it.

We finally got out of there and got in the car. I was an emotional wreck, besides the hormones still swirling around in my body 2 weeks after having Little D, this was just beyond what was reasonable to handle. We finally got in the car. I didn't want to talk about it or mention anything about it to make Big D think about it and have another emotional break down recounting the events of his Mommy and Grandma holding him down to be "tortured". So I just picked up my cell phone and sent Handyman the following text message. "That was HORRIBLE. You will take Little D for his 4 year check up withOUT me. And you will take both boys for their 11 year old check ups." (I hear the 11 year is as bad as the 4 year.)

Poor Big D is so sensitive about it that even the mention of a "shot" gets him wound up and teary-eyed. Even just playing with his doctor set he prefaces giving his patient (me, Handyman, Little D or even stuffed animals) shot by saying, "This is going to just be an itty, bitty, shot and it won't hurt too much." God bless is sweet heart!

I always take the boys to their check-ups and when they are sick, but I'm sure that I can't handle that one... not ever again. So here is my friendly mom advice, if you can't handle seeing your kid get immunizations, or if you can't handle seeing your child in pain and hold them down for it, then this is the best appointment to let Daddy take the lead.