Doctor Drama

All I can say is I’m so glad it’s over.  When we were still there after an hour and a half, I began whining right along with Nia.  She would say, “I want to go home.”  I would reply, “Me too.”

I’m just not used to being at a doctor’s office that long.  Our appointment was at 9:30.  We were there at 9:25.  We did not leave the office until 11:35.  I just don’t understand it.  As if being there that long wasn’t bad enough – the two nurses came in at the same time to give both Nia and Nate their shots.  It was a nightmare.

Nate went first.  The nurse told me to lie him on the table and hold his hands.  She then put her body weight on his legs and stabbed his little leggies 3 times with the needle.  Angry doesn’t even begin to describe his reaction.  His screams only made Nia totally freak out and she had been so great up until then.  When he started to cry, she started to cry.  I didn’t even have enough time to calm Nate or Nia down before it was time for her FOUR shots.  I wanted to be sick.

I asked the nurse if I could hold Nia.  She told me Nia would need to lie down too. I told her that if I couldn’t hold Nia then I would take her somewhere else to get the shots.  I couldn’t believe I said that.  I’m really not that insistent or anything – it’s just I couldn’t stand to have my babies hurting or scared.  She was really nice and told me I could hold her but she was just worried if Nia should kick or hit because the needle could break off in her.  I realized that with FOUR shots coming, holding her was probably not going to make it any easier.  (Besides Nia was already jumping off the table when she saw all the shots so I figured I would not be able to hold her flailing limbs through FOUR shots.)

I just feel so bad for Nia.  She was such a sweetie during the visit.  She carried her favorite stuffed animal dog (Joey) and did everything the nurse told her to do and how do we reward her?  Scare the crap out of her by making her witness her brother’s pain, then hold her down on the table and put a needle in both arms and both legs.

In the end, we all survived.  We actually went on to have a really great afternoon at the pool with Monica, Sophie and Will.  Nia kept her shades on the whole time and just chilled in some swimmies and her “two-piece” (as she calls it).  Nate was a maniac and kept fighting me so he could be free and hit the waves.  Our pool time really made us all forget about the hell we went through just hours earlier (but the FOUR bandages on Nia brought it all back!).

But that was just my take on all of it – Nia’s is below:

By the way – I plan on doing a phone poll of other area doctors and see how they operate (as far as typical visit lengths, shot procedures, etc).  I’ve also learned a very valuable lesson from today’s doctor experience – if you have more than one kid and only one parent present – NEVER EVER schedule their shots on the same day!  WHAT WAS I THINKING?