It's been awhile since Sebastian's first shots. Three and a half years in fact. So I was a little taken aback when the nurses at our new Dr.'s office pulled out the vaccine needles. You're putting those where?! She doesn't need an epidural!She screamed one loud, piercing scream with the simultaneous shots in each leg (two nurses present) and then there was the deep intake of breath that lasted a full five seconds before that second red-faced wail and the look in her eye that I should probably do something about those ladies with needles. And then the third shot. Thank you very much.
I didn't cry. I did want to slap the younger nurse who seemed to push the needle in further than necessary. I didn't mind when she couldn't get the machine to read Ruby's pulse on her hand or foot and had to bring in the second nurse to give it a try. I didn't mind when that nurse also couldn't get the machine to work because my three month old was so wiggly. I was a little surprised that it took them fifteen minutes to give up and do it the old fashioned way with a stethoscope and clock.
The best part was when we were shown to our room.
Young Nurse: "What's the reason for your visit?"
Me: "We had a home birth and are now needing to start her well baby visits with a Family Practitioner so we can get her shots going."
Young Nurse: (long pause) "Like...an accident? You accidentally had her at home?"
Oh, boy.
xoxo,
Rachel
48 comments:
so funny:)
my sister in law has gotten the same type of response when she tells people she had her son at home...she likes to respond with things along the lines of "well i was planning on having him in my tree house but my hose wouldn't reach"...
<3
Rachel, what a drama. HUGS because you could most likely do with some after all that :)
Karen xx
Ugh I hated the shot portion of baby visits. We finally put our foot down and said they got one shot, just one per visit and it couldn't be a combo shot either. I got worried reading possible side effects and kept thinking that they just gave my baby five shots, two of which were combos. How the heck would I know which one caused the reaction?
Poor baby :(
So sad to watch your baby get shots! We're doing selective, so it makes it a bit easier.
The home birth comment cracked me up. :D
I think it's so great that you had her at home!
I'm planning to have my next at home (my mom had her last 4 of 8 births at home). It's always entertaining to see people's reactions. :) Good luck!
oh snap.
i hope you opened a can.
i'm glad ruby's home and happy (i hope)... the worst is over.
:)
Oh wow.
Our Henry just had his 6 month shots. We are happy to be done with them for a while!
LOL! ummm, no, nurse.
Yikes. Those vists ARE THE WORST. Always made me extra extra glad to breast feed..the minute the shots were over I scooped my boys up and nursed them. I didn't care if we stayed in the room for the next hour :) Hoping for a good night for you all..I know sometimes the few nights after the shots are a booger :(
oh that poor young nurse, doesn't have a clue :)
geezey pete sister, I bet talking to that nurse was like talking to a wall... !! Plus, poor little Ruby can't get a break huh?? I just hate the shots, it always hurt me more than it does the boys... I hope she is feeling ok...
on accident?.. haha!
oh how I hate having to hear that scream with the shots. I recently went with my friend who is a single mother to her daughters first well baby appointment that she needed shots... at least the nurse was nice.. but it's still so hard to not want to slap them. :)
L. O. L.
tara - scoutie girl
Really? Some folks. Hope little Ruby (and mommy) are feeling better!
My 6 month old is due for her shots too :(
LOL at the clueless nurse, you must share your response!
you had a homebirth?? yeeeaaaah~~~
ok so now i'm really a fan! i've had 3 homebirths...the most recent was 8 weeks ago :)
i LOVE the comment about home birth's, did she not go to uni??!!! home births are less stressful then hospital births and i cant see why its such a strange thing, after all 50 years ago everyone would have had a homebirth!!! i think they should be encouraged!
sorry to hear about little ruby and her shots but glad to see she has a caring mum like you! x
been through that twice and it never gets any easier. It was harder when my little one was four.
Gosh I want to slap that nurse and Ruby's not even my baby!
home births... yep, they do happen...and on purpose!! lol
That's a classic!
We ended up having to pay for Seb's newborn checks because our gp wouldn't do it cause i'd had private midwives!
At least she looks happy in the pic! :)
Hahaha to the nurse's comment! My sister had my nephew at home, and she gets the *weirdest* comments about it. Really people, it's a baby, not an appendix.
thank you for the laugh this morning!!! because why would anyone want to have a baby at home?! its amazing to me how some people make it through life! your girl is so so sweet:)
oh wow. That's so funny (well, the accident" part, not the shots! Poor Ruby).
My oldest bug took the shots like a champ, and practically had that "I am NOT going to cry in front of these women" look starting at 12 weeks old. My little lady, however, has no inhibitions. :)
Sarah M
oy. people can be so silly.
-kel
dumb comment by a dumb nurse.
oh boy is right..hated those visits
you'd think I had it down pat with that 5th one..I remember when the nurse acted all giddy like saying "So todays the day you can start her on some baby food.."..just thinking to myself this kid been strapped and propped up in her high chair with pillows sitting with her 4 siblings eating nothing but tabel food for months!
Oh man, shot's are just no fun...
I just "love" peoples reactions. Funny with my first baby I was the only one with a midwife in a room of 30 couples, then with baby #2 I got the home birth reaction a lot with her, like I had three heads or something. Not so much with my third baby, I think people here in Canada, and more in BC it is becoming more know and now everyone I know that is pregnant or is thinking of having a baby is going to use a midwife and maybe have a home birth because I introduced them to it and I shout to high heavens how wonderful it is. Good for you my dear for choosing homebirth!
by accident? Here in the Netherlands the response would probably the other way round:
Your child was born in the hospital? Was something wrong?
That's the reaction I usually get when I tell my friends that my brothers were born at the hospital, instead of at home. And yes, something was different: one was late and had the be induced, and the other two are twins.
i know. i had the same feeling with Soul last week! My poor baby turned as red as a tomato!
