My fear of the pediatrician...

When I was 7 years old, my 4 month old sister, Angela, passed away due to complications from her recent vaccinations. As sad as that story is, it was not until I had children of my own that I realized what an impact it has had on me. Yesterday, Jay and I took Emma in for her 2 month appointment, the first of several scheduled in which she'll receive her vaccination shots. Emma was a champ. She cried at the initial shock of the needles, but stopped fairly quickly and spent the majority of the rest of the day "sleeping it off." I, on the other hand, was a wreck. I watched her carefully all day, checked her breathing and temperature often, and was generally on edge. Nighttime was even worse - for me. I was up often fretting about the lack of noise coming from her room, and got up twice to make sure all was well. During my wakeful hours, I thought back to when Cody had his vaccinations. Was I this neurotic then? Did I behave this way every time he was scheduled for vaccinations? The answer - yes. Chances are I will react this way each time one of my children needs to see the pediatrician for routine vaccinations. But fortunately, chances are just as good that my fears and neurotic behavior will come to naught each time. As you can see, Emma is doing just fine (and so am I)!