Give me your blood draw tips

[redheadk]

Dd had her yearly blood draw for food allergies today. 2 sticks, some digging around for a vein, and they couldn't get enough blood so we have to go back Friday they are going to run one or two of the tests with what they got.

Any tips for what I can do to help make sure that we get enough Friday?

[Deleted]

Make sure she's super well hydrated - give her a bunch of juice or chocolate milk or something that is a treat so she'll drink it all, about an hour ahead.

[brooklyn]

I think CloudBee just went through this.

[CloudBee]

We did go through this on Saturday. Our experience wasn't fantastic as it was a standard lab, but it was really quick. I didn't think to get him really hydrated in advance, but they were still able to get a good stick.

A second tech came in and held DS's arm with two hands while I hugged him backwards, and DH held a lollipop and video. She used her hand like a tourniquet, though they still put one on his arm. But I'm pretty sure she helped squeeze to make vein access easier.

They told me several times that the harder he cries, the faster his heart races and the quicker the blood draw will be. Although I was hoping we would have few tears, I think she was right.

We also made the waiting room fun and fed him a few Smartee candies. And when we left the lab we went right to the toy store down the street.

- bring someone with you if you can
- ask the lab if they can use a 2nd tech
- bring a lollipop or amazing treat

[Cheerio]

You've already been given good tips, but here's mine:

You need to try to stay calm, too. If you are nervous, DD will be able to tell. Sing a song for/with her or play some other little game with her while the blood is drawn. DS had to have blood drawn pretty often and there were decorations on the wall that we would talk about (What color is the plane? What color is the school bus? etc.). I can't see sigs, so I don't know how old your DD is, but any way you can distract her from the needle (without her moving) is good.

And I'll ditto tokenhoser -- hydrate her very well before hand.

[redheadk]

Thanks! I'll pick up some chocolate milk for Friday and let her drink that plus some watered down juice. She will be thrilled, lol.

She is actually really good during blood draws and pretty calm so I don't really stress over going, but I know it had to hurt when they were digging around for the vein. Once they got it going, she was fine. I played Sesame Street song videos on YouTube, her favorite, lol. We just need to get enough blood to come out!