Flu Shot...

This afternoon Alexander had his yearly flu shot. I had been prepping him that we were going to Dr. M's office for a flu check-up and he seemed fine with it. In fact he was even excited we were going. I didn't tell him about the shot until a bit before and even still seemed fine.

We were going to see Dr. D this time and Alexander was super excited. We played with his cars in the waiting room without incidents. It was our time and Dr. D came out to get us. She was very friendly and Alexander couldn't wait to follow her into her room.

We explained to him that he was getting a flu check-up and that he was going to get a shot in his leg. "Oh Mom" And with that it was over - it was quick.

And while he didn't actually cry, his eyes did well up and he looked so sad. Even Dr. D said that it was those moments that broke her heart where the kids didn't cry but looked so sad. Alexander just sat on my lap and then said "but Mommy it hurts". So Dr. D rubbed his thigh a bit & put on a band-aid and in about 1 minute, he was good as new.

I even got him to stand on the scale (a whopping 33.6 lbs)!

After the doctor visit, we went to McDonald's for a little treat and headed home. He fell asleep on the way home which was probably because he didn't nap at school. I expected to have a long night with him during bedtime since he fell asleep but nope...I was able to get him partially changed and in bed. He ended up sleeping for almost 11 1/2 hours!

Flu Shot - Part II...

Tonight, we had Alexander's follow-up appt for his flu shot. Judging by how the last appt went, I was a bit nervous but also sad for the little guy.

After I picked him up from school and he immediately asked if we were going to Target. I told him I needed to stop somewhere else first and his immediate response was "no, no Dr M". It AMAZED me that he remembered that is how I mentioned going to the appt last night. He didn't cry but he was whimpering & kept saying no.

I pulled up to the office and he sounded very sad with his whimpers but didn't cry. We walked inside, still no crying. We've already made a huge improvement over last appt! He let me talk to the front desk, and sit in the waiting room without crying or yelling to leave/go home.

Lee (Dr. M's wife) came in to say hi and Alexander did not cry. Then Dr. M came to get us and although Alexander held on to my arm pretty tightly, still no crying! Dr. M looked at me with surprised eyes! We get into the room and Alexander started to whimper again but not fully crying. I pointed out Dr. M's stethoscope which is also green. Then A pointed out Dr. M's mustache & glasses.

Then it was time to for this shot and this is when he started crying only because I was holding down his arms. But it was over before you knew it and Dr. M was putting on a blue band-aid and Alexander was THRILLED! Then he stood on my lap so we could get his pants back up, and he looked at Dr. M and said "thank you!" and slid down. Then he waved and said "Bye Dr M".

Dr. M was SHOCKED, reached over to give Alexander a hug & called him precious! Alexander was very polite & nice and waving to Dr. M as we were going...so hopefully next time he has to go he'll remember he wasn't scared last time.

It's that Time of the Year...

Normally, our doctor is relaxed about flu shots, doesn't really push them, as he feels they are more useful to the extreme cases rather than the average-joe-kids. Due to the current cold/flu season already kicking in and the concerns of H1N1, I spoke to the Dr to get their thoughts on whether or not we should get Alexander a flu shot this year. We have not given him flu shots in the past. The office said they were very supportive of parents who wanted to get the flu shots for their kids, especially with kids who have breathing/asthmatic issues. Since Alexander fell into that category, they strongly suggested we get it done for him.

So this afternoon, I took Alexander to get his flu shot with Dr. M. I picked Alexander up from school and explained that we could go to Target to get a book but I first had to stop at the doctor's office. He immediately knew. He got all upset and said he didn't want to stop at the office just go to Target. Once I pulled into the parking lot, he was sobbing & couldn't see out his eyes. I was hoping because we were on time that the wait wouldn't be bad but unfortunately Dr. M was in with someone. We ended up waiting for 20 LONG minutes, all of which Alexander was terribly upset & wanted to leave.

As soon as Dr. M came out to get us, Alexander freaked out. He hated going into his room and wouldn't let me sit down at first. He also fought me trying to get his pants off so much so that Dr. M had to help. Thankfully the shot itself was super quick and as soon as the bandaid was about to go on, Alexander was all smiles. He let him put on the bandaid, pull up his pants, and then he slid off my lap and said: "Okay, Dr, thank you have a nice day" just as if nothing happened. It was almost hysterical.

We were walking out and Lee just laughed at me and how quickly he rebounds! Unfortunately the flu shot is a two-parter so we'll have to go back in a month to finish. Hopefully next time there will be less waiting!