Tears....A Lot of Tears

Erika had to have blood drawn today to check for lead levels and if she's anemic or not. I put it off for a month and a half, hoping the doctor would forget that I didn't actually take her in. No such luck. So, this morning, I confidently walked into the lab with a feeling that this wouldn't be as bad as I thought. I was wrong. My good thoughts went away when they told me they were taking blood from her arm instead of her leg. Erika always gets her shots in her thunder thighs and it doesn't bother her too much so I was expecting them to use her thighs to get the blood as well. The technician was really nice and tried her best to be quick, but she couldn't find a vein in Erika's arm. She poked and prodded while Erika was squirming in my lap trying her best to get away. After deciding she wasn't going to find a vein in the first arm, the technician gave up and started working on the other arm. Bad idea. Erika already knew what was coming so she wasn't interested at all in sitting still for the second attempt. The technician finally poked through a vein and then we waited while two vials were filled...Erika screaming and sobbing and hiccuping the entire time. When it was all done, she got a Grover sticker and I let her play in the drinking fountain while she calmed down. It was not a fun experience, but I don't think she needs to do this again...hopefully ever. As we left the lab, I debated whether or not to get a Blizzard to calm myself down. I deserved it. Here are some pictures of the results of the two armed blood draw.

Another cute picture...Wednesday night I decided was a great time to have Erika try feeding herself spaghetti. I'm not sure why I picked that night, it was not a good decision. At least I was smart enough to undress her so she wouldn't get sauce on the clothes she was wearing to church. I forgot, however, that Erika loves to put food in her hair. We had to bathe her before leaving for church, she was a mess!