No measles here

For all my bluster here, I recently realised something worrying; Duncan never had the second MMR vaccine, probably due to an oversight when we changed from a London GP to our local one several years ago. I was looking through the children's health records when I made the discovery, so I contacted the health centre, spoke to a GP, and arranged a time for him to catch up on this important vaccine.

My sister was spending a few days with us, so she stayed with Lady and Thomas while I took Duncan to the doctor. He ran into the health centre quite happily, but wanted to go back to the consulting room he'd been in the week before, so I had to hold him back while waiting to check in with the receptionist. He was shouting various angry/worried film lines. I kept asking him what film what he was saying comes from, then he'd calm down just long enough to tell me, and perhaps a few minutes more, then he was off again.

The health visitor came put to ask me how we could best approach the mechanics of the vaccination for Duncan, and I asked that it all be done as quickly as possible. The GP was wonderfully considerate. Duncan yelped in pain and surprise as the needle went in, but wasn't half as bothered by it as I'd worried he would be. He had to have a look at his bottom to check he wasn't bleeding later (he worries that he's bleeding after every little knock or bump, and if a kiss doesn't cure his pain, a plaster is almost sure to do it), but there was only a tiny mark.

To reward him, I said he could buy a new toy. He choose to go to the charity shop rather than the standard toy shop. He has been collecting old videos recently, mostly to examine their cases and the idents shown before the films. On that day, I found him a really old BBC video of a cartoon called "Ivor the Engine" and he was so happy later to see it had one of his favourite idents; the BBC stars. He has invited me to snuggle beside him to watch it many times since, and I've obliged for the sheer joy on his face.

He also found a toy Big Ears (friend to Noddy) which has had lots of play this week, while he dressed himself as Noddy.

So anyway, he's caught up on his vaccinations. I just didn't want to risk exposing him to measles. One MMR dose wasn't enough, and there are far too many cases of measles among children these days. I was particularly worried about the possible risk of infection when we go to Disneyland later this month.