Getting a Little Nervous

My very first Progesterone shot is scheduled for tomorrow. I am getting nervous, especially after seeing the size of the needle. It's 21 or 22 gauge and it looks like a whopper! I keep reminding myself I would much rather endure a painful stick each week than be sitting with my baby in the NICU. My friend Wendy put it well. She said every shot I do is one less. That is so very true, there is an end in sight.

I have scoured the Internet looking for tips from other women on how best to prepare. My shots are ordered weekly so I will alternate sides each week. Otherwise, I think my plan is this: I will ice my behind (it's an intramuscular shot), warm the solution in the syringe (I read it doesn't change the makeup of the medication), bite the bullet and have it injected, then apply moist heat while my husband massages the injection site. I've decided to do it early in the day so I can use my muscle and hope it works the solution through better. I've read horror stories of women who have injected prior to bed only to wake up at 2:00 in the morning with terrible pain.

I go through all this strategizing and then I think of all that Missy endured through her 105 day hospitalization, her post NICU admissions for asthma and her two seasons of Synagis. I have absolutely no right to be such a wimp about this. Bring it on!