Uh-Oh! Flu Shot!

This evening, I took Jacob & Sophia in to get their annual flu shot. Much to my dismay, 50 other people scheduled to get their kid's flu shot at the same time...which means the wait was longer than I expected. As we waited, Jacob talked about how he was nervous to get his shot.

"I think I'm going to cry, Mommy", he said.
"That's OK, Jacob. We all cry sometimes."

Soon, it was our turn to go into the room. As I helped Jacob & Sophia get on the table, Jacob looked at the nurse and said, "I think it'd be best if you gave Sophia her shot first."

Poor Sophia...she had no words to object and so she was the guinea pig for her big brother. And she took it better than I expected...no tears...not even a flinch!! Way to go, girl!

Now, Jacob's turn. "I don't want to get my shot!" I pulled his hands away from his leg and explained that it couldn't hurt that bad since Sophia didn't even cry. But the second the needle touched his leg, he let out a wail! And boy, did he cry! As I helped him down from the table, he muttled through a stream of tears, "That hurt really bad!"

"Do you think it hurt because of the anticipation of the shot?" I asked.
His tears immediately stopped and he looked at me and said, "No. It was the shot!"

A few moments later, as we headed out of the room, I explained to Jacob, "Now, we're about to go past a bunch of kids who are waiting to get their flu shot. Instead of crying and making them scared, why don't you just say that it was no big deal."

"That sounds good," he said, letting out his last sniffle.

The waiting room was crowded with lots of kids. Just as we past a little boy, Jacob looked over at him and said, "It hurts REALLY bad!"

And as we exited, I could hear the panic spread through the doctor's office. So much for comforting others!