Juggling Immunisation, Motherhood and a Twelve Year Old Daughter.
Being the mother of 3 boys and the sister of 2 boys did not really prepare me for mothering a daughter. I grew up being the girly girl in a non girly atmosphere.
My own daughter is a constant amazement to me.
Today we had to go to the doctor to get her an injection. Our doctor is such a wimp that he doesn’t actually do the injecting, he has a nurse on staff that handles it. He doesn’t want the children he treats to dislike him or mistrust him. So he never sticks them with anything sharp but gets the poor nurse to do it.
Flora is 12.
We see the doctor for a quick check up. She is fine.
Then the nurse comes to get us. No problem.
We enter her room and the child turns from the almost pre pubescent young woman into a 4 year old. I say 4 year old because that is the last time I saw anyone behave the way she did when getting a needle.
At the time we were moving between Tokyo and Jakarta. My then 4 year old son had never had a needle and since we were going to Indonesia needed every injection known to man in 3 sessions. The kid was a pin cushion by the time we actually boarded the plane. Not to mince words he was not happy and let everyone know.
My daughter on the other hand was only getting one shot. She cried, squirmed, could not sit down. She had to be held down while lying on the examination table by her mean mother.
I turned into my mother and started to tell her to just stop being silly and hold still. The nurse, the lovely charming nurse turned to me and said ‘Nicola, I’ll handle this’. In other words, zip it.
She then, talked Flora through deep breathing and took her to her happy place on a golden sanded beach before sticking her with the needle.
The happy place didn’t last very long once the needle went in.
We left with a tiny round band aid on the wounded arm.
All I could think was how I really need to look after her teeth because she is never going to be able to have a filling.
Read the original: Juggling Immunisation, Motherhood and a Twelve Year Old Daughter.
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