After a lot of wait and stress and worry, we finally got our H1N1 vaccines. I had been calling the pediatrician every week to see if they received the vaccine and every week they say to call the next week. When I called this morning the nurse said that they don't plan to get vaccine until December. December?!
I decided enough was enough and started googling everything I could find about the vaccine and where I could get it. I didn't find anything helpful on ImmunizeColorado.com which is the website the nurse suggested. Eventually I found a (very small) article about a local grocery store giving the vaccine at some locations and one of them happened to be 10 minutes away! The clinic opened at 10am and it was already 9am. I didn't have much hope of getting there in time since I had heard of people waiting in line for hours to get their shots and some people being turned away. I called the store on the way just to make sure that the article was correct and they were really giving out the vaccine. The nurse who answered the phone said that they were giving out the vaccine only to those in the high risk category. I told her I had 17 month old twins. She said they were giving it to children 4 years and older. I said "Are you sure you don't mean 4 years and younger?" She said they could only give the vaccine to children 4 years and older. Company policy. She was kind of bitchy about it too.
I was so frustrated I wanted to cry. I was almost at the store and had to turn around, go home and start all over. On a whim I decided to call the other grocery store in the area. I asked them whether they were giving out the vaccine and would Sophie and Hannah qualify. They said they were giving the vaccine out to children 6 months and older so yes they would qualify. At that point it was almost 10am and I just knew there would be a line out the door by the time I arrived. I pulled into the parking lot, found the clinic and there were 15 people in line. I was so relieved.
We ended up waiting an hour (not bad). The clinic was basically one nurse and a room the size of a closet. It was very awkward because there was barely enough room for the stroller and no table for the girls to sit or lay on while they got the shot. I held Sophie in my lap and when the nurse gave her the shot Sophie started kicking so hard that the nurse lost her grip on the needle while it was in Sophie's leg! We had to physically restrain her in order for the nurse to give her the vaccine. So Sophie is crying and Hannah is crying because Sophie is crying. We decided to give Hannah the shot in the stroller since she was strapped in and it would be easier to hold her hands. We completely underestimated Hannah. She moved so fast that the needle came out of her leg and we had to do it again. The nurse felt terrible. I felt terrible. Sophie and Hannah were screaming. I can only imagine what it sounded like to the people waiting in line outside. It was all I could do to get them dressed and out the door. As I walked out I turned to the crowd and said "Okay, who's ready for their shot?!" And the nurse leaned out the door and said "Alright, I'm ready for the next one and I don't want any crying this time!" At least we could make a joke out of it. Fortunately both girls were fine by the time we got to the car. And they took an extra long nap later that afternoon.
There's nothing like a hot bath after a hard day.
Bubbles make everything better.
Taking a walk with Daddy.
See? They're fine.
Nevermind the bubbles...Daddy makes everything better!
