So the day did finally arrive for Kitty’s jabs. Since the hubby couldn’t make it to be at the hospital with us, my mum gladly agreed to accompany us. I needed someone there with me, main reason being that I didn’t want to be the one holding Kitty as the injection pierced him. That’s how courageous I am.
Kitty took the child-friendly vaccination option. At the hospitals they are known as ‘private vaccines’ as opposed to the government vaccines. I had never heard of the child-friendly option before, and I wondered what on earth they were. When I enquired the difference between the two, the nurses told me that the private vaccines have an additional vaccine that the government ones don’t have. I was also informed that the side effects of the child-friendly vaccine, if any, are extremely minimal (just like all mothers who’d gone for this option had told me). The nurse told me that it was unlikely he would develop any fever, and if he would feel any pain, it would be short-lived. Now that was music to my ears, and a smile instantly formed on my face. I certainly didn’t want to go through the drama of Kitty having a fever and yelling in pain for between 2- 4 days. That’s how much of a softie I am.
Oh and I forgot another difference between the two vaccines – the cost. The price of the child-friendly vaccine is SIGNIFICANTLY more than the government one.
I didn’t give Kitty a dose of painkiller syrup before the injection like many mothers had advised me to. Why? Because the lady at the pharmacy told me that if I was taking the child-friendly vaccine, then it would not be necessary to give him the dose. That it would be akin to drug abuse. That I should only give it to him if he was in pain.
Thankfully, my mum held Kitty as the injection was going in, and his piercing screams tore my heart apart. I felt so sorry for my little boy, and as soon as the nurse was through, my mum quickly gave him to me and I speedily thrust nyonyo into his mouth. After suckling for about a minute, he went into a deep slumber and woke up 2 hours later.
He then woke up for his regular feeds, and went on with his normal day to day routine. But it wasn’t normal for me as I kept staring at him, keeping him under strict surveillance waiting for I don’t know what to happen. But the I-don’t-know-what didn’t happen.
It was only when I was changing his diaper that I noticed him writhe in some pain as the ends of the diaper brushed against the spot where the needle had gone through. Panicking that he would start screaming his lungs out, I gave him the painkiller syrup then waited. And waited. And continued waiting. Nothing happened. No fever, no pain, no screams, no nothing. Phew!
It has been a week since, and I must say that I am glad I took the child-friendly vaccine. Maybe they should rename it ‘child-friendly and mother-friendly vaccine’. It was worth every penny I tell you.
