10 months old ds has a blood test tomorrow

[ruty]

Its not absolutely necessary, i don't think, he's had a swollen gland and they offered it to us - tho our gp said we didn't have to do it -i'm hesitating as i can;t bear to put him thru any pain. We have to go into the day ward at hospital which i hate doing too, have very bad experience of hospitals. He's well in himself. Have any other mums had to have this done for their babies? I can't even cut his nails he struggles so much and i wonder how they are going to manage. Is it a really awful thing to go thru? Need to know if poss to weigh up if we should go thru with it.

my friend had some Emla type cream on her ds prior to taking blood.(local anaesthetic)
They put it on each hand and inner arm and stickied it with clear dressing.
He was asleep when they did it (it was his normal nap time) and because the area was completely numb, he never murmered.
Good luck.

thanks donbean. doubt he'll be asleep tho! anyone else had the experience?

They always put cream on to numb it, and leave it to work for about 30 -45 mins I think, (so take stuff to keep him amused) He won't feel it, honestly.

I'm sure they wouldn't have offered it if it wasn't necessary.

dd3 had a bloodtest at about this age as they were concerned about her growth. Like your ds it wasn't absolutely essential, but they did recommend it.

Def worth asking for the emla cream although the child may still notice it, particularly if it takes a few goes to get a decent sample. Just hold the child on your lap as you would for a vaccination and grit your teeth. If you really can't face it, get medical staff to take over while you pace the corridor out of earshot. And take a bottle of milk to give as soon as it's over.

It's not great, but not the end of the world either. Bear in mind that if you didn't do it you could miss the early signs of some thing that might end up being much more painful.

When dd had to have blood taken they used the cream. It was put on her hand and foot just in case they couldn't get it from one or the other and we were told to have a wander for an hour and go back.

She didn't like it one bit obviously but she did have 2 nurses pinning her down and I think I cried more than her.

However when dd had to have her pupils dialated at the hospital she was fine and I think it had something to do with the fact they gave her some chocolate whilst they were doing it!

oh my go two nurses pinning her down! Help. Thanks for the info tho.