I brought baby J to the polyclinic for her next vaccination according to the National Childhood Immunisation Programme (NCIP) made compulsory by the National Immunisation Registry of the Health Promotion Board. She has already completed the 1st doses of her 5-in-1 and PCV shots and is ready for her 2nd doses of both. 5-in-1 injections combine 5 different diseases into a single injection while PCV or Prevenar is a vaccination against Pneumococcal disease. The latter has recently been included into the NCIP and parents are able to pay for it using their Medisave.
Baby J slept for most of the morning and woke up cheery and playful. While I was speaking with the nurse, she laughed and giggled loudly while her dad and 奶奶 played with her.
Then it came time for her shots. The nurse smiled and told her don't worry it'll be over soon. Baby girl thought she was going to play with her.
Until the needle went in. She yelled for a little but then stopped, thinking that the worst was over. That's when she saw the nurse preparing a second needle just like it. The look of horror in her eyes.
When it came time for the 2nd injection, she squirmed and screamed like crazy! But it wasn't a scream of fear, it was more of anger! Like she couldn't believe we were putting her through the pain again!
"Ahh, she sounds really angry," said the nurse, "she's really smart! She knew I was going to inject her again."
I cannot believe the difference a month makes. Just a month ago, she wouldn't know the difference between one injection or two. Now she can drink from a cup with assistance, 'sing', sit with little assistance, etc.
I can't imagine how she will act when she gets her injections a year or two from now where she can actually say how much she hates it. Yeah, I'm so looking forward to that..
