A few months ago I met with our family doctor to discuss Julien. No matter how many hours he sleeps, he never seems rested. He always yawns and even though he can be full of energy, you can tell he is fatigued. She suggested it could be his iron levels, and gave me a requisition for blood work.
I will admit that I have put off getting it done because of his fear of needles. However, the dentist suggested that we see an ENT for possibly enlarged adenoids or tonsils, and I know that my doctor will want to rule out his iron levels as the culprit first - so I decided that today was the day.
Needles don't bother me, never have. I am fascinated by blood work and always watch them stick the needle and the blood going into the vial.....we have never made a big deal about needles, but he is young and thinks they hurt.
I didn't give him much prep before we went. They had him sit on my lap and I asked him to look at the emergency lights on the wall....the lady took a little while getting everything ready, and JUST as she was about to put the needle in, Julien looked her way and freaked out. I had to trap his legs between mine and pin his left arm against my body and hold him while he screamed and cried and tried to get loose...the poor thing. I felt like such a horrible mom to be torturing him that way - but we needed to get it done. When it was over, he calmed down relatively quickly and we went to the drugstore in the plaza and got an ice cream sandwich. He was quite happy to tell his dad that he got his "blood checked" and that he cried during it....
Now, I really hope that we can avoid any more blood work until he is MUCH older....
Don't feel bad. It is a part of life and if we make a big deal of it our kids will remember it more. It's so tough to see our little ones cry, but it is amazing how quickly they forget :)
ReplyDeleteKids and Needles do not mesh well at any age I would guess. Funny how quickly they get over it once it's done though, lol. Ice cream sandwiches cure all!
ReplyDeleteAwe - don't feel bad. You did what you had to do and odds are Julien won't remember.
ReplyDeletePopsicles are always a nice treat for after the fact too! :)
Oh, I hate holding my kids down for needles/bloodwork, it's no fun.
ReplyDeleteWith twins I have to leave one sitting in the chair crying so I can hold down the other ones, it's all very heart breaking :(
ReplyDeleteAwww... poor guy it's so hard when you know you're doing the right thing but it hurts them. Don't worry though, it's for the best and kids move on quickly :)
ReplyDeleteawwww... poor boy!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard when they're little! Definitely harder on us than them, I think.
ReplyDeleteMy eldest watched me get blood taken once. She asked me if it hurt and I said "no" she was relieved since it looked "cool". lol her younger sister gets many injections at once and told Lauren that she needed to suck it up when it came to get her 4 year booster. My children are so lovely! ;)
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