Blood Sport

Yesterday afternoon I took my son Riley to get blood drawn. Because of the insurance I have I only have to take him to a lab in Camp Hill. He of course was completely game about going since he had no idea what was about to happen to him. When we got there D, the EMT, made me go in with him. I'll wait in the car with Hailey, shes sleeping, he informed me. Great, so I get to be the bad guy.
We got inside and Riley ran around the waiting room playing and flirting with the nurse behind the desk. When they called us back he defiantly walked ahead of me as if he knew exactly what he was doing. I sat him in my lap and said to the nurse with a chuckle 'you'll catch me if I pass out right. ' She didn't laugh. Riley was completely still and cooperative while they put the band around his arm and even poked and proded him to find veins. As soon as the needle hit his arm it was like all hell broke loose. He immediately started fighting and kicking, screaming at the top of his lungs. I was holding him the best I could trying to soothe him in that motherly voice that mothers get when their kids are in pain. It wasn't working. They couldn't get anything in the first arm, so they had to stick him again. This time the screaming started with the band (which doesn't even hurt). By the time he was down getting blood drawn, I was in tears. I felt so horrible for making him go through that. He was sweaty and crying. His face was bright red, he looked so pathetic. As I put his coat on him he wouldn't even look at me. He wouldn't let me hold him or anything. He was very mad at me. The nurse tried to give him a lollipop and he looked at her as if to say 'do you think that is going to make up for what you did'. He didnt take it. It took him the entire ride home to finally start talking to me. For the rest of the day he held both of his bandaid clad arms as if they were broken. He refused to bend them to eat or anything. I told D the next time he had to give blood he got to be the bad guy.
Hailey had to get blood also, but she gets hers taken at the med center. I went back with her too. Before we left her sister told her she was getting a shot at the doctors, which immediately sent her into a paniced screaming fit. I calmed her down by telling her she wasn't getting a shot. (well technically it wasn't a shot she was getting) When the nurse called her back to get her blood drawn I held my hands over her ears when they were asking me questions about the needles and such. I thought the less she knew, the better. I ask Hailey some questions and was talking to her while she did it. And you know what, she didn't even blink an eye. No crying, no screaming nothing. She screamed more at home at the thought of getting a shot then the actually thing. I was so proud of her.