How can I find out my son's blood type?

[ShabbyChic]

When my first son was born they did not check for his blood type, and even if they could have/should have, they didn't.  I have been through the record, and it is nowhere.   

My hubby is type O+ and I'm type A+ and son #2 is type O+ (I ordered them to type his blood at birth). 

So I've contacted my pediatrician, the county health dept where I live and in the larger neighboring capital county and they said (get ready to laugh) they'll only type my baby's blood if there is a question of who my baby-daddy is.  Oh, the laughter...

So it is on file nowhere, and my pediatrician said the only way she will do it is if I order an allergy panel, and if I do that I'd have to exaggerate any actual concern that I have over his allergies.  I know he has seasonal allergies, allergies to grass, hay, and pet dander.  And he takes zyrtec seasonally. 

So I'd have to be overly concerned about whether or not he's allergic to milk or grains, which is viable, but I'm not too concerned about it in actuality.  It seems untruthful to come to her for one thing so I can learn something else, but knowing your blood type is very important.  If there is ever an accident you should always know your blood type in case you need a transfusion.  And in an accident time is precious.

So I don't know what to do.

I'd love to know if there are any other options that y'all know of for finding out my son's blood type, and what you'd do in my situation.  Unless it's go on a talk show.  I really don't want to do that.     Thanks.

[Pennie]

You know, I went to an ND the other day and she wanted to know mine. I couldn't remember.  about a yr ago I had blood work done so I called that dr to find out.  She said we don't do that unless it is requested b/c ins. doesn't pay for it!! Wierd.  I would just assume that in all that testing that would just "come up"  Guess I don't know much.  So I had to call my OB and even then they at first told me they don't know and I said well, I he has delievered 4 of my 5 babies.  Then she oh, okay well, it will be on file I will call you back with it.  That was already my call back. She didn't even look b/f she called me.  It's like the nurses dont' even look at the message you leave.  they just see they need to call back and waste everyones time.  So, now I know but I should write it down b/c I WILL forget again.   

[seeker]

You've probably already done this, but I'll say it anyway. If your first son was born at a hospital, have you tried calling to hospital where he was born to see if they have that info hiding somewhere? Weird that they wouldn't check that.

[lotsagirls]

I ordered something called an eldon card with my birth kit to have my infant's blood type checked at birth.  (We are planning a home birth...I am O- and DH is O+...so we need to know.)

Anyway, I wonder if you could do something like this with your son.  They are very reasonable from home birth supply companies.

[ShabbyChic]

Yeah, I've called the hospital twice, and 2 very compitant, very friendly nurses both informed me that it was not on his record.  The first one called me back like 5 minutes later and I wondered if she had even looked, but she was friendly and said it wasn't in the section where blood type should be.  The second kept me on the line for over 30 minutes while she went through his 100 and some page file and said it was nowhere.

I'd have to pay out of pocket at the pediatrician, so I'll check that eldon kit.  I didn't even know you could do stuff like that AT HOME?!  That's great.  Now who's going to stick him...    Oh Huuuuuu-neeeeeeeey... 

[Missy]

Get this...my whole life (30yrs) my parents have told me I was A+.  I am having my second child at a different doctor than the first and they say I am O+.  No one has ever indicated that before.  I had them check it twice just to be sure and same results.  Good thing I didn't need a transfusion!  I even had surgery when I was 16.   

You would think that is something that they would check all the time and inform the patient.   

[ShabbyChic]

That is UN- BE- Lievable.  Just unbelievable. 

Both my folks are A+, so no question for my sister and me.  And my honey gives blood through the Red Cross on a regular basis, and they typed it for him, so I feel confidently there.  I know my son either has to be A+ or O+ because I did all of the problem solving charts online. 

My honey is O+, blond hair, red beard, blue blue eyes.  And I'm dark.  So when my younger son has brown hair and brown eyes like me, I was shocked that he had O+ blood.  My older son (the one in question) is blonde with one green eye and one brown, so I'm very curious as to his blood type.

Thanks, too, for telling me about that website.  It makes me want to give birth at home!  They have EVERYTHING!!!

