Zoe, Immunized

Zoe recently was immunized to celebrate being 5. The kids are always asking me to remind them of the story when they were immunized, and they want confirmation- did they cry or did they not?

So, to set the record straight about who did what when they were five, Guy was the bravest. He relaxed his arm and kept a stoic face, although there were a few silent tears that leaked out. Xander was also pretty good about relaxing his arm, although I remember he was nearly hyperventilating with fear and required quite a bit of calming.

Zoe set a new precedent as she worked herself up into a frenzy for 20 minutes before needle time arrived, clung to me while I held her on the table, clenched every muscle in her body, and yanked her arm away (even though I tried to pin it), causing an unfortunate scratch from the first needle. She screamed with terror and had blubbery tears running down her face during the shots (45 seconds?) then reduced to sniffles very quickly once it was all over. Of course, she had a few minutes to recuperate while we worked on Clementine, who was somehow totally unsuspecting even after hearing Zoe scream.

I do believe that often, the Mother's demeanor during immunization can set the child up for a cheerful or fearful reaction. I give myself full points for my level-headed comforting, smiling, and dry eyes. The nurse gets full points for giving Zoe an exorbitant number of pencils and stickers as a reward.

After all was done, we went to Culver's to celebrate Zoe's great health and try to wreck it all in one trip. She had her classroom's Corduroy teddy with her, and his adventures at the doctor were documented in his journal. He wrote to the class that unfortunately he could not get immunized himself because he was too furry.