If you have a child that is diagnosed with a thyroid condition, be prepared for blood draws, particularly if they are born with congenital hypothyroidism. In the first few days/weeks, your child's doctor will probably want repeated blood draws to be sure that the surge in TSH isn't a newborn surge (sometimes it's so high it's clear that it isn't just a surge) and then once they start medication, they will check to be sure that the medication is working. As infants, my boys were checked every 2-4 weeks for a while. Surviving blood draws becomes crucial to everyone's sanity. Here are my best tips: Blood Draws with Infants 1) RELAX!!! Seriously - take a deep breath and relax. If you are uptight, then your baby will sense this and … [Read more...]