Benjamin has already had his fair share of being poked and prodded. Shortly after his birth he had blood drawn and got his first Hepatitis B shot. (Although Colin and I can't figure out why he needed a Hep B shot when contracting Hep A seems much more likely.) Then at one week he got a vaccination against TB. This was delivered using a metal device with a 3 x 3 grid of prongs that they pressed into Benjamin's shoulder twice. Apparently TB is more common in Asia than in North America. The head nurse explained that after a month, pus will form at the injection site which will then develop into a scar. This scar will disappear by the time Ben is 6 years old. Here's a picture of what the site looks like now. (7 weeks after the injection.)
At his one month check-up he received his second Hepatitis B shot. And this past weekend at his two month check-up he received one shot for diptheria, pertussis (whooping cough) and tetanus in one thigh, and a shot for polio in the other. Then we were instructed to come back in one week for another shot - Hib. Hib stands for haemophilus influenzae type B - a disease that can lead to meningitis, pneumonia, or a severe throat infection. Unfortunately for Benjamin, the immunizations don't seem to decrease until after he's two.
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