Getting good at blood draws

[Pologirl]

Checking my little SCT survivor's AFP continues. We have been going
to the same local hospital for blood draws since she was a few months
old, when by chance we found a phlebotomist who was good at drawing
3ml (!) from a tiny baby without much traumatic manhandling and
fumbling. Well, now Hungry Girl is almost 2 and talking. This time
she actually talked to the nice phlebotomist! He chatted about
various stuff while she cried a little, then asked if she was ready.
She said yes! I could hardly believe it. Then she actually held
still and didn't cry or pull away when he put the needle in the back
of her hand. It was all done in no time and afterward she spent a
long time choosing a colorful bandaid (sticking plaster) and some
stickers.

For what it's worth, we find it most effective for me to hold her
facing me, with her hand over my shoulder, and the phlebotomist
standing behind me. When she struggles, I stand so she cannot get
leverage with her legs, and I hold her shoulder still. I let other
people hold her for the blood draw only once, after her NICU period.
Letting them do it was a mistake. They scared her, she fought, they
held her down harder still, and she became utterly hysterical.

Fingers crossed that her AFP test result comes back in the normal
range...

Pologirl