This post originally appeared in my old blog, www.the-alice.co.uk
Before today, if you’d asked me what I thought the worst job in the world was, I probably would have given a pretty standard answer. Bin men, portaloo cleaners (I’ve seen them in action at music festivals, urgh) chicken sexers, roadkill collectors… I now know I was wrong.
The person with the worst job in the world is easily the nurse at my GP’s surgery. Yesterday she had to stab 4 tiny babies in the leg with needles, Elfie being one of them. I can’t imagine how hard it must be to make these beautiful little ones cry so hard day-in day-out. It would break my heart.
The nurse was running about half an hour late and we were ten minutes early, so we had the pleasure of hearing the screams of all the babies going before us. Will had a last-minute work meeting so I was on my own, and by the end of the experience I don’t know whether the baby or I were more traumatised.
The appointment fell at her lunch time and I’d chosen to stretch her previous meal out a little while longer so she could have a comforting feed as soon as we got home. Naturally by the time we were seen she was screaming for milk as I was frantically trying to distract her.
As Elfie is still so tiny (around 10lbs at 2 months) the nurse used a finer needle than normal, but to my protective eyes it looked as big as the syringes I’d been jabbed with so often throughout my pregnancy. I hate injections, so it was painful for me to see the nurse coming towards my baby’s teeny thigh with the needle, and having to hold her still for the whole thing really was quite upsetting.
She had two injections – one in either thigh – both prompting massive screams and cries (from her, not from me, I bravely held it together) . As soon as we got home a feed helped calm her down but she was very clingy. I wore her in the sling for the rest of the day which helped her settle, but a lot more crying came that evening.
Our poor little inocculated girl is still out of sorts, again I am wearing her in the sling this morning for comfort, and I think a couple of quiet days are in order. I have 4 weeks to prepare myself for the next round of injections and am dreading them already.
Originally posted on my mumplusone blog.
Well done for getting though it, It doesnt get any easier as they get bigger and know what is cxoming
God, it's the worst, isn't it? I always cry when I take Seb to have his- the last lot he had at 16w was the worst…he was in his super smiley phase and cried his baby eyes out. He was all happy again 5 minutes later but it doesn't make it any easier on the Mums. Well done for getting through it, both of you!
Rx
Well done! I hope the next round isn't as bad for either of you
I had to give a little baby his jabs when I was doing my paeds rotation – he cried his heart out, then his mum cried. To say I felt awful is an understatement!
I know, it's awful. We have to go for a top up, and I keep on forgetting about making an appointment… x
I have just discovered your blog… Love. It.
I am now 34 weeks preg with first child (don't know the sex), married and living in Leicester, and will be 26 on Friday this week, and have read everything you've written from the start in the last hour or so!
Thank you so much for the helpful insights into mummy-hood… I'm pretty scared in some ways!
I'm in Leicester and have found that the mid wives have been so good and supportive, but unless you know the right questions to ask they are not so forthcoming with information!
I will be reading your blog regularly as you are a couple of months ahead of me and can give the heads-up on all that is to come!
I look forward to watching Elfie grow up – she is beautiful!
Take care
Susanna x
I make Ashley hold her for the jabs… I want to be unselfish enough to comfort her while it's going in without having a breakdown, but since she's very attached to her dad I assume that works for her too…