Did you do the 1 yr iron/lead blood test? Why/why not? Are you glad about your decision?

[gracemamma]

DDs 1 yr check is right around the corner. I've learned that our ped office does vein draw for iron/lead and are pretty uncomfortable about this. DD is a vegetarian and is still breastfeeding. Lentils, quinoa, greens and other good iron sources are a regular part of her diet. They did have to cut her cord right after birth so she missed some extra stores there. I also just picked up some floradix and thought I could mix a bit of this into things.
Our home was built in 88 so no lead paint here and I try to be very careful about what she plays with-she does grab hold of the keys once a week or so though!

DH says they don't do this in Italy-where he's from- and I didn't have childhood blood draws before my late teens.

So, did you do it? Are you glad you did? Did you skip it? If your dc had a vein draw, was it horrifying or ok? (I keep thinking she'll be screaming, they'll want me to hold her down and other nightmarish things!)

Thanks, mamas!

[Madalyn]

They didn't even ask to do it at our 1 year check up. Weird because they mentioned it at my 9 month one how it would occur at the next appointment but then nobody brought it up (and I certainly wasn't going to lol).

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I had it done with dd because back then I did everything they wanted me to. It wasnt that bad but it wasnt needed either since there was no risk of lead and no reason for dd to have low iron she is like me and has excellent stores.

I didnt have it done with ds because by then I had stopped all WBV and only take them in when sick.

I may or may not have the iron checked this year when they go in for their physicals for school. Not sure yet.

[Amanda L]

I did have those tests done since I was worried about the flaking paint on our porch. I'm glad because he did test high (twice). The first time was a finger prick and was pretty bad emotionally - especially since my son has doctor phobia already. The next time was a vein draw and it was horrible. They did have me hold him in my lap while one person held his arm and another drew the blood. Not Fun.

I was up in the air about moving, and my sons lead test was the final straw for me. We couldn't move fast enough to suit me after that.

[QuestionGal]

I consented to have DS's blood drawn. It was not a big deal. I had my blood drawn first, he sat in my lap, I pulled out a distracting toy (my phone maybe?) and made a request to have a person who would get it on the first stick and was good with tiny veins. I think I even said "not to be rude but you get one shot at this." By the time he noticed what was going on it was over. Not even a single tear.

I had it done b/c I was anemic during and after the pregnancy, he ate very little protein, and we live in an older house that was built in the time of lead paint though all tests have come back negative.

[KempsMama]

DS1 has had both done, although they were only finger pricks, not blood draws. Maybe you could ask for that instead of an actual blood draw?

I had the lead test done because several of my friends babies were testing with high levels and were finding all sorts of sources that I could not rule out.

[EviesMom]

I nursed my kids while it was done, and it was not a big deal. I'm glad I did it for both. The older child had elevated lead (not reportably so, but high enough that I searched to find the cause--playground dust and a relative's renovation which we visited immediately after they were done). I was glad to know, and it was easy to solve--washed hands after playground, avoided that one when possible, no eating at any playground; don't visit relative's house until reno fully done and cleaned up. The younger had very low lead, below what they consider normal for my city, probably because the general avoidance techniques were routine for us.

[jammomma]

Our DS was just checked for lead at his one year WBV, because we had been living in an old building that had lead paint, and in one room (that he never went into) the paint was chipping quite badly. The lead test came back negative. Unless I lived in a building built prior to 1978, I would skip the lead test, unless I had some other reason to think my kid was exposed to lead.

[pbjmama]

I did it, glad I did. Get the best person to do it and it only takes a moment. I actually asked for the best person and they told me she wasn't in that day, I came back the next day.

[Violet2]

Oh yes we did it. Our house is 1950 and my mom's had lead and we were there during construction. Dd was fine though. The blood draw was not fun but we survived.

And now there's all the noise about lead in juice, even organic juice b/c the soil is contaminated.

