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Just hold her and love her. And be sure to have some baby tylenol in case she starts to run a fever afterwards. Some do, some don't. My oldest (wasn't BFed, btw) ran a fever for about 24 hours after, every single time, and was cranky, whiny and clingy the rest of the day. My youngest (whom was breastfed) took it like a champ, never ran a fever, and was over it within about five minutes, with no crankiness. Idk if being breastfed has anything to do w/ it or not, but the ped said it could have.??? And there's usually a packet or pamphlet the nurse/doc will give you afterwards with info on the shots, and any side effects to look out for, which ones are normal, which are not, and if/when to administer tylenol.
Good luck!
Hopefully, your office will let you hold her. Our first pediatrician used to make us hold Addie down on the table, and that was much worse for us and Addie.
One thing we do is to dress her as much as possible before the shot. When she was really little, we'd put her in sleep n' play outfits and just leave it unzipped. It can be tough to dress a baby who is already upset about shots, so the less fussing you have to do to get out of the doctor's office afterward, the better.
We also try to distract Addie during her shots. I usually hold her on my lap, with her left leg (where they'll give the shots) between my legs and her body turned to my right side. My husband sits by my right side with a favorite toy or new, interesting object and distracts her, while the nurse gives the shot from my left side. She still gets a little upset, but that strategy works pretty well. Also, when she was very little, we used to give her a bottle right after to help her calm down. She doesn't comfort suck anymore , but Baby T is young enough that nursing or a bottle might work.
I know it's ridiculous but I was worried about holding her and her getting upset that when mommy holds her she gets pain. But I nicked a tiny piece of her finger when I was cutting her nail the other day and she yelled at me for a second and then was over it, she yells more about being tired.
@troubled: Ah, I know it sounds irrational, but we all have those irrational moments. :) Babies don't make those types of associations until later (if I remember right), so you don't have to worry about her associating you with pain. Comfort her the best you can, and it will be over very fast. The first time is always the worst, but it really is over fast. Hugs, you'll be just fine.
All you can do it hold her and make her as comfortable as possible. I just tell myself my son wont really remember... Its hard its so hard when they cry, but its worth it for them to get the vaccines they need!! After she gets the shot just give her some infant tylonal and she will prolly want a nap. She will be fine and so will you. Good luck!!!
I suggest getting baby dressed as much as possible before the shots so you aren't trying to dress him while he is crying. Either nursing or a bottle directly afterward so they can get the comfort from sucking and lots of cuddling. My pedi had not problem with letting us stay in the room as long as we needed to calm my son down. For the 2 month vaccines, DS slept on me the rest of the day. Lots of nursing and sleeping but he didn't want to be put down.
We gave a dose of baby Tylenol before the shots. (But not RIGHT before, they do have an oral vaccine too at that age.)
She was upset for about a minute, then it passed. But every time she gets shots her legs are sore for a couple days. I would avoid holding her in any way that clamps down on her thighs. (Our sling was doing that and I didn't notice at first.)
Baby J just had her two month needles a week ago... I breastfed her during them and she was fine. She didn't even notice the first one, which was in her left leg. The second one was in her right leg (they gave us a minute in between, and I just switched breasts), and the nurse said the second one hurts more because whatever is in it stings. She let out one cry, and then she was fine.
About two hours later she woke up screaming her little heart out. The nurse said that could happen - that she'd wake up and her leg would hurt - and to give her Tylenol and a cold cloth on her leg. It worked wonderfully, but the Tylenol took about 30 minutes to work and to be honest if I had it to do over again I would have given her the Tylenol after the needles to prevent what happened. I gave her one dose when she woke up upset, and another 4 hours later and that was it.
So I guess my advice is distraction during (if you're breastfeeding that oughta work!) and Tylenol as a preventative/response measure afterward. I hope it goes well... crying when you know you can't really fix it has got to be the most heartwrenching thing ever!!
I also gave the munchkin a dose of tylenol before we headed to the Dr.'s office (about 45 min before his shots). and I tried to plan them around right before his nap times so generally he'd cry for a minute and then fall asleep before even getting home. Only a couple of times did I have to give him another dose b/c he was cranky or sore.
