Can someone explain how this was "fun"??

So Jeremiah had his 9 month appointment yesterday, and I am really trying to figure out for whom, exactly, it was fun. (So you know who said it would be fun, both babycenter and then our Dr. mentioned how this appointment was different, and more fun, from the normal appts thus far.)

It started out alright--we striped him down to his diaper, and he was laying on the table and did a nice, long stretch, which was perfect for measuring his length (29 7/8 in! Almost the big 3-0!) And then it was weight time, and now that he's a big boy, he got to sit up on the scale instead of laying down (24 lbs, 12 oz! He gained 4 lbs in less than 3 months!) which he was cool with, because he got to play with some nice vertical blinds. So, so far, so good.

Oh, and I guess they do a urinalisys at this appt, but you can't ask a 9 month old to pee in a cup, so they, uh, taped a bag around the, uh, appropriate area, and left it hanging outta his diaper. It was quite a sight to see, him crawlin' around with this "bag o' water" hanging outta his diaper... Reminded me of something from the "Jack-donkey" movies. Anyways.

So Dr. Atiyeh comes in, and is checking him out. Jeremiah's smiling at him, trying to grab his watch, it's all good. He put up a little bit of a fight when getting his ears checked, but that's it. All in all, he was a good boy.

Well, then it was flu shot time. We weren't going to get him the flu shot, instead planned on getting ourselves shot up, to spare him, but we figure if they're only going to offer it to their 6 month-2 year old patients, making those older wait until they know if there's extra, it was probably worth getting. So we did, and he handled that like a trooper. He cried while on the table, but as soon as I picked him up, he was fine.

Okay, so had the appointment ended here, it'da been okay. Of course, they needed to take some blood. *shudder* So down to the lab we go....

We were put in a room, and the nurse and I think a med student came in to "do the deed". She asked the guy, "Have you done this before?" "Nope." he replied. "Well, why don't you give it a shot." Baaaaaaaad idea. Parents, if your child is getting pricked, and they wanna let some med student try it, uh, say no.

Needless to say, this was a rough ride... Jeremiah was sitting on Jeremy's lap, this guy pricks his middle finger, and you see the startle and pain on Jeremiah's face. And then it begins--he's going to wail. In goes the breath---and in--and in--and in---BREATHE, JEREMIAH! By this point, his lips were turning blue, and I was getting worried. Finally, the scream. But, oh the tears, and wails, and crying, and there was nothing I could do. Meanwhile, Mr. Med Student was taking his time, getting most of Jeremiah's blood either on the floor, or Jeremy's hand. This went on for a good minute, and this guy had barely collected anything. FINALLY, the nurse stepped in, and within maybe 15 seconds, she had collected all they needed. They cleaned him up, and eventually, Jeremiah stopped crying (took a few minutes), and we were on our way.

Thankfully, no news is good news, so we're assuming all his tests came back negative, since we haven't heard anything. But man, what an ordeal. Poor Jeremiah. As soon as we got in the car, he was OUT! He probably would have slept for 2 hours, had we not waken him to grab lunch.

What a good sport, though. He doesn't hold it against me, I'm pretty sure. He still loves his Mommy. :-) Must be that sunny disposition of his.