SHOTS!!

I have wanted to blog about taking Parker for his kindergarten check up last week, because it was hysterical. I knew it would be an ordeal, because two years ago he had a flu shot, that he was bragging to everyone about. But when he got the shot he looked at me with big eyes and said, "it hurts!" After that he knew what getting a shot entailed. So this year we did the flu shot that you sniff and we were all relieved that that was available. A lot less drama. Whew! Parker's dramatic personality is what makes him so funny but it's also what makes him hard to parent.
Anyways, knowing that he was going to freak out about the shots, I started getting anxiety myself about the appointment. I decided it would be best not to tell him about the shots before we got there. So when I picked him up from pre-school and we were on our way to Sylvia's I said, "you might have to get shots when we go to the doctor, but it will be okay." He said, "can't I do the sniff one?" Me, "nope." So when I picked him up from Sylvia's, he walked out the door and mumbled under his breath, "this is not going to be fun." I got in the car and tried talking to him about about it and he said, "mom don't talk about it." So we dropped Mitchell off with grandpa and we were off. The nurse took us back and weighed and measured him and checked his eyes and heart. Then she took us into the examination room and said, "the doctor will be right in. Please have him get undressed to his underwear." I looked over at Parker who had wide eyes and was frantically shaking his head. He kept saying no I am not taking my clothes off. I never knew this would be almost as traumatic as the shots for him. So with a little coaxing from me he undressed, but sat on my lap and had me covering him up with my arms. The doctor arrived and I could sense his uneasiness with talking to this woman in his underwear. She was great though. She had him spell his name, say his ABC's, and count to 10. He was quite proud to show her how smart he is. Then she checked him out to make sure he was healthy. Then she informed him that he would be getting three shots and the tears started. I had to hold him down and yes he was dramatic about it all, describing the blood as "three gushing red volcanoes." But he was very brave. We got outside and he saw a bench shaded by a tree and said, "wow look at that nice shade let's sit down and relax for a minute." Poor little guy. A couple of hours later he told me, "shots don't hurt. I just thought they were going to." We survived and glad to be moving on.