Dreading 4 month immunizations

[owensmommy]

Hi there,

I am dreading our 4 month immunization appointment tomorrow evening.  My husband isn't going to be able to make this appointment so I'll be going alone.  After his 2 month appointment he just cried and nursed himself to sleep.  Then he woke in the car on the way home and was a little fussy but no fever or anything. 

Does anyone have tips on how to make the appointment a little easier for him and me?

[Poppy & Lily]

hi

First of all {{{{hugs}}}}}} i know what it is like i have a huge phobia of needles so when i took DD to vacinnate i was a nervous wreck before i even got into the doctors

Luckily i had a great doctor who was very efficient and done it very quickly i found it helped not to look when he did them, also dd cried for all of 10 seconds and then she was fine and back to smiling. The thing at this young age is it hurts us more then them i gurantee you come the next day he would have forgotten all about it.  I gave DD some paracetomel when i got home as a preventitive to fever etc....but honeslty sounds like your DS handles it very well just give him a few extra hugs that day, like i said he'll probably leave the doctors smiling forgetting completely what has just happened.

HTH 

[owensmommy]

Thank you.  I think if it was just one needle I'd be okay but it's a series of three needles.  It's hard to watch it once but three times is just too much.  Hopefully one day there will be an inhalled form of injection as is becoming popular for diabetics.

[Erin M]

My ped always told us that if you give Tylenol an hour before they're supposed to get the injections it works best, as it's maximum effectiveness kicks in an hour after you give it.  It's tough to watch I know, my DD had 4 shots at her 2, 4, and 6 month visits  - made me so sad to watch it.  It'll be ok though, even if he has a rough day or two, he'll be good as new soon.

[lucmom]

We also did the tylenol before visits and nursed in the office right after the nurse left after giving the shots.  I always just look right at my LO's face, and remind myself that he's taking his cues from me, which helps me keep from grimacing and wincing and instead smiling at him and telling him how brave and amazing he is. 

Once home, we gently massage his legs to help prevent soreness and the dr. suggested doing warm washclothes on them as well if he seems uncomfortable.  She also ok'ed another dose of tylenol before bed too, to help himthrough the night for discomfort and/ or fever.

It really does sound like your LO handles it well -- good luck tomorrow!

[owensmommy]

I thought I'd post back with an update on how the immunizations went since it looks like quite a few people are reading this line of posts.  At the first needle my ds cried - then he calmed a little but the second sent him into a tailspin.  Some jingling of a bell (by the nurse) and playing a mobile distracted him - he actually smiled at her and then broke out into tears with the pouty lip and everything!  The third needle (pneumococcal) was the worst - apparently it pinches quite a bit - this caused ds to lose it.  He cried and cried but holding him tight to my shoulder comforted him.

I stole away to a quiet corner of the office and nursed him quietly - at first he was crying to hard to feed but then he realized that it would bring comfort and latched on.  He quieted instantly and sucked away - the he looked up at me and gave me a great big smile.

All this to say - it was harder on me than him.  I thought about it all day and he got over it within 10 minutes of the first needle.  I'm still dreading the next round of needles (6 months) but who doesn't - it's hard to watch your lo in pain.  The nurse told me to always keep in mind that the momentary pain of the needle is much better than seeing a baby hospitalized as a result of a disease that could have been prevented.

I'll try to remember that next time we go.