Flu Shots for Everyone!

I am not a gung-ho vaccinator. I totally get where the parents who don’t want to vaccinate their kids are coming from. All this ADD and autism have to be coming from somewhere… But my pediatrician is pretty open minded to my somewhat left of center medical views and managed to convince me that vaccinating is the single best thing I can do for my children’s health.

I guess the flu vaccine is optional, but they got that one, too. Me, too. I am a believer in the flu shot. Last year, T was the only one who wasn’t vaccinated and guess who was the only one who got the flu? Not me or the kids, that’s who.

Z and I got the flu mist. I think the nurse overshot my sinuses and the mist went straight down my throat in this sickly sweet stream. Gag! Z had better luck. She sniffed like she had the worst cold ever, but I guess that is how you are supposed to do it. I was too paranoid to blow my nose for the rest of the day!

Q got the regular ol’ shot in the leg. Turns out he had more of a reaction to the adhesive on the Band-Aid than he did to the shot. Yay! Now, if I could only convince T to get over his weenie fear of needles and get him vaccinated, too. I guess he snorts all kinds of stuff up his nose (allergy meds. What were you thinking?), so he would have no problem with the flu mist.

The kids got their annual exams out of the way prior to getting shot. Z weighs in at a whopping 36 pounds and is 39 inches tall. This put her at the 50th percentile for both height and weight.

Poor Q did not fare as well. He is truly a product of his parentage at 23 pounds and 31 inches. This puts him at the 25th percentile for weight and the 9th for height. This was so disproportionate that the doc re-measured his length because he just couldn’t believe that it was right. He is still young enough that they measure his head. 51 cm – which is completely off the chart. This makes me laugh because I also have a giant head. Q is completely taking after me in this regard.

The doctor had a conversation with Z to make sure she could answer questions and form sentences. He got so tickled with her precocious responses that he kept asking question after question, ending with, “What is your favorite yellow vegetable?” Z was stumped, so he listed a few: corn, carrots, squash... When he got to squash, Z put her hands on her hips and said, “Squash isn’t for eating! Squash is for decorating!” That's my girl! We have seasonal gourds on our kitchen table right now.

The doc allowed as how she was as well or better spoken than many six-year-olds of his acquaintance. My head swells! My children’s giant heads are filled with giant brains! Perhaps they will choose careers that will allow them to support T and me in our old age, as a cop and a teacher will be hard pressed to do so on their own. Good to know.