So apparently I am a little too laissez-faire. Just met with Cindy, the nurse practitioner at my very-laid back pediatrician’s office. She walked into the room, shut the door behind her, and said “Well, your life has changed.” Not super reassuring. She showed me how to use an epi-pen, alarmingly stating that I should use it “through jeans, through snowpants, through anything – you don’t want to take the time to take them off.” Ummm, okay. She also emphasized that I need to avoid any nuts, including peanuts, including things “made in a factory that also processes nuts” or “that may contain traces of nuts.” This is not awesome news given that Whit eats about four foods, one of which is peanut butter.
I then took the little man downstairs for a blood draw. I was feeling crestfallen at this point, he was oblivious. He sat on my lap and watched warily as the phlebotomist (always one of my favorite words) prepared her gear. It dawned on him what was going on and he whispered to me, “Is she going to stick me?” I decided not to coddle him and said, “Yes.” As he said, “Is it going to hurt?” his rising panic was evident. I wondered for a moment how honest to be and then said, quietly but firmly, “Yes. But it will be over fast.” He was huddled into my lap and not at all pleased. When she stuck him he cried out and I said, “Whitty, breathe!” and he started doing hilarious, adorable lamaze breathing in my lap. He stopped crying and kept breathing fast and loudly. It was so cute I almost started crying. She was done quickly and he was relieved and delighted with his Superman sticker.
So much for my laid back attitude on this particular front. A lot of the blood results will be in tomorrow and I’ll call the allergist to make an appointment. And I’ll pick up our epi pens at CVS. Still don’t much like the idea that life has changed forever.