V

[IndigoKoi]

Weird... we never had it done at my son's 1 yr. But, I think the ped mentioned it might be coming up for his 2 yr. But at the same time... it's not the first time he's had a blood draw. Went to the ER twice during his first year, and of course it's standard procedure to put a hep-lock in upon arrival. even though totally not necessary I tried to protest but I got the "just in case there's an emergency and we need to give him something via IV"...

[mamazee]

We did because the pediatrician asked a few questions and we had a risk factor, though I don't remember specifically what it was. It was just a pin prick, and as dd was fine it turned out to be necessary, but of course she could have had higher lead levels in which case we would have needed to know. So I am glad we did it.

[ThisCat]

I checked iron levels for both kids because it was an easy quick finger stick, and I was curious. DD was ever so slightly low which we remedied without supplementing. DS was fine. Glad I did it especially for DD because it made me more aware of iron in her diet. Probably wouldn't do it again if I had a third since I know what to do now.

Didn't bother checking the lead levels for either kid since we don't have any risk factors and it involved a blood draw. Also some of the things we normally do anyway help reduce exposure like washing hands whenever we come home and before eating and leaving our shoes at the door. No regrets about skipping it.

[lmk1]

Finger prick for the iron, and blood draw for lead (at a Labcorp). The blood draw sucked. We had an older house, so I was concerned. Both turned out just fine. Our ped only recommends the lead testing if you have a risk factor, like an old house.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

We did a blood draw for lead and iron (now have done it 3 times). Ds had reportably high lead levels. I am glad I did it, I would always do it. I encourage everyone to do it. Your home is not the only risk factor, the playground, your soil, other's homes, any building you go it etc. I live in Philadelphia, its an "older" city and almost every kid I know has test high or highish for lead, some folks live in new construction, some live in 100 year old homes.

We did the blood draw at Children's Hospital, which means we've always used a pediatric phelobotomist, ds has never cried or made any fuss about it, we did it 1yr, 2yr, and 2.5yr

[JBaxter]

Yes.. BUT my office does finger sticks under the age of 3. I would be really unconfortable with a vein draw on a baby

[fyrwmn]

dd had it done at 1 yr, adn we'll be taking ds on monday for his test. our house is 150+ yrs old, so i know there is lead paint within the layers most likely. on top of that, i have always been borderline anemic, so i'd like to know if they take after me in that regard since there are ays to remedy it. dd did fine with the vein draw, didn't even cry. they had me hold her during it, and we nursed right after even though she wasn't upset. i'm hoping it goes as smoothly with ds.

[not_telling]

We're also in an older home, so I do worry about lead. And I'd also like to be sure DS is not low in iron since he's one of those fruit-n-carbs kids. We had levels checked at 1 year and the ped said this was more to establish a baseline. We're coming up on the 2 yr check for both and I'm a little apprehensive about how it's going to go. I'm inspired by other PPs saying they asked for the best person to do it....there's a tech/nurse (?) at our ped's office that I firmly believe should not be in pediatrics and I do not want her doing the prick/draw (not sure what it'll be).

Also, DS will be getting some sort of vax at this visit (MMR maybe?) and I'm trying to figure out what should happen first - blood draw or vax. (probably blood draw first?) Or whether we should do the vax on a different day.

ETA: Just wanted to share that a friend's DS recently had his levels checked and came back high for lead (17 instead of under 5). Had to have a blood draw done at the hospital and turned out to be a false positive...he was really under 5. Doc said something on his skin (they pricked his foot so he could nurse during it...but I think he was kicking the whole time) must have had a high lead content.

[gracemamma]

just got access to our computer again and wanted to thank you so much for sharing all your insights and experiences. i still feel on the fence but it certainly a better-informed on the fence. thanks again!

[AllyRae]

Yes, we did it. It's mandated by the state and it's not one of those things I wanted to fight about--there were so many more important things to me. Each of the kids needed blood drawn around 1 year for one reason or another, so I just piggy backed the test. Especially with all of the toy recalls (even Melissa & Doug ones), I didn't want to take chances.