Brave little soldier
Rhett(4) is the BRAVE one. His skills are called upon when a brother needs a protector to go upstairs. He is also the first one notified when a guinea pig is needed.
He is the Nirvana Mikey…hey, try this!
He is TOUGH. He has endured rough play since birth and has never whimpered.
When he cries over an injury, he is injured.
There is one quirk to this that in a different kid might border on hypochondria…
When he sustains minor hand injuries, he freezes the hand during it’s recuperation period.
A few weeks ago he scratched his left hand. He made a tight fist and didn’t use it or wash it for two days.
A few days later he fell while playing outdoors scraping his right palm pretty badly. He closed that hand for the next four days and held it tightly to his side.
On the fourth day he noticed a hangnail on his left hand which rendered it useless as well. He was a boy without functioning hands until he woke up the next morning to self-proclaimed healing.
He never complained about the hand injuries. He just mentally labeled them out of order.
Today he had his 4 y/o well child check-up. The 4 y/o well child check-up should have an asterisk beside it that warns “*RUN FOR YOUR LIFE THERE ARE 5 IMMUNIZATIONS SCHEDULED FOR THIS VISIT”. There are just a LOT of shots.
Rhett chatted with the doctor, smiled at the nurse, participated in the well child check-up by adding some perfectly timed opinions and following directions with inspired cooperation. The doctor then whispered, “He doesn’t know about the shots, does he?” and I shook my head.
The doctor explained to Rhett that he would need 4 shots so that he wouldn’t get sick in the future. Rhett nodded and counted to four.
I still don’t think he knows about the shots.
He laid down and one nurse held his arms while another got ready to administer the immunizations to his thighs.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Not a peep. His face got red, but he stayed quiet and still.
It was almost harder to watch then if he had fought and screamed.
He picked out his sticker loot and we went to the car. We ran a few errands and when we got home he climbed up on the couch to watch some TV.
When his show was over, he asked me to come pick him up because now his legs were out of order*…
*His legs are sore, but fine. I gave him some Tylenol and he said they were feeling better, but knowing Rhett it may be a few days (or until the band-aids fall off) before he decides that his legs are again walkable and can be exposed to bathing.
This is a most fantastic coping strategy; as a wanna-be drama queen, I approve. 😀
sweet little baby. i choked up at the idea of him being so brave during those immunizations. i heart that little guy.
When he is an adult, on the brink of marriage, you must show this post to his future wife. Love it! Love his brave attitude as he faces such adversity. Hope you have been working out your arms as you carry him around these next few days! Ha!
Aww. I know what you mean about it being harder to watch than if he screamed; my son’s like this about shots. He’s almost 14, now, but he’s always been good – okay, WAY better than his mom – about them. We went together for our flu shots, and I joked that I was looking to him to set a good example for ME. I’m needlephobic. He just grinned through the whole darned thing and assured me it wasn’t that bad. MY arm was “out of order” for a couple of days afterwards.
Your son’s adorable.
Sweet thing! My soon to be four year old is our brave soldier too. and yes, it totally makes me misty to behold. My five year old? A hall rattling grape-faced shriekaholic who requires two nurses and a parent to hold him down for so much as a finger stick. A nurse actually snapped at him once because he was acting so insane. That too is a sight to be hold.
Girl, I love the way you write.
What a good (if inconvenient) coping strategy. Also? I love that your 4 yr old identifies his legs as “out of order.” Hilarious.
I hated those check-ups when they need FOUR shots. Ugh.
I remember those rabies shots I had as a kid. I wondered what hurt more, the bite or the syringe. Well. I guess that beats getting infected with rabies.
First of all, I’ve been meaning to ask you what kind of camera you use, because your photos are always so beautiful! Secondly- your son is outrageously cute. That is the sweetest little eccentricity! lol.
Talk about your mind over body control. It is rather interesting how he chooses to label his limbs “out of order” then refuses to use them. Not sure how to break him of that habit, but the best of skill to you in figuring it out.
Hoping that he fells better soon and gains control over his “out of order” limbs.
This is a great story. I agree that future daughter in laws need to see all the posts about your boys. 🙂
I love to read about your kids. I wish I could make mine sound as cute as you make yours sound. Mine just sound like demons when I write about them. 🙂
Well, that is just ADORABLE. My youngest is the bravest, too. But her weakness is having a cough. “I must be siiiicccck! I needs medicine!!” Juice in a shot glass is usually sufficient to quiet her coughs…
he is beyond cute! i have a little boy(friend) who is 4 too and i wish we could freeze them RIGHT.NOW while they still deliver our slippers and before non-teacher girls are in love with them!
xo thanks for visiting Pajamas and Coffee today and I love your post, too! (gotta love mutual blogsturbation- wink!)
That is adorable.
And, um, how do I order one of those kind of kids for myself?
Oh my aching heart.
awwwww
sweet boy.
what a cutie! my daughter is unusually tough like that, too.
Oh! The sweetie! And you know you carried him around happily because he is your baby.
I should email you the picture of Gremlin hiding under the sink in the exam room at flu shot time. It wasn’t good.
Hey! I came over from The Misplaced Midwesterner. Your little guy sounds just like my 5 year old! His favortie phrase is, “Miguel, watch this!” (Miguel is my 3 year old) I love how one tiny scratch renders a hand unusable for a few days, yet running headfirst into a wall at full speed results in laughter and a “let’s do that again!”
It’s just too cute. I love it!
What a sweetie pie. I hope he got extra sugars and hugs for being such a brave little guy.