I'm a bit lax about taking my perfectly healthy children in for well-child visits, especially since we don't follow the CDC vaccination schedule (which is how the schedule for well-child visits has been determined). I didn't manage to get my kids in for their one- and three-year visits until last May. This year I thought I'd try harder to get them in on schedule, so I made appointments for their two- and four-year visits for today.
I arrived and the receptionist informed me that our health insurance wouldn't cover well-child visits more than once per year, and our last ones were only nine months ago. I could have our well-child visits for $240 or I could go home.
My fellow mothers: I just know you know how frustrated I was having gotten very broken sleep the night before (as always), packed up two little kids to get us out the door by nine o'clock, waddling along with my six-month pregnant body. They couldn't have told me about this problem when I scheduled the appointment on the phone?! Kvetch, kvetch, kvetch!!!
I opted for a shots-only appointment because I've been so lax that the kids are quite behind even our family's own delay-and-separate schedule. And now I won't go back till they are three and five years old.
Poor John: This was the first year, at four, that he was old enough to anticipate the shot, be terrified before, and be hysterical afterward. I had/have a phobia of shots, so it's important to me not to pass that on to my children. I was very calm, but did let him know it would hurt a tiny bit and be over very fast. He hid behind a chair and was crying even before he got his shot. Then he cried hysterically for ten minutes afterwards, crying so hard that he almost threw up. It was quite ridiculous, but I calmed and distracted him. I discovered toward the end that the critical cause of his hysteria was the Band-Aid placed on his shot. John is really scared of Band-Aids. So I took it off him and the crying stopped. Lesson learned!
And in true Gregarious Mary fashion, she introduced herself to every other patient waiting in the lobby and walked the circuit around the room, continually talking to them all.
My kids hate the band-aids too!! They'd much rather bleed than have one on. I hope the rest of your day goes better.
ReplyDeleteOh those band-aids!! Our oldest once managed to chew one off of her finger after a visit, nearly choking on it. I made sure they came off before we left on subsequent trips. With child #3, they took a blood sample from her big toe - which was no big deal until they put that bandage on her. Talk about incensed; she was livid! It took me forever to figure out what the fuss really was and as soon as that thing came off, presto - happy baby. Child #2 was my hysterical, hide-under-the-chair child, and I've been (too) lax about taking #4 in for much of anything other than sickness. And after reading this post, it's no wonder why I keep putting it off. For us, homeschooling has had the benefit of keeping everyone much healthier over the last few years.
ReplyDeleteBen and Anna are both the same with bandaids!! They aren't afraid of the bandaid but hate having them on. I gues find them uncomfortable or something.
ReplyDeleteOh my...vaccines at age 4. Emma has always fought them, but at her 4-year appointment, it was AWFUL!!! I had to physically restrain her, and because she was throwing punches at the nurse, we had to put them in her legs rather than the arm (like they will do for older kids). And she was hysterical for about 30 minutes after! Poor thing had a tough time walking for a day or two.
ReplyDeleteI felt like an absolute brute. And I was pretty traumatized myself afterwards.