[herbalmom]

Since you & your DH both have RH positive blood your children will also. As far as needing blood in an emergency or for surgery, they will either give O- (universal donor) or will type & cross match anyway. They don't take anyone's word for it on blood type b/c people make mistakes. HTH Blessings ~herbalmom

[ShabbyChic]

Really?  All I know is that my mom's best friend and my Aunt are both nurses and both have stressed to me the importance of knowing.  Both said, "If you're in a wreck and the ambulance gets there, you need to be able to tell them to save time."  And since the test is $6 I'm sure my honey will want to type it anyway. 

And with baby #3 we'll ask them to do it at the hospital again.

[Missy]

Both my folks are A+, so no question for my sister and me.  And my honey gives blood through the Red Cross on a regular basis, and they typed it for him, so I feel confidently there.  I know my son either has to be A+ or O+ because I did all of the problem solving charts online. 

My honey is O+, blond hair, red beard, blue blue eyes.  And I'm dark.  So when my younger son has brown hair and brown eyes like me, I was shocked that he had O+ blood.  My older son (the one in question) is blonde with one green eye and one brown, so I'm very curious as to his blood type.

Thanks, too, for telling me about that website.  It makes me want to give birth at home!  They have EVERYTHING!!!

Both my parents are A+ too and I guess I turned out to be O+.  My hubby also donated with Red Cross and they typed him as B+.  My daughter is AB+.  Shabby, what charts are you referring to online?  I think I want to take a look.  Thanks!

[boysmama]

Since you & your DH both have RH positive blood your children will also. As far as needing blood in an emergency or for surgery, they will either give O- (universal donor) or will type & cross match anyway. They don't take anyone's word for it on blood type b/c people make mistakes. HTH Blessings ~herbalmom

Two positives do not always create positive offsprings. There can be a hidden negative gene that shows up in one of the children. ( my parents are RH+ while I am RH-) I too had been told in school and believed that two positives create positive and was shocked during my first pregnancy to learn that this was not so.
 However, I have been told repeatedly that two negatives always, with very rare/no exceptions, create negative offspring. This is helpful for me because I can refuse rhogram shots on this basis.

I would love to study genetics sometime. I have been told that since both dh and I are O- all of our children will be as well. Is this true? Something about the O and the RH- being recessive genes 

[herbalmom]

Well, I'm O- so I was told that my blood is THE universal donor. My DH is Rh pos & each of my DC are also so I had have RhoGam (sp?) after each birth. They type & cross match just for that shot, let alone giving blood.

As far as an being in an accident & telling the ambulance workers, you may be unconscious anyway so unless it is on your person it still may not help. Besides, since mental confusion can accompany injury, I don't know that they would take your word for it anyway. I guess it could be of help if it was in your wallet where they might believe that it is accurate but I don't know if they even bother to look- I think they probably just type & cross match it at the time.

That being said, it is just my reasoning based on my limited knowledge of the subject & since the test is only $6 I would probably do it also. $6 is for the test itself, right? Any idea what it will cost to get the lab processing done? Each of my DC had to be typed at birth due to the Rh incompatibility & I had a record of it but some of our personal paperwork was ruined during a move. A lot of our non current paperwork is packed right now so I cannot easily check right now. Now that I think of it, I'm not sure if I still have the record of their blood types so I might have it done ourselves. Blessings ~herbalmom

[boysmama]

Here is a great tutorial on blood types and why and how...
I think that even I will be able to remember from now on.   
www.biology.arizona.edu/human_bio/problem_sets/blood_types/inherited.html

[ShabbyChic]

I used the arizona link above.  There are lots of helpful charts and fun problem solving quizzes.  I got all of them right except #4.  Are you SURE that your parents are BOTH positive?

[Mama Sita]

Oh blood typing!! FUN STUFF!!
We just blood typed all 4 of our kids this year using the Eldon Cards. Before we typed them, I drew out all the possibilities on our white board of what they could possibly be. It was a wide variety of possibilities since I am AB+ and hubby is A+. We found out that we have only one A+ son, and all the rest are B+.

