The blasted "shocks"

Today was, unfortunately for me, the day for Maya's annual well-child check up.  I have spent the last week prepping her for this appointment by weighing her on the scale, measuring how tall she was, pretending to look in her eyes, ears and mouth with a flashlight, and listening to her heart/lungs/belly with my stethoscope. I thought we were golden!  She was so excited to go to the "docker!!"

Aunt Ashley came over to stay with Jude for us........& having survived this experience, I'm so thankful that we enlisted her services.  Maya bid Aunt Ashley a hurried and happy "good-bye" as we were leaving.  Ashley and I joked back and forth about how we hoped that her excitement would not be short-lived.  We should have maybe said a prayer or something.

Upon arriving at the doctor's office, we put her name in with the receptionist and I told Maya we had to wait until the nurse came through the door & called her name.  Then, out of nowhere, Maya says "I smell shocks (shots)." She smelled them?? What in the world? What does a shot even smell like?? Maybe it was the smell of fear.  It all kinda went downhill from there.

As predicted, the nurse came out & called her name, only to be greeted by a not-so-nice version of my once excited daughter. I had to carry her back to the exam room, remove her coat & shoes for her, stand on the scale with her, hold her down to be measured (instead of standing against the wall to be measured since she refused) and then hold her as she sobbed for the entire exam.  THEN WE GOT 2 SHOTS to finish out the visit with a BANG!! What a great time had by all!  For all you mommies that feel so bad taking your little babies in for their first, second and even third round of immunizations........suck it up, cause you've got nothing on me!  You haven't known guilt until you look in the eyes of your 3 year old who is telling you "They hurt me, they hurt my legs, I don't like shots, etc."

So, do I feel like supermom today?! Yes! Not by making my child happy...no, no, no....... but just by helping her to find that inner strength to move on after a scary experience.