shot through the heart, and you're to blame

okay, so along with a zillion other people, i am a needlephobe. i don't like shots, blood draws, acupuncture, anything that requires getting poked with a needle. and i especially hate when i have to take one of my girls to the doctor to have any of the above done, because i'm a total wuss and usually end up crying just as much (if not more) than they do.

yesterday was no exception. i'd been dreading the bean's 2-year physical in a big way, because i knew that not only would she have at least two vaccinations, but would require a blood draw.

a freaking blood draw. for a two-year-old. how on earth was that going to happen? holy hell. and it wasn't like they could obtain it with a simple finger prick - they needed two effing vials of my baby's precious blood. oh mah gah.

i put off that appointment for as long as i possibly could, but when the hub got on my ass about it, i knew i had to make the call. and the day came far too quickly for my liking.

the bean had gone down earlier than usual for her afternoon nap, which was both good and bad - at least if she were cranky from being tired, she'd just get more grumpy with the visit and needle poking and just fall asleep in the car. oh, well. i managed to get her to take one of her dissolving tylenol tablets, while she held the other one in her hand on the way to the clinic.

kaiser's gone big, yo. i was impressed when i walked up to check her in at the receptionist's desk and found that they'd installed a check-in kiosk. i stuck her ID card in, touched the screen to answer a few questions, paid the copayment with my debit card, and got a receipt and confirmation of check-in within minutes. sweet.

we ended up waiting beyond her appointment time (of course), and while we sat in the waiting room, the bean watched tv - "jonas!" she pointed as the JB disney channel show came on. she chewed on her other tylenol tablet as we waited, and i hoped they would help ease the pain of the shots.

and you can laugh at me if you want, but i seriously felt weak from the moment we pulled into the parking lot. my heart was pounding, my joints felt like they were going to give out, there was a rushing sound in my head, and i thought for sure i was going to pass out. how great would that have been - me, laid out on the floor out cold. sheesh. the hub made fun of me as he always does, but i knew he was apprehensive about that blood draw, too. luckily, i held it together and kept a brave face on for the bean's benefit.

we were finally shown into an exam room, where the bean got to put on one of these cute little mini hospital gowns.

she caught sight of this, and i tried to distract her from it so that we could possibly use it later on, when she really needed to focus on something fun. unfortunately, we waited so freaking long for the doc to show up that we finally had to give in and sat her down to play with it.

it was weird not to have to use this thing to get her current weight anymore - instead, they'd had her remove her shoes and stand on a regular scale, just like grownups. yet another sign of my little bean growing up.

the doc finally showed up, and almost immediately, the bean began to whimper. she totally remembers what the sight of that woman means! damn. she wailed as the doctor checked all the usual stuff - eyes, ears, heart, tummy, legs. i felt so awful.

the hub and i worked together this time to help the bean get through her two shots - both in her upper left thigh - and as he held her close, i stroked her hair and we talked to her and told her how proud we were of what a good girl she was. she cried till she couldn't breathe, and my heart just broke - but i didn't cry. are you proud of me?

the stats:

height - 34.5", 55.7 percentile
weight - 28.1 lbs, 61.6 percentile
head - 19", 67.7 percentile

awesome. the bean is above average in all categories. hee! that's my girl.

after we held her for a bit and got her dressed, she got to pick from two lollipops i'd stuck in my purse for the occasion. she chose pink (of course!), and smiled through her tears. "better!" she said.

but it wasn't over. oh, no. not even close. the worst part was yet to come.

but she's a little trooper. yes, it was hard to watch. and of course, she bawled her head off the entire time. the hub held her close while i held her other hand and we repeated the routine that we'd just danced through in the exam room minutes ago. the nurse was super sympathetic and got through the process as quickly as she could, telling her how great she was doing and being as gentle as possible.

two vials of blood and a piece of cotton and sticky gauze later, i handed her back her lollipop. she accepted it with a watery smile and another proclamation of "better!" and the hub and i both slumped our shoulders in relief.

"owie," she said, holding her arm out for me to see.

in the car, she was upset when we had to take the lollipop again, but i managed to get her to trade it for my phone. she wasted no time in pushing the button, unlocking the phone, hitting the "iPod" button, and picking out a video to watch. this kid knows how to work my phone as well as i do.

we met up with the teen, who'd been picked up from school by MIL, and headed to coldstone to pick up a post-blood draw treat for the bean. well, and for the rest of us, too. heh.

i figured i deserved some "ice freeem" too, and happily dug into my mint/chocolate chips concoction. the teen sat at the table with me and worked on her homework as she ate her watermelon sorbet.

the bean sat in her chair with a bib and a little spoon, thoroughly enjoying every morsel of her sweet cream ice cream with m&ms mixed in. i turned on one of her videos on the computer, and she was one happy camper.

she survived the afternoon, and so did i. yay!