I’m not tense at all when my baby gets her shots. She still cries. I’m pretty sure it hurts. It is certainly a very unpleasant sensation. So what? I don’t see any reason to complicate the procedure or risk adverse reactions to an additional medication to avoid the baby crying. She settles down plenty quick and I’m quite happy with it. I used to get allergy shots every week when I was a kid and I remember it as no big deal.
Next time I see babies on tv getting their vaccinations, I’ll pay attention to whether it cries before or after the plunger is pushed. I’ll allow for stimulus to reaction time. 
Ok, I’ve given something like 30 needles today, so I feel like I can comment.
Most childhood immunizations are intramuscular, so it’s given fairly deep, and it is ouchy, no question. The subcutaneous ones aren’t as bad.
I am not a big fan of EMLA, it does not help the muscle pain and most parent do not place it in the correct spots for it to be effective.
A 30 G needle would take a much longer time to inject than a 25 G needle (my tool of choice). I have found that the faster the whole process is, the easier it is on everyone involved. Seriously, the kids don’t have time to react if you’re fast enough.
Some needles are more painful than others, specifically prevnar, gardasil, varivax/varilrix and certain formulations of the mmr - I’m sure there are other nastier ones, but these are the one I work with most often.
The kids feed off their parents’ distress. If the parents are upset and panicking, the babies pick up on it and react accordingly, more often than not.
A trick that can work (not always, but often enough, IME) is putting some pressure on the injection spot immediately before the injection. I’ll often press my thumb (covered with an alcohol swab) into some poor kid’s thigh or shoulder before I inject. It does feel uncomfortable to begin with, but if everything is done fast enough, you can get some amazing results. This trick works better with the older kids - the babies don’t tolerate the initial discomfort that well, usually.
I nursed my daughter during many of her shots. Most of the time she was too busy guzzling down the boob juice to take much notice of anything else.
Yup. Think about it. The needle is very thin and glides between the nerve endings. But a cc of liquid makes a big cavity in your muscle.
The whole thing is a “walking on coals” sort of experience. If you’re relaxed, it doesn’t hurt at all. If you tense up, it’s a sulf-fulfilling prophecy that the pain comes. When the muscle is tense there’s much less space between fibers. Any ripped tensed fiber snaps back (like a torn rubber band). The liquid’s got nowhere to go. Etc.
See… they’re fn babies!
Extra point:
Doesn’t boob juice release hormones in both baby and mom? Or maybe it’s the nursing itself. I dunno, I “read it somewhere”.
We are all operating from the premise that a little pain is a bad thing.
Tsk tsk tsk.
Before her teeth erupted, right?
Honestly?
Once you get the hang of it nursing feels really good. As long as you keep up your fluid supply (and you really have to drink as much as you can chug down every single day) it’s a very nice way way to feed a baby.
Also constant nursing can make you and the baby sleepy. I found it a great way to catch up on naps when my daughter was small. She would fall asleep sated with milk. I’d put her in her crib and grab a quick nap on a mattress on the floor right next to her.
Very sweet.
My little girl was so milk happy she found a way to still nurse and keep her teeth from biting me. I finally weaned her when she was two.
I do remember that some men are a little jealous of the mommy part of nursing.
That’s why there’s two.
The mommy part, dang it!
That’s why men have nipples. They’re the original pacifier, you see.
I’m gonna try that one day.