The last shot they give is always the worst... generally the first goes real smooth, but the actual vaccine they give last is thicker and hurts more.
I am deathly afraid of needles; to the point of almost passing out when I see one, so when my kids were babies and getting their shots, I made the nurse take them without me, so I wouldn't pass my fear to them.
That way I got to love on them before and after and they wouldn't associate me with the shots. Baby Tylenol worked to best for my babies. I would give it to them right after their shots and then a couple of hours later and they did just fine.
I also made sure not to feed them for at least an hour before their appointments because if they ate, they would spit up, but I did nurse them after.
I've heard it's much worse when babies are toddlers/children! Kayla just had her 3rd set of shots and she was MUCH better!!! Nursing her afterwards helps and usually just cuddling with her after helps calm her down! You'll get through it...remember it's much worse for you than her! :)
To add to my earlier post:
My DS is 7 now and I've NEVER had issues with him getting shots. BUT he's always known that he was getting them & that if he fought it then they would hurt worse than if he just sat and let the nurse give them... then we'd usually go out for ice cream afterwards.
I worked in the hospital as a phlebotomist for a while and saw that when parents were completely honest with the children the whole thing went MUCH better than those that when asked "is it gonna hurt" responded with "no".
I know she's too young to know now but with future shots I can guarantee that as long as her trust isn't violated and she knows what's going to happen, that she'll respond much better.
So the getting shots part wasnt so bad. She was in her happy playtime mode at the drs. Even though the nurse didnt want us to hold her she was still happy playing on the table. The first shot I think she would have been over in 5 seconds if there werent more to follow. But as soon as she nursed she was over it and fell asleep.
She was sleepy for several hours then woke up really upset. Baby tylenol calmed down the tears but she was sleepy/ fussy all afternoon and evening and had a low fever. Today she doesnt seem upset anymore and no fever but still a little sleepy maybe a bit more irritable than normal.
So not too bad but the after part was worse than the actual shot part for us.
I was a pediatric nurse at an office for 3 years and I know she already had her shots but I thought I give some tips. First make sure they give the Rotavirus first (oral one). A dose of tylenol before the appointment is good to. When I gave them I actually encouraged the parents to distract them by holding their hands and kinda cuddling over them like kissing their face at the head of the table bc it definetly was less fearful to them then with just a stranger holding their legs down. And yes, having them dressed as much as possible beforehand is much easier on you!
@troubled: Kayla is a little more cranky the day or two after her shots as well. I have figured out that she is sore at the injection sites for a few days because whenever something puts pressure there, her face scrunches up like it hurts and sometimes she tears up. That probably makes me sounds like a bad mom but I wanted to figure out why she was a little fussy. :)
So studies have shown that giving tylenol prior to shots decreases their efficacy... so I couldn't recommend that... but what I can recommend it planning with the MA to breastfeed as soon as the shots are completed. It worked really well for us and she scarcely cries at shots now.
@Mrs. DG: I didnt realize theyd done that study though I knew in general that fever reducers mess with the immune response a bit so we waited about 6 hours after the shots before giving her any tylenol. Around 6 hours she wouldnt be comforted back to sleep and had a bit of a fever and a lil red leg so my mommy side took over. At that point she was responding and even with the tylenol she kept a very low temp so I think she got her protection hopefully.
Here's a link to a summary of the study if any ones curious
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/16/health/main5388197.shtml
or the abstract of one of the studies
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)61208-3/abstract
@troubled: Thanks for posting about this. Baby Smushface goes on Monday and my husband has to take him (I'm working) so while he won't be able to nurse I told my husband to take a bottle even if Smush has just eaten.
I feel bad that I won't be able to be there but I'm kind of glad I don't have to see him get upset (isn't that awful??).
@camrie: Best wishes. I was actually tempted to go hide and just let my husband hold her but the shots themself were really not that bad, your boys will do just fine, though definately have him have that bottle ready. But there was lots of fussing in the evening and even a bit the next day, you may have to rescue your husband from sad baby after work.
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So my 2 month old is going to get shots tomorrow at the pediatrician.
Any advice for making her feel comfortable either during or after. I'm sure she's going to scream and look at me like why you do that to me, and that's going to make me want to cry.