Blood work

I tried once, when Max was around 6 months, to have his blood drawn for some routine testing. It did not go well. After 3 attempts, lots of poking and screaming, the nurses told me that they couldn't do it and I should come back another day. I was not happy and choose not to return, becuase the bottom line was, I didn't think it was that important that it was worth torturing him again. Honestly, there was no treatment if he had lead exposure, so what did it matter.

A few weeks ago I believe Max was bitten by a tick. The doctor said the red spots didn't look traditional of lymes disease, so she didn't want him on the medicine. Instead, we were to wait 2 weeks and get his blood drawn. Despite my reservations, last night we set out on a family adventure to accomplish this task. I knew it would require Daddy and Mommy to get this done. David agreed and we were right.

We got in there and the place was empty. Max was having a blast exploring and smiling. He was being really good. Until the moment when they asked me to sit in the blood drawing chair with Max on my lap. He started crying nearly instantly. The crying didn't stop until we were nearly out the door 20 minutes later. He was still upset for another 5 minutes once he was safely back into his carseat.

I attempted to hold Max in my arms and keep his legs from kicking the nurse, while David held his arm straight. It was a disaster. Max was screaming bloody murder, loudly. He was not pleased. He was pissed. He wanted me to hide him and help him escape. He didn't understand and there was no explaining. (Meanwhile, Ellie wanted to hide under a table in the far corner of the room, but settled for a chair next to us.) It was really horrible. After over 10 minutes and several tries, the nurse told us she just couldn't do it. She said, she guessed we could try the other arm, if we wanted. I wanted to run away with Max into my arms, but logic prevailed for David. So we tried the other arm. After a few minutes reprieve and additional attempts and screaming on the other arm, Max became exhuasted.

In those moments, he stopped screaming and held still. The nurse was able to grab a little bit of his blood, finally. What a relief! (for me, knowing that it was almost over...)

When she finally pulled the needle out of his arm, Max and I were so relieved, it was unreal. I held him, sang to him and promised no more bad things for the night. He could've gotten anything he wanted from me last night!