Monday, September 27, 2010

shots (as in immunizations)

Today Iris got her 2 month shots.  I have varying feelings about immunizations in general, but we got them none the less.

Usually getting immunized has been only eventful at the time of the shot, but today from 2pm till 4pm Iris was crying.  A lot. 

It was so hard to see her in pain.  I tried holding her, rocking her, feeding her, setting her down, picking her up.  There was nothing I could do.  Nothing that seemed to relieve her discomfort. 

In the end, I settled myself in the old rocking chair that is in Evee's room, the one my mom passed on to me.  Evee hung out with us, snuggled up in bed on this rainy day. 

I realized there was nothing I could do except hold her while she cried.  As much as I wished I could do more, it was kind of reassuring to know that I could hold her and that was something.  We rocked for awhile. 

Sometimes I think that's all that can be done.  And it is love.  And even though we want to do more, wish things could be different, all you can do is hold another.  And, I'm obviously not just talking about babies and shots. 

4 comments:

  1. I agree. Once I FINALLY figured out what you're talking about, it made caring for Stella a lot easier. The pain is okay, the constant tears are okay, it's all going to be okay. :)

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  2. Jamie, I could picture you sitting in that old rocker with Iris and Evee entertaining herself on the bed.

    I hope Iris settled down for you. Poor little gal.

    Tried to call tonight... no answer. I'll check in tomorrow.

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  3. haha i love that you clarified at the end that this is not, in fact, truly about shots and immunizations :) but yes, you're right. it's something i'm learning more these days w/ the beautiful and broken people around me. there's a lot to learn about holding others when there's nothing else to do... and a lot to learn about letting oneself be held too.

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  4. Tears. It's not just about babies and shots.

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