Today CootieBoy had his four-year checkup at the pediatrician. There was some confusion when they thought he was six years old, not four. Apparently when Denis filled out the initial intake form two years ago, he accidently wrote 2002 for CB’s year of birth – not the actual 2004. So when CB was two years old, he got his four-year vaccinations. Oops.
Fortunately, they have no ill effects being taken so early. Unfortunately, SC law requires they be administered after his fourth birthday, so he had to have them done again today.
The bulk of the appointment went well – he even had a vision test and scored 20/25 (yay!). He is in the 50th percentile on height, and 75th percentile on weight. His blood pressure was an adorable 105/60 (compared to my average of 120/70). He has grown 5 1/2 inches since his third birthday, and now stands at 40 1/2 inches tall. He was VERY happy to hear that! But the minute he saw the needles for his vaccinations he freaked and had to be pinned down to get the shots in his leg. Blerg.
I took him to school afterwards and headed over to get the rest of my root canal done. Turns out, they only did a partial last week and today was the finish of the actual root canal. I still don’t have the crown, which I thought I was getting today. I have a temporary filling. I have to go back to the dentist to get the crown put on – most likely next week during a lunch hour or something. Fortunately, I didn’t have to drop a dime today on the finished root canal.
Today’s process hurt mainly because I literally had my jaw stretched open for an hour. He put a clamp of some sort in my mouth that forced it open wider than I normally would have it, and when he finally finished an hour later and released the clamp I teared up from the pain in my jaw.
I’m still planning on heading to the movies this afternoon – if only to take my mind off the pain I’m feeling (and believe me – I’m feeling pain right now as the anesthetic wears off). Since I can’t take painkillers it’ll be nice to sit in a dark theater watching a comedy for a couple hours. Even if I can’t have milk duds.
I can’t tell you how bad I feel that he to take shots twice. In my defense, shouldn’t the doctors have questioned his age when he was two years old and he was supposed four and they were giving him those shots? Plus, if all his other records have proven to show him to be two years at the time, shouldn’t that have raised a red flag? I still feel so bad about this. Just hope he isn’t the way he is because he had shots too early in his young life. Almost sounds like we have a law suit on our hands if we want. Any lawyers out there in the audience?
When I was 6 we were in North Carolina getting ready to join my Dad overseas. Without saying why, my Mom took Marmie and me to the local Public Health Service clinic for our shots. As soon as we entered the lobby I could smell the rubbing alcohol, and my first panic attack ensued. It took 3-4 grown-ups to hold me down for that first typhoid shot. By the end of the series, several weels later, and which included typhus, tetanus, cholera, and yellow fever, I was lifting up my arm for the nurse. But the fear remains with me still–I don’t get flu shots and I need, require, nitrous oxide, before I get the novacain at the dentist’s.
Oh, I do remember getting the shots but I don’t remember your battle with the nurses! Those shot series were torture… we had to do it again when we went to Paris and then repeat them when we came back to the US.
Denis – what do you mean by “the way he is?” He’s a typically smart, fun, energetic, four year old little boy.
Just kidding. He’s a good kid. Just has a bit of a temper from time to time. Maybe you have noticed the throwing and slamming of Wii nunchucks and bouts of biting and hitting children at school. He is a charmer most of the time. At least half of the time. But I love him no matter what he does.