If someone asked me if I was a strong as a person, I would absolutely nod my head in agreement. Ask me if I'm strong as a mother, I would have to hang my head. I cannot, cannot, cannot be the one to hold my son down while the doctor pokes and prods him. I'm not sure if it has to do with my own phobia of needles or what it actually is.. perhaps I just refuse to be the person who pins him down (even though it is for his own good) to receive these needles. Enter grandmother!
The point of this post is to talk about needles, however. A friend of my mother has an [almost]one year old daughter, which came as a surprise after having a sixteen year old and this being completely random and unplanned. Whatever, "blessing in disguise" and all that entails.
With the exception of her first (maybe second?) set of shots, her daughter has not even gone to the doctor for as much as a checkup. To me, this is an absolute no-no, so I gasped in shock when I was told and questioned "why".
Apparently said mother (who's teenage son has already had these shots years ago, obviously) had taken her daughter to receive her shots, and afterwards she was very unresponsive. Unhappy, sad, wouldn't make noises, wouldn't laugh, etc. Luckily my son is "as strong as an ox" we like to say, and I have not even had to deal with the slightest bit of a fever after shots, just a little bit of crankiness and irritation. Point being, she now read into needles supposedly causing autism (apparently this was one case of a doctor giving his own vaccines in England years and years and years ago) so she refuses to let her daughter get them.
Out of curiosity, I asked my doctor today about the seriousness of these shots and "a family friend not getting them for her daughter". He stared at me so seriously and informed me "if public health finds out about it, the daughter can be taken away.. she won't be admitted into schools when she's older, and if something horrible (god forbid) happens, the parents can be charged with negligent homicide". I nodded my head, and told him I would pass on the information.
I know it's not drastic, I understand exactly the seriousness.. but as a mother I can only question why you would put yourself or more importantly, your child into that situation.
You yourself have claimed the needles never harmed you, your older child has had them.. he's fine. Many people around you have had them, their children, their children.. I don't understand why it doesn't click.
We are off for a nap, contemplating why some people are the way they are.
The good news is my big boy is happy, healthy, vaccinated and a whopping 20 pounds at 6 months of age. My little chub <3
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