Hah! Oh, goodness. Did she have the 'this is the first time she's seen a doctor??' look on her face as she said that? lol.
Oh my. I think I WOULD have slapped her. haha
wow. you must live in a place that's far too conservative for their own good. kudos to home birth - i only wish i'd had the stamina (read: tolerance for pain) that women who home birth have.
and i have to admit, when marley got those first vaccines (and even sometimes still) - i cry.
best,
tara
http://elanvitalanthology.blogspot.com
your little Ruby is just a gem! so, sorry you had to go through all that drama. i myself did not receive any vaccinations until i was 18 and leaving the country for India. my husband and i have also chosen to not vaccinate our daughter (now 9 months old). we may decide to get her certain shots in the future; we'll see.
if you're interested in learning more about what led us to this decision, i recommend watching/listening to this talk by independent researcher, Mary Tocco:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6351515212287981735&ei=WLZxS73WKKWgqQONstHFBg&q=mary+tocco#
Liz,
Thanks for the info. I've done a lot of research and listened to both sides of the vaccination argument since Sebastian's birth and while I want to be sensitive to the autistic debate, I've seen too many articles lately that point to the fact that it may not be as factual as some scientists once claimed.
With the rise in children not being vaccinated for various reasons and the option to stagger shots so their little bodies aren't too overwhelmed, I'm willing to go the vaccination route.
However, I do respect why people choose not to. We're all trying to do what we think is best for our children, aren't we. As I told with someone yesterday who sent me some information about Mercury in shots, motherhood is tricky!
Due to a delayed birth certificate and an epic ice storm, our baby girl was almost 6 months old before we started her on her first well child/vaccination appointment. (My aunt is a ped nurse practitioner who looked her over a few times before that.) Our nurse looked at us as if we were crazy as well..."at home?!" It only went downhill from there. "What do you mean you just nurse her when she wants to nurse? How do you know she's eating enough?!" Wouldn't it be nice if there was less judgement and more support for each other in this world of ours?
OMG! Hilarious!! We were doing the 3 needles at once thing yesterday with my 12 month old... we have a really intense immunisation schedule her in OZ.... funny how the sudden appearance of the lollypop jar stopped the tears in a flash!
Poor baby.
At my daughter's first wellness visit, the doctor said that she had the biggest head that she had ever seen (followed by an explanation that it was probably genetic from the looks of my own head).
Sometimes doctors and nurses don't make situations any better.
Yikes! lol geez! Makes you nervous right!?
That picture of Ruby is just so beautiful! She's adorable!!
Oh Rachel! I love visiting here. It's such a great place and you make me laugh.
x
oh boy is right. lol.
xo, kl
Home births all the way :) Yay!
wow...that is funny and scary all at once...yikes!
Rachel,
thanks for responding. i hope i was not imposing. you are right, we all want to do what is best for the kiddies! and women who are willing to educate themselves inspire me.
thank you for sharing your mothering experiences on your blog, along with your other talents. it's refreshing.
<3
Liz,
Not at all. You were gracious in sharing your experience but since I hadn't previously talked about my stance on vaccinations and I know there are other mothers on both sides of the fence that read, I thought I'd take the opportunity to share more.
Thanks for your link. I love when women/mothers can make educated choices as well. It's admirable.
what?! it is 2010! i thought home births were common these days. I was born at home in 1985 and i dare say i will give birth at home too. it seems way more natural. that nurse is obviously stuck in a time warp.
I'm an registered nurse in Canada; I graduated from a two-year accelerated baccalaureate which included 9 months of practicum/hospital placement during each year of study. On behalf of all my nurse-sisters, may I extend an apology for your experience. Not all nurses are so daft and not all young nurses are so careless when it comes to patient and family centered care.
Unfortunately, years of university studies doesn't bestow all nurses with compassion or tact when dealing with patients of any age. Also, due to the global nursing shortage, a lot of bad nurses seem to be slipping through the cracks. In the end, these "bad" nurses are usually phased out of hospital or clinical settings.
I promise you this: the majority of us (nurses) are very well schooled in professional nursing ethics; both across the curriculum and into practice. We're trained under the guidance of senior medical staff during our practicum on how to physically handle patients, to help family access proper care, ensure that patients/family understand what is going on, administering medication, speaking to family and assisting (not influencing) them in decision making... the list goes on! Most importantly, we're taught to function on the concept that compassionate relationships between nurses and patients form a vital element of humanistic nursing.
Judging from what you wrote, these nurses don't seem very confident in the way they handled your little girl... I assure you, nurses like the ones you experienced won't be nurses for long.
I'm an registered nurse in Canada; I graduated from a two-year accelerated baccalaureate which included 9 months of practicum/hospital placement during each year of study. On behalf of all my nurse-sisters, may I extend an apology for your experience. Not all nurses are so daft and not all young nurses are so careless when it comes to patient and family centered care.
Unfortunately, years of university studies doesn't bestow all nurses with compassion or tact when dealing with patients of any age. Also, due to the global nursing shortage, a lot of bad nurses seem to be slipping through the cracks. In the end, these "bad" nurses are usually phased out of hospital or clinical settings.
I promise you this: the majority of us (nurses) are very well schooled in professional nursing ethics; both across the curriculum and into practice. We're trained under the guidance of senior medical staff during our practicum on how to physically handle patients, to help family access proper care, ensure that patients/family understand what is going on, administering medication, speaking to family and assisting (not influencing) them in decision making... the list goes on! Most importantly, we're taught to function on the concept that compassionate relationships between nurses and patients form a vital element of humanistic nursing.
Judging from what you wrote, these nurses don't seem very confident in the way they handled your little girl... I assure you, nurses like the ones you experienced won't be nurses for long.
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