Today, I picked up Little K from nursery school and headed to Quest Diagnostics. She had to have blood drawn so that we could run the annual tests to determine if her gradation of peanut allergy has remained the same, gotten worse or gotten better. We're hoping for the latter.
I've struggled on how to handle this because having blood drawn is not fun for anyone, much less a 3 year old. I simply told her this morning that we would get tested again for peanut allergy and then get a treat. We talked a little more about it off & on but I knew it wasn't really sinking in. I didn't mention needles or shots. Is this the best way to handle this?
I remember as a child realizing that we were heading to Dr. Gardner's office when I recognized the creepy trees. My mom later explained that I would freak out at the thought of a shot so she chose not to mention it in advance. If I point-blank asked her about it, then she'd disclose the matter. I want to choose another path in explaining medical trips to my daughter but I'm still figuring it all out.
When Little K saw the medical equipment, she panicked. She was sitting on my lap. I was instructed to hold both arms still so the tech could insert the needle. Lovely. In a minute, we were done but crocodile tears streamed from Little K's eyes. Afterward I bought her a popsicle (which she didn't like) and then a snowcone (which she loved -- more on that later).
Thank goodness this is only done once a year. Until the next nap time...
