Doctor Visit

Last Friday Allyson had her 4 year check up at the Doctor.  This was a much feared visit.  At Eva's 6 month check up Allyson overheard me making the appointment for her 4 year check up, she also heard the nurse say Ally would need to get shots.  She was immediately concerned and we talked a lot about shots for a few days.  I worried her fear of the doctor visit, and shots, would ruin the birthday countdown fun so I told her she didn't have to worry about the appointment until after her birthday.
The day after her birthday one of the first things Ally said when I got home from work "when do I go to the doctor?" and "Do I need shots?".  She doesn't forget.
In preparation for her Doctor visit she had been playing with her new doctor kit.  We all had multipl check-ups (and innumerable shots) and all of her animals/dolls got check-ups as well.  We also read The Bearenstein Bears Go to the Doctor a bunch.
As luck would have it I ended up not working on the day of her appointment.  When Ally woke up she was so excited to go to the doctor (I was surprised but I went with it).  It was hard for her to wait until the afternoon, she kept asking if it was time to go to the doctor.  I was so glad she was being brave and not upset all day about it.  We talked about what the doctor would do and that the shots would hurt  a little but not for long.  I also promised that she could pick out a treat at the store after the doctor.  She requested to bring a blanket and a teddy bear to the appointment, somehow in the rush to leave we left the blanket behind, but she was ok with that.
She was brave until the nurse called us back and we had to go to the scale.  She was scared and almost started crying.  Thankfully she managed to make it through the weighing and measuring (maybe it is scary because it is the first thing she does at the appointment? not sure).
As the nurse was running through the different shots Ally would need we talked about Ally getting the flu nasal spray in stead of the flu shot.  After the nurse left the room Ally told me she didn't want the spray.  I explained that meant she would get another shot, and she would need 4 shots instead of 3.  She still wanted the flu shot so I told the nurse about the change in plans.
By the time Dr. Meyer came in Allyson was her happy chatty self.  He told her to bring her Doctor kit to the next appointment so they could compare their stethoscope and other tools.
Then it was time for the shots.  Ally was brave and hugged her teddy for all 4 shots.  There was crying involved (I can't blame her for that) but she recovered quickly.  Eva was next for her flu shot, and she had started crying when Allyson started crying (Eva is a sympathy crier).  I am so proud of how brave Ally was, and now she doesn't have to worry about shots for a long time!