Knowing that, we determined that my hubby is actually AO. You have to remember that you have 2 alleles that make up your blood type. Type A could be either AA or AO. They don't tell you the second one, they just call them both A. Same with Type B. You're either BB or BO. Welll......knowing that we had at least one type B+ kid turn up confirms that hubby HAS to be AO, otherwise we would not get a Type B kid.

To figure it all out, you actually have to make alittle grid to figure out all the possibilities. Um, if I had a scratchpad here, I could show you and it would all make perfect sense. Actually, using that website that Boysmama posted should help a whole bunch.

Anyhoo, I would recommend the Eldon cards. They're very fun to play with and quite accurate, too, I've heard.

As for the poking, um, just get brave and do it really fast. Offering a prize (bribe) may help in this situation....

[herbalmom]

Since you & your DH both have RH positive blood your children will also. As far as needing blood in an emergency or for surgery, they will either give O- (universal donor) or will type & cross match anyway. They don't take anyone's word for it on blood type b/c people make mistakes. HTH Blessings ~herbalmom

Two positives do not always create positive offsprings. There can be a hidden negative gene that shows up in one of the children. ( my parents are RH+ while I am RH-) I too had been told in school and believed that two positives create positive and was shocked during my first pregnancy to learn that this was not so.
 However, I have been told repeatedly that two negatives always, with very rare/no exceptions, create negative offspring. This is helpful for me because I can refuse rhogram shots on this basis.

I would love to study genetics sometime. I have been told that since both dh and I are O- all of our children will be as well. Is this true? Something about the O and the RH- being recessive genes 

That is surprising but intriguing. I have also always been told that 2 pos will always have pos DC, 2 negs- neg DC & mixed parents either but more likely pos DC. My dad is O- & both my sister & I are also. I believe my mom is pos. (since it's my dad that's neg it wasn't an issue for my mom but it has been for my sister & I since we are both neg) My DH is pos & I am O- & all 3 DC are pos. My oldest is 21 & during my pregnancy with him was the only time I was given info about it & not a whole lot of info at that. Being pre internet & because it didn't seem a big deal at the time, I didn't research it. Thanks for the info. 

If both the O gene & the neg gene are recessive then I guess I'm VERY recessive since I'm O-.  Blessings ~herbalmom

[boysmama]

I used the arizona link above.  There are lots of helpful charts and fun problem solving quizzes.  I got all of them right except #4.  Are you SURE that your parents are BOTH positive?

Yes, my parents are both positive. Their blood types respectively are A+ and O+.  My dad,  apparently, must be either AA or AO RH+/RH- while my mom has to be OO Rh+/ RH-.
Great fun to to delve into. Just the mental diversion I needed to get out of the "mollygrubs" today! 

PS.
WOOPS! Was thinking about it and the breakdown on my dad's type  has to be AO RH+/RH-    because if he were AA I could have only gotten an A from him. Since my mom is O and I am O; I got one O from her and had to also get an O from my dad.

[ShabbyChic]

I meant to post above, this site shows you how the at home test tells you everything and you don't have to send anything to a lab.  It has a grid and whatever combo your blood comes up is your type.

http://www.craigmedical.com/Blood_typing_kit.htm

[ShabbyChic]

My OB nurse just called and said that my bloodwork from when I was pregnant with #2 says I am A+ and I asked her about this and she said:

"Funny you should mention that.  Both my husband and I are A+ and when my daughter was pregnant with her first child they typed her as A- and I said, 'I'm a nurse, that's impossible' and when I called the phlebotamist here at the hospital she came and showed me all of the factors and said it's rare, but definitely possible for 2 positive parents to make a negative baby."

So there we go.

[herbalmom]

I meant to post above, this site shows you how the at home test tells you everything and you don't have to send anything to a lab.  It has a grid and whatever combo your blood comes up is your type.

http://www.craigmedical.com/Blood_typing_kit.htm

Thanks. I see a homeschool project on the horizon.  Blessings ~herbalmom

[ShabbyChic]

Just ordered my eldon kit from birthsupplies.com. 

$6 for the kit and $6 for shipping. 

