Vaccinations

Finnegan got his two-month vaccinations yesterday and he did pretty well considering the nurse gave him three injections into his thighs. He cried, but not too much and he was soon smiling when I sang to him while dressing him before leaving the Doctor's office.

After we got home he took a nice long nap because his body was working on processing those vaccines. But, after about three hours he woke up and starting crying really hard and I didn't know why. First I thought it was a dirty diaper, but he didn't stop crying after I changed it. Then I thought he must be really hungry and feeding him didn't console him. So, I tried everything bouncing him, patting him on the back, swaddling and nothing worked.

I decided to start all over. Swaddle, shushing, putting him on his side, swinging and singing to him. Nothing worked! I was getting desperate. Then I thought maybe he's hurting some where, so I checked him from head to toe and then I found it! His thigh that had received the tetanus vaccination was swollen and red. As soon as I touched it Finnegan screamed and he brushed my hand away with his little hand. I felt so bad because all this time I had been patting him on the leg during my efforts to console him.

Immediately I made a cold compress and applied it to his leg and that just made him scream even louder. I had to call the doctor and they told me that this was normal and to give him some children's Tylenol. After giving Finnegan a dose of Tylenol, I laid him down on his little bouncer bed and treated him like he had a broken leg. I left his little leg exposed so that nothing would aggrevate his skin. Then I consoled him by bouncing him, singing and caressing him until 40 minutes later, he said, "Ooooohh!" He smiled and that's when I knew the Tylenol had finally kicked in. Phew! What a relief, my heart was breaking and finally he was feeling better.

I've heard a lot of people say that vaccinating their children is bad for them and that they won't do it. I can't imagine turning my back on protecting my child from horrible diseases. For as much as Finnegan and I suffered during this vaccination episode, it is nothing compared to what one of these horrible diseases could do to him.

I love Finnegan so much that I will do anything, anything to protect him and care for him and getting vaccinations is just one of those risks that I'm willing to take on his behalf. In third world countries mothers clamor to get their children vaccinated and here some people think that vaccinations are part of a grand conspiracy of government intrusion. Who knows? The TRUTH is out there somewhere.

Oh, by the way, today he's back to smiling and cooing and his leg is just fine.