The Flu Shot

A couple days ago I took Elise in for her flu shot. The night before I pondered the best strategy for making it go as smoothly as possible. I had a lot of anxiety about taking her in. If you have a baby, you know how traumatic shots can be. HOWEVER, in my opinion, it gets much worse once kids hit age two and they can verbalize their pain and horror. Babies look at you with an expression that seems to say "how can you do this to me?" But once a kid can talk, it is not just a parent's imagination laying on the guilt, it is the child's own voice. "MOMMMMM!" "STOP!" "NO!" And they crawl up into your lap, believing you will save them from the impending attack, but NO! They find out you are an accomplice! And they say things like "You let them hurt me!"

So, I thought and thought on how to make this flu shot experience go as smoothly as possible. Should I tell Elise ahead of time to prepare her for what was to come? What if she freaked out as soon as I told her and cried for the whole time before, during and after the appointment? Should I not tell her about the shot? She would be calm ahead of time, but I ran the risk of her panicking when the needle came in and it all happening so fast she felt ambushed.

About an hour before the appointment I decided to just see what happened and wing it.
Me: "I'm taking you to the doctor this morning"
Elise: "Is the doctor going to give me a shock [shot]?"
Me: "Maybe"
Elise: "I think the doctor will not give me a shock"
Me: "ok"

In the car..Elise: "I will tell the doctor not to give me a shock"

In the parking lot...Elise: "I think the doctor will not give me a shock"
Me: "I think you should prepare yourself in case the doctor gives you a shot. You should think about being brave."
Elise: "Ok, but he's not going to give me a shock."

We walked into the room and we weren't even in the door when Elise said to the nurse "I don't want a shock."

Nurse to me: "Are we doing a flu shot or FluMist?" (I see the heavens begin to open. I can hear the angels quietly begin to sing)
Me: "We can do FluMist?"
Nurse: "Yes"
Me: "YES!!" (Hallelujah!! The angels are now in full-blown chorus. My anxiety is gone, I am smiling. I love this nurse!)

A squirt up the nose and we were done.

Oh yeah...next week when I go in to get my flu shot I'm getting FluMist too :)