It just ain't right... 

But $12 is a whole lot cheaper than what I would've paid at the pediatrician, so thanks y'all, and I'm grateful.

[Missy]

Hmmmm...I checked out the Arizona link and my hubby's blood type (B+) and mine (O+) cannot make my daughters (AB+).  I think I have a medical record discrepancy.  I will have to dig in my files and make sure I have everything right.

[ShabbyChic]

Well if you need to find out who your baby-daddy is, the health department will do it for free.     No, I'm kidding.  I know that's not it. 

But when the lady at the health department said it to me so non-chalantly, as if not knowing who your child's father is is perfectly normal and not an insult...

Excuse me?

I'll have to thank my mother's mothers... isn't that how the old feminist mantra goes?  Yeah.  I'll have to thank them.   

[Missy]

Well if you need to find out who your baby-daddy is, the health department will do it for free.     No, I'm kidding.  I know that's not it. 

  

Praise the Lord, we were both pure to the marriage altar!  And have remained faithful here to and forever after! 

I am going to check my records though.  None of this would have ever came up until this new hospital said I am O+.  My parents even thought maybe I was switched at birth until my mom read two A+'s can make a O+...now I have to figure out where my daughter came from 

[ShabbyChic]

I frequently say that my husband was switched at birth... but that's a different thread... 

[Missy]

Hmmmm...I checked out the Arizona link and my hubby's blood type (B+) and mine (O+) cannot make my daughters (AB+).  I think I have a medical record discrepancy.  I will have to dig in my files and make sure I have everything right.

Good grief...I looked in my records and I had hubby's and daughter's blood type mixed up   So it is possible...hubby is AB+, I am O+ and daughter is B+.  Our children should end up with either A or B according to the blood type calculator. 

Can I contribute it to pregnancy brain?  

It was a shocker for me to find out I was a different blood type that I originally thought.  Caused quite a stir between my parents 

[healthybratt]

http://www.testsymptomsathome.com/fs_EBA01.asp?urlparams=catid=BDT_typeid=BDT_subtypeid=BDT_portalid=GOO_BaseTerm=---how_blood_type

[ShabbyChic]

Got my Eldon kit in the mail today.  It is very straight forward, although it has a LOT of steps.  It's complicated, but the directions are well written. 

My 3 year old FLIPPED OUT and getting blood into the little spoons was a joke.  The spoons they give are ridiculously difficult to get blood into.  It took a real struggle, yelling, and chocolate ice cream to find out that he is also O+.  It's almost worth the $150 doctor visit just to have them do it in 1 minute instead of (I'm not exaggerating) 40 minutes. 

Of course I said almost.  But if money were not tight, I'd go to the doctor.  It was NOT easy.  Just because we have things available to us does not mean that it is a good idea to take advantage of doing things ourselves instead of letting pros do it.  I am not a trained nurse or a phlebotomist and I did a hack job.  It worked, but it was just too stressful.

And they only give you one one-time-use grommet to prick your finger, so you'd better get all of the blood from that finger before it runs dry because you get no second prick from another finger.  Unless you resort to other methods of drawing blood...  Overall it was a real nightmare, my blood pressure is THROUGH the ROOF, but at least it's over and we know his blood type.

Just thought I'd type up my experience for anyone thinking of doing it themselves. 

[ArmyWife]

Before starting a new thread, I thought I'd ask here if any of you know of thread on WTM about eating according to your blood type.  I've heard about this from a chiropractor and have also heard it mentioned on the Dr. Mercola site. 

[herbalmom]

Before starting a new thread, I thought I'd ask here if any of you know of thread on WTM about eating according to your blood type.  I've heard about this from a chiropractor and have also heard it mentioned on the Dr. Mercola site. 

I found it by searching for blood as the key word & clicking search topic subjects only:

Blood Type Diet by Dr. Peter D'Adamo

Also, we have a thread for help in finding threads. Probably would have been a better place to post this- just so you know for the future, not a criticism. 

Where's That Thread? [Missing, Misplaced, & I Just Can't Find It!]

HTH Blessings ~herbalmom