Shot Through the Heart

Could you willingly inflict pain on something that looks like this?


I know, right? Well what if it was for their own health and for the safety of our greater population?

This past Friday I bundled up my little princess and headed out for the pediatrician's office to get her first set of vaccinations. She smiled and goo goo'd on the way there in the car, blissfully unaware of what was to come. I sat in the back seat of the car with her and fought back tears of terror the entire way.

I know it sounds silly, but with the raging vaccination debate going on in the media and elsewhere these days, I was already on edge. I felt uneducated and unsure about the decision to vaccinate, and although I want to trust my doctor and the Canadian health recommendations, I still had an uneasy and not-quite-convinced feeling in the pit of my stomach that six vaccinations at one time for such a young baby was somehow just not right.

Top that off with the knowledge that even if the vaccines are for the best they were going to HURT her and it was almost too much for a protective new mom to bare.

Bella was smiling and playing kicky-kicky as the doctor prepared her needles. Crown told him that I was feeling very nervous and anxious about the shots and his response was, "Why? You aren't getting the needles."

The thing is though? I might as well have been. Not just getting the needles, but getting them stabbed directly into my heart. To watch my sweet, happy baby's face go from all smiles to shock, confusion and finally pain and fear was one of the hardest moments of motherhood yet.

My baby screamed and I cried but we all survived and all-in-all she took it like a champ. In fact she settled quickly enough for Crown and I to enjoy a nice breakfast in the diner downstairs afterwards while she dozed. I'm sure the dose of Tempra I gave her beforehand had a hand in that.

Now that we have the first set under our belts, and we survived without any side effects that I can recognize so far, I hope the next set will be easier. I think I have decided to trust our system and put the health and future safety of my daughter in their hands. They tell me that the benefits greatly outweigh the risks and I am going to believe that they are doing what's best for our babies. It's a big responsibility Canada. Please don't let us down.