I would like to thank aimee and elaine for your encouragement.  Sometimes a mom worries that our baby will hold it against us that we bring them for blood draws and such.  Every mom instinct says protect our little one from pain.

I had the worst blood draw ever with my 19 month old son 3 weeks ago.  I hadn’t requested the EMLA cream because the previous blood draw he had been upset but it was over pretty fast.  This last one he screamed for 20 minutes and it took 3 sticks.  Everyone was sweaty by the end. The first team of phlebotomists gave up and they sent for the supervisor. I was VERY surprised that his 17-OPH came back low normal. 

I think I’ll talk to him a little more beforehand next time, because I noticed when I was checking in he seemed to whine a bit when I mentioned blood draw. He understands at lot more than he can express verbally. At 1 1/2, I think there has been a cognitive developmental leap around this age.  Memory has improved, he doesn’t like to be restrained and he’s too young to reason with.  

Thanks everyone for the advice and stories.  It helps just knowing someone else understands.