Revenge of the Shots

Two weeks left in the Dad Administration, and we've come full circle to that first week. That's right: today was Shot Day, the Sequel. Today's trip to the Doctor was, surprisingly enough, not as hard as that first one. After seeing how tough Ella was the first time, I was less apprehensive about taking her to get pin-cushioned this time around.

Of course, before we could get to the business of fighting off a gaggle of childhood diseases, there was the matter of the weigh-in. Here's Ella's 4-month Tale of the Tape:

Weight: 14 lbs, 12 oz (75th percentile)
Length: 26.25 inches (97th percentile)

This confirmed what Amber and I thought: that Ella's increasing girth has started to level off, even as she continues to grow taller. She's started the process of filling out some of that excess flesh. Ella's now 6 inches longer than when she was born 4 short months ago. As I type this, Amber just got out the tape measure from her sewing kit to see what that means in real terms. Put it this way: the distance from her knees to her feet is all new.

After the weigh-in came the Long Wait for the Doc, which, in pediatrics, is surprisingly not that long a wait at all. Our Doctor has some mystical quality about him, because as soon as he comes in, Ella lights up and smiles profusely at everything her Doctor does. With Ella's eyes, ears, and other faculties checked and questions asnwered, Doc left and the Longer Wait for the Nurse Bearing Needles began. Last time, Ella slept through this part. This time, she expressed her displeasure at not being asleep (her appointment was right when she is usually enjoying her morning nap). Amazing how the sound of loud screaming reverberates and amplifies in a tiny, carpet-less examination room. I'm sure everyone outside thought the wailing was by some kid who had just gotten her shots. Little did they know . . .

As soon as Ella finally calmed down, the Nurse came in. She verified that yeah, they all had heard her. Then it was Shot Time. I've now seen this procedure done twice, and still can't quite believe how quickly it's done and over with. I think this Nurse went even faster than the first one. When the first shot went in, Ella was already crying again about being awake. Even so, there was a definite elevation in intensity in her cry. But, before Ella took that first deep breath after that initial cry, shots #2 and #3 were already over and both bandaids were already in place! Carnival magicians have nothing on this sleight of hand routine. It was like watching a surveillance camera video at work, where everything is in fast forward. Unbelievable.

Once again, Ella impressed her Dad with what a tough little girl she is. Her intense wailing was over almost as soon as it started, and she quickly settled back down into the cry that merely says "I should be asleep right now!" She clearly has her Mom's high tolerance for pain . . . and not her Dad's. And no, there were no photos this time around. I caught more than a little flak from that, from multiple sources.