Pain...

Forget about labor.

Today I learned that the most painful thing about having a child is watching them get their first shots.

I am arguably the biggest chicken in the entire world when it comes to needles. If it weren't for the stabbing back and stomach pain that literally had me begging for death, I never would have worked up the courage to get the 30 foot epidural. When Lola's pediatrician informed me that I would have to get both the seasonal flu shot AND the swine flu vaccine, I literally laughed in his face, then cried when I got to the car.

Pathetic? Maybe.

Call it what you will, but my irrational fear has apparently spilled over to my child as well. Lola, as far as I know, isn't afraid of needles. But the thought of something sharp coming anywhere near my baby makes me want to throw up.

Then there's the whole issue of broken trust. Lola looks at me like I'm the smartest, most beautiful, most hilarious human being in the world. No one else looks at me like that, let me assure you. Everyone else knows better.

So to hold her down on a table while a nurse in freaky scrubs stabs four needles into her chunky thighs was just not an option for me.

That's where Reece comes in handy.



I stayed for the weigh in and exam, then bolted faster than Jessica Simpson's movie career the second the nurse came in with the syringes.

I spent the next five minutes bawling like an infant in the waiting room.

The nurse came out to let me know the coast was clear, and asked me if I needed anything to help ease the pain. That's when I realized what a horrible mother I am. My baby is lucky to have a daddy that could sit by her side, hold her hand and swoop her up into his arms the moment the horrible "bites" were over.



Perhaps the most wonderful thing about having a baby is the fact that they seem to love and forgive you no matter what, even when you bail on them because you are a chicken.



I should mention that by the time I returned to the exam room, my girl was merely whimpering, despite these battle scars:



We've discovered the beauty of Infant Tylenol, though it makes Lola look like a bloodsucking vampire. Just in time for Halloween...



The only good thing that came out of this doctor visit was a trip to the scale. At 11 weeks, Lola girl weighs 12 lbs 3 oz and stands 24 inches tall. Again, WHERE did this child get her height?