You have to love shots. I guess it is a good thing that kids, well at least young ones, don’t have the concept of what needles are. They do learn quickly though that the syringe is the bringer of pain and doom. Too bad as well that the dispenser for a shot looks needlessly similar to those suspension syringes that come with most liquid medicine for kids. Coincidence…Sure.
Violet checked out and was given the stamp of good health, despite a raspy cough and runny nose, by the docs for her eighteen month checkup. She was a good sport during the typical wait, having an ink pen and a few magazines kept her fully entertained – a wait without incident is worth so much more than worrying about whether the next parent or patient can read the six month old copy of “Parenting”.
It has been confirmed again that Violet will be tall, of average weight, with a properly portioned head. Measuring in on the same curve as previous samples she is at 80% in height and 42% in weight with a circular noggin at 30%. Although the way she squirms on the tape and scales I think there needs to be a standard deviation in there somewhere – or at minimum some margin of error at +/-5%.
Once the typical poking and prodding subsided I learned that V is quite the talker compared to others of the same age. Certainly this came as no shock to those that rear her as we see her continuously make up for the conversation that her elder sister squelches. After the pleasantries though came the needles and three sticks in the leg. Admittedly we tricked her a bit. I laid across her midsection securing her waist and arms all the while cooing and talking to her while the nurse prepped the needles out of site with full access to her legs. Smiles abounded and maybe a giggle until her face erupted in that “daddy what the hell – you were just smiling and now my leg is on bloody fire” look and tears began to leak from her eyes before the entirety of her breath made it all the way into her lungs. By the time she cried the shots were done and the tears lasted only as long as it took her to get distracted with her new bandages.
