As we are driving in the car, I tell Taylor that he MAY have to get some shots today. His reply: "No, I don't need a shot. Shots hurt. I don't like shots." All right, noted little guy. All the way there he was trying to convince me that he didn't need shots. It didn't work.
The nurse calls us back to get the typical height and weight check(Third percentile, by the way. He's still on the chart. Whew!) The first words out of Taylor's mouth are "Am I going to get a shot today?" The nurse just smiled and said I'm not sure, I'll have to check. He makes small talk with the nurse. She laughs and tries to keep the shot conversation to a minimum. She tells Taylor she has to "go check" to see if he needs any shots and leaves. He plays around in the room for a little while and the nurse comes back. She peeks in the door and proceeds to tell me that he needs 4 shots today and has he had a flu shot? Um, four shots in one day is good for us. Just because he is 5, doesn't mean he needs a shot for each year he is alive. And I don't need that guilt riding on me.
The doctor comes in and does the usual health history type thing and uses the word "immunizations" several times. The good doctor doesn't use the s-h-o-t word, he says. Pretty sure Taylor didn't pick up on that. He did pick up on the fact that the doctor left the room and we did not leave. He did not want a shot, let alone 4! He even tried "hiding" by covering his eyes as he sat on the bed waiting. Maybe if I hide, they can't give me a shot.
The nurses came in and Taylor told them point blank: "I don't need a shot. I'm strong and healthy. See? No shots for me." The nurses did their best. I had to hold Taylor down by his arms. The nurses had him by his legs. His little face turned bright red as he cry/screamed I don't want a shot!. Apparently, there was a struggle with his legs. I couldn't tell you because I turned my head and closed my eyes when the needles came out. Some mom I am, huh?
After the nurses were all done, they said they would bring him some treats for doing good. The nurse brought Taylor four suckers. He grabbed those right away. He refused a bag of chocolate chip cookies because he didn't want a shot. She tried to give him 4 stickers(including Spiderman and SpongeBob) and he didn't want those either. Poor guy was very adamant about not wanting anything because he didn't want a shot. He couldn't stop crying. The little guy had been traumatized.
Well, any good mom knows that ice cream and milkshakes cure just about anything. So, I stopped at Sonic and got him a chocolate milkshake for his troubles. I think the picture says it all:
