Phlebotomy (do doo do do do)

[ailbhe]

Today I brought the children to the surgery to witness my blood being drawn (we used our childcare favours up on Tuesday). We were late. We were ready to leave, and Emer wet herself, so I had to change her. Then we left, and partway there Linnea inexplicably turned around and started to walk back home. Then we arrived, and the nurse was running late anyway, so that was ok. I got my paperwork (the main blood tests are for hereditary clotting things which some of my family recently discovered they have) and sat down to wait. But Emer needed the loo again. The nurse called me while we were in there - I ran out, leaving poor Eem sitting on the loo alone, and popped my head into room ten to say "My three-year-old is on the toilet." So she called someone else, and Emer finished up, and we went back to wait some more, and it was AGES, and then they called us in.

I sat Emer in the buggy in the doorway and Linnea on the floor behind my chair, because there wasn't much space. Linnea put a book up in front of her face and ignored the whole thing studiously. Emer said...

"Is this the doctor? What her going to do? Why they need you blood? You don't have blood! What that? Why? Is that a needle? What the needle for? Why? People don't put needles in people! Why? No it don't hurt you. Is that blood? Why you blood? No needles go in people."

The (foreign origin, not mocking Emer's babytalk) nurse said "What a clever girl! The ones who ask why, they clever."

Both children were good as gold, and Emer's chatter seemed to amuse rather than irritate the nurse - she didn't repeat herself, because I answered very quickly every time. There's little as irritating as completely repeated unanswered questions.

Comments

[kateaw]

There's little as irritating as completely repeated unanswered questions.

True.

Though Beth has a habit of asking the same question several times in a row without giving me time to answer them. Almost as irritating to me.

Your children did better than my husband who, aged about 6, went with his mother to a blood donation session and fainted! And he's not changed since then.

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

I think taking them along to that is so very cool! Might suggest it to Z for her kids.

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

There's little as irritating as completely repeated unanswered questions.

Oh yes! The number of times I've wanted to turn around and say to parents "Just answer the bloody question!"

Then there are the ones who answer the questions wrong, either because they don't know the answer and don't want to let on, or who just want to say _something_ to shut the goddamn kid up.

Like the guy at the cricket whose son asked him "Dad, is the sun a planet?" And the dad replied "Yes, the sun is a planet," in a totally offhand god-I'm-bored tone of voice. From behind them I said "The sun is actually a star," and the dad repeated "Oh, the sun is a star," but still in that totally couldn't-give-a-shit tone of voice.

[tiggsybabes.livejournal.com]

Holly came to my last blood test & asked the nurse if she could take some blood out of me too. Err, no!

[ailbhe]

Cool?! OK... They have pretty much always come with me to almost all of my medical, dental or optician appointments, because, um, that's the way things are. There isn't anywhere else to put them no those rare occasions without actually changing the way we live our lives in the normal way.

[ailbhe]

Weren't you tempted to say other things for the Dad to repeat mindlessly? Even a little?

[ailbhe]

We have the UNICEF toy doctor kit. Mmm, big syringes!

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

I guess it's a necessity, but at the same time, they're obviously being exposed to lots of new concepts and experiences, and I guess it's really good for them?

[ailbhe]

Home education - It's what's for breakfast.