Yesterday, we took Remington in for his 4 month shots. This post notes my thoughts on vaccinations.
Anyway, I didn't know how Remington would react to this round of shots since he's older. The first time, at 2 months, he cried a little bit, but calmed right down with a pacifier. This time, however, I came prepared. We gave him a little bit of Tylenol 30 minutes before hand, and brought his bottle. He took the rotavirus slowly. It's an oral vaccine and you could tell it tasted bad. Then came the shots. I gave him the bottle, partly to wash down the rotavirus stuff and to help soothe him for the shots. He cried a little for the first one, but quickly calmed with the bottle. Then, the second shot came. The nurse warned me that it would hurt him worse than the first. He was stuck with the needle and cried for quite awhile. I tried to get him to suck on the bottle, or recognize that it was in his mouth, but he was not having it. He finally took it and calmed down. By the time we left the exam room, he was smiling again.
Warning: Part of the following may come off as snobby, but please read on.
I wish we were able to get these shots at our regular doctor, but for some reason, we have to go to the county health clinic. This is not a place I want to take my baby to. I'm sorry if I sound rude, but the quality of people who frequent that place are not the kind I want around my son. Sitting in the the waiting room bugs me. A waiting room at any doctor office is probably full of all kinds of nasty germs, but a health clinic just seems worse. Also, the posters in the exam room are irritating. I'm sorry, but I don't need to know (by a posting on the wall) that I can only have a 3 month supply of birth control pills. I also don't need to hear about how a real man steps up and accepts that the kid is his (another poster). I feel like the nurses and staff assume things about us if we take our baby to the county health clinic. They probably think we're some high school aged punk kids, who got knocked up with a baby, still live with our parents, and don't have jobs or insurance. But, then maybe I'm also assuming that those kind of people are the only ones who go to the health clinic, when obviously that is not the case. I know, I'm being a bit hypocritical here, but this is just how I feel about it.
Landon and I have worked hard to get to where we are, and I truthfully feel like a county health clinic is beneath us. We are in our mid-twenties, well educated (I have my masters degree), have good jobs, insurance, were married two years before having a child, and try to do a good job raising him.
What made this trip to the clinic worse was the trouble we're having with Landon's insurance. It has taken forever for us to get Remington enrolled. They haven't paid for any doctor visits, vaccines, or even the hospital stay when he was born. We're having to pay for most of these doctor bills out of pocket, which is super difficult. My insurance is good, but it costs more to have Remington on my insurance rather than Landon's. So, because of this mess, the health clinic looks at us like we don't have insurance and are trying to get out of paying the bills some how.
I truly don't know how people pay hospital bills without insurance. I have some friends who are in this situation, and if you're reading this, how do you do it? How are you able to pay hospital bills or well baby checks? I guess this is why there's such a big deal being made about the health care crisis and system.
We're starting to get the insurance mess worked out, and in the mean time are having to deal with a very unhappy baby. Remington ran a mild fever for part of the day yesterday, and he was very sleepy and irritated for the entire day after the shots (which were at 9am). He's done a bit better today, but he's still sleepy and acts like he doesn't feel well. It literally breaks your heart to hear his sad cry. I have trouble holding back tears when he cries like that (and I don't ever cry). So, heres hoping to a better day today.
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