traumatic doctor's visit

Yesterday, Holden has his scheduled 1-year doctor appointment. No big deal -- I've brought him to other doctor's appointments before when he gets weighed, measured, a quick check-up, and then usually some shots to keep on track with his immunizations. While Holden never likes the shots, he's always really good about it and only cries for a minute. Everything pretty much went as usual for his 1-year visit, except after they asked me if I wanted to have him tested for lead (which required a blood sample). Since we live in a very old house, I thought this would be a good idea -- and our pediatrician also encouraged us to get the blood test. So after we left their office, we headed down to the 3rd floor to the Lab for Holden to get some blood taken for this test ... and that was the beginning of the most traumatic experience Holden (or me) has had since his birth!!!

First of all, the place that we were sent to for this test was called LabCorps, Inc. So it sounds basically like some company that just does tests like this all day long, probably staffed by nurses who are trying to get this done as quickly as possible (but perhaps not as painlessly as possible). But I wasn't worried, because I had assumed that taking a blood sample from a baby would essentially be like getting another shot (I mean, how much blood do they really need?!). Holden's name was called, and in we went. After rolling up Holden's sleeve, the nurse asked me to give him a big bear hug to help hold him still, and then in she went with the needle (attached to a long tube with a bottle at the end of it) ... and Holden began howling like a wild animal!!! Wow, I've never heard him shriek and scream like that before, with tears pouring down his face. The nurse was obviously having trouble keeping the needle in his arm, as he used all of his strength to wiggle and kick and convulse. After about 3 or 4 minutes of this, she stopped (and I thought, "oh good, that is over ... what a nightmare, but at least we're done"). WRONG! She didn't get enough blood, so she needed to try again on Holden's other arm. WHAT??!!??!!

The nurse went to go get another nurse (his name was Nicolai), and all three of us held Holden as she made attempt #2 to take the blood sample. This time, Holden's screaming reached a whole new level (on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1o being the sound of a baby seal being beaten with a blunt object, Holden's screaming probably reached a 12). It took forever for them to get enough blood this time (WAY more than I ever thought would be needed for a test like this), but eventually it was all over. Holden calmed down (although he was shaking for another 10-15 minutes after this). As we walked back into the waiting room and then to the elevator, I realized that everyone on that floor of the office building had heard Holden's screams. One woman said to me, "I hope you punched whoever was doing that to your poor little baby." I agree, I should have punched the nurse ... and Nicolai (although I'm pretty sure he could take me).

Moral of this story: don't agree to any blood test for your baby unless it is absolutely necessary. That was an awful experience, and it's going to take me a while to get over it (I'm sure Holden has already forgotten about it ... or, at least I hope so). And this was on top of 4 shots he received at the doctor's visit, so our poor little guy was sporting 6 band-aids yesterday. I bet all the other kids at daycare thought they were cool!