@davidschmitt Just have a bottle or prep to nurse immediately after. My son wailed for a fraction of a second, which of course was hard to see, but as soon as it was over we swooped him up & gave him a bottle with extra cuddles. Instantly was fine & forgot all about it.
@annelisethomas At my last round they let me feed my LO while he was getting his shots. He let out a single quick cry and was then immediately like “oh nvm, food!”. Made the process much less unpleasant.
@annelisethomas Yes! Our doc has us give a bottle before, she stops to cry after second shot and goes back to it quite quickly! It’s still no party but it’s better than I imagine it could be.
@siana Same here! It’s horrible to hear that scream BUT think how many injections they’d need if they got any of these diseases. I’m doing the kindest thing by giving him the vaccine.
@davidschmitt Remember, you’re good parents for getting her vaccinated. She will continue to be a happy, healthy, baby. She’ll forgive and love you. You’ll make it through. It’ll be quick and then you get to love on your baby until she’s calm and happy again.
@katrina2017 Definitely agree the risks of not getting vaccinated far outweigh the short term pain of getting them. Also you most likely don’t remember getting vaccinated as a baby, she won’t either!
@davidschmitt Ugh. We just did this about two weeks ago. My kid cried so hard after the first shot and then very angrily gave the lady a look afterwards and then proceeded to cry into my chest. When she went for the next shot my kid continued with his pissed off look again. I have to admit it was a tad funny knowing how much he didn’t like her. But of course, I couldn’t help it and I cried and swayed him and then he was fine but tired the remainder of the day. The only thing that makes me feel okay about it all is that I know it’s for his own good but also it feels as if it strengthens his trust in me to make him feel better.
@davidschmitt I used to cry just like you. But ever since my son had to get labs done for surgery, holding down a baby in hopes to get blood drawn from them, really does a number on you that when I went for his 4 month shots today, 2 weeks post op, I was totally unfazed.
His dr quickly put one needle in per leg and of course he screamed, but was totally fine 10 minutes later. In fact he napped great today. If he can survive blood work and be happy 15 mins later and sleeping, he can do it all.
He also had skull surgery, which I know is ALOT for most adults and was only given Tylenol to recover with.
Point is, they’re very resilient and she won’t even care very soon after. Have a baba and hugs ready.
@falerin Wow! Tough little guy having skull surgery. I hope he is recovering well
And I totally agree. After having seen my son hospitalized for 7 weeks (NICU stay) and needing literally countless IVs , feeding tube , breathing tube etc during that time I feel pretty unfazed by the shots. I’m also a peds nurse so am pretty used to it. It still hurts to see him cry of COURSE but I really have a “short term pain for long term gain” about medical stuff, especially vaccinations. So many moms throughout history would’ve wished they could protect their kids from these diseases
I do think parent reaction can have an effect too. Like not getting too upset yourself and smiling and saying aww baby, we’re all done!! And immediately feeding them or cuddling/bouncing/singing to them. I find at that age they do get over it pretty quickly and certainty won’t remember it!
Cheers again to your son and good luck OP with upcoming shots!
@davidschmitt It really sucks, when our little one was crying it hit me in the soul . But you have to get it done for your babies sake , make sure you pick up medicine for baby , lots of love.
@davidschmitt After my baby's 2 months shots, we immediately fed her a bottle at the pediatrician's office. For her 4 months shots (next week), we will do the same. It worked like a miracle. She cried for about 2 seconds. We had the bottle ready and warmed up before she got her shots, so as soon as the pediatrician was done, we just gave her the bottle, and she calmed down immediately. Also, during the shots, we would Shh Shh Shh her and hold her really close to us. That also seemed to work pretty smoothly.
@davidschmitt For his two month shots my baby cried so hard he pooped through his entire outfit (like up his whole back) and continued to cry for 45+ minutes and wouldn’t nurse or anything. For his four month shots he cried for 30 seconds and the was fine. For his six month shots he didn’t cry at all and was mostly annoyed I held his leg still for a minute.
I won’t lie, going into the four month shots I was super worried. Like was laying in bed awake dreading it the night before. I kept telling myself that even if he reacted like that again we’ve been through it and were ok so we could survive it.
@davidschmitt I think the best tip our doctor gave us was to quickly get her up and put her pants back on/leave the room etc to signal to her that it was over. She stopped crying after a few minutes bc we removed her from the situation. If possible, can your doctor make sure that the vaccine is the very last thing you do so there nothing to talk about afterwards, and you can make a quick exit?
@davidschmitt I have a phobia of needles so I just hand the kid to my husband. Better you than me, little bub!
Now seriously, if you're comforting her afterwards, even if she cries a lot (and gets cranky for a few days afterwards, but that's usually from the vaccine reaction) she won't stop being a happy baby. But I know it's hard. At 4mo, our protective instincts are still very much in overdrive. In fact, I've only found that to subside a bit when he hit 8mo and started bumping against everything, with subsequent crying.
And this shouldn't need to be said in this day and age, but good on you for vaccinating her despite that. Honestly.
@davidschmitt I've read somewhere that babies around that age can focus really on one thing. So when they hurt it helps to give them bottle. It worked like a charm for my son after his vaccination. He cried I gave him a bottle he was a bit of hangry and then normal.
@davidschmitt This is exactly me! I cried at the 2 month appointment and DREADED 4 month. To my surprise, it was much easier at 4 months. I still hated it but just being more prepared for her reaction must’ve helped me and she also stopped crying way faster. You can do it
@davidschmitt We just did this! We kept him on the boob during the shots and he cried for all of five seconds for each one. A little bit of face blowing helped snap him out of it, too. He was happily smiling at the doctor and had completely forgotten the indignity of being brutally stabbed in his chubby little thighs by the time the appointment was over. Seeing him get over it so quickly helped me get over it pretty quickly.
@davidschmitt How do you keep it together? In that moment think about her getting the actual illnesses that the vaccines protect her against. Picture that and it might help you remember that this is a good thing. I empathize with you that it's difficult but baby will encounter many difficulties in life. She won't blame them all on you and they're also unavoidable. Best you can do is keep a good perspective and console her.
and good luck OP with upcoming shots!