Wednesday, March 26, 2008

New Parents' Guide to Babies

Tip Three: Even if you're not the emotional type, chances are you'll cry when you take your newborn in for his first vaccinations.

I started crying long before the imminent threat of shots was near - and that's not like me. I didn't cry when Josh proposed, when we got married, or when Grayson was born. I'm just not a crier. But put me in a room where my newfound love is unknowingly approaching a pain he's not yet felt, coupled with the fact that I'm the one enabling such a horrific experience, and my eyes turned into waterfalls. We got checked in yesterday, got Grayson weighed and measured, and sat waiting for the doctor to come in. My eyes started tearing up and the guilt I felt was almost overwhelming. I'm pretty sure my poor baby could tell something was wrong because he started fussing, making me even more emotional.

The pediatrician did his best to console me, but it wasn't until the nurse told me I had to 'be strong for Grayson' that I was able to pull it together and go through with it. Poor kid was just lying there, cooing at me while I held his arms down, when all of a sudden the nurse stuck a needle in his right thigh, his face registered shock then screwed up in pain, and he cried out. Actually, it was more of a wail, and he kept right on wailing through the second and the third shot. I felt terrible! Less than two minutes later he was totally fine, but I was still a wreck. Needless to say, he got an awful lot of attention from both Josh and I last night as we compensated for being such mean parents, and it seems Grayson has completely forgiven us. Thank goodness babies are so emotionally resilient. Too bad we don't stay that way.

3 comments:

Sara said...

Poor baby. But it's a heck of a lot better than getting polio! You're a good mommy.

The UnMighty said...

I cry if I even see a needle. So by my standards, you and your baby are pretty brave.

John-E-Boi said...

Just wait until they have to give him a spinal tap...

Parenting SUCKS