The Romaezis

Day 34: Busy Day

Holy lots of stuff to do batman!  So last night I had to fast after midnight.  Normally not too hard for me to do.  I had an apple at 10 and a banana at 11 but for some reason once the clock struck midnight I HAD to have food.  Too late, it was just me and my buddy water until morning.  The nurse woke me at 6 a.m. to drink the sugary sweet orange stuff for the Gestational Diabetes test.  People say it reminds them of flat orange soda and that it is just plain awful tasting.  The flat orange soda might actually taste good.  This tasted like flat orange soda with 25 packets of sugar added.  If I hadn’t heard the flat orange soda description so many times I would describe it more as those pop ice things from my childhood, but unfrozen–admit it, you drank them before they were frozen too.  I prefer my orange soda cut with sprite so this was definitely too sweet for this gummy bear and candyaholic.  The nurse gave the orange gunk to me over ice, which made it drinkable.   It made my throat all slimy though.  Gross.  I was hoping to sleep for an hour before the blood guy came in.  Fat chance I was on a total sugar high.

The blood guy came in at 7 to draw my blood and check sugar levels.  Again I got the small veins comment (ugh) and again it hurt a little when he stuck me.  About half way through the blood draw the blood just stopped flowing into his little tube.  Dude said, “Hm, it stopped, that shouldn’t happen” as sweat beads from his head dripped all over my arm.  Mind you by now I was queasy from drinking all of that sugar on an empty stomach and it took all I had not to vomit as soon as that sweat hit my flesh.  Disgusting but in true Jamie fashion I said, “Oh, that’s okay!” with a smile when he apologized.  He proceeded to poke the needle around in the crook of my elbow to get the blood flowing again before I told him no digging and to just find a new vein.  Dude, if it isn’t working, it isn’t working.  Move on.  So again I got stuck with the needle he got the blood he needed and off dude went.  I don’t have the results from the test yet but I’m really hoping I passed this one and don’t have to do the 3 hour test.

Of course I had a sugar crash after that sugar high and slept for almost another two hours.  There was a knock at the door at 9:45, the ultrasound tech  was here to take me to my ultrasound.  Groggy I asked “I’m getting an ultrasound today?”  No one had told me but I’m not going to argue with that!  I knew it would be shorter than the one we had last week and was probably just to measure fluid.  They don’t measure baby’s weight more than every 3 weeks because the read isn’t accurate if done too frequently.  So anywho, out of bed for me and off to the ultrasound room.  No good pictures of baby’s face but the fluid is up to 4.5 (they measure twice, one measure was at 4.8)!  Kayvan and I were thrilled to see the jump from 3.1 to 4.5 in only a week.

We just got back from the NICU tour.  The woman who arranges and gives them was so nice and helpful.  The first thing she said was how happy she was to learn I am still here.  She told us that she had been watching us the day we came in and was very happy that we made it through the night but was even happier when our name came off of her “immediate” list.  Her biggest concern was making sure I was comfortable, at ease and worry free.  She came to meet us in our room and gave us some reading material.  She shared some rules with us too.  Only parents are allowed in the NICU, no grandparents, no friends.  Children are not even allowed on the floor in the waiting area.  Sorry everyone, we will take lots of pictures for you but I like these rules.  Gotta keep baby germ free.  We also learned that we will each be given a bracelet as soon as baby is born and have to keep it on even after we are discharged in order to come visit the little guy.  After the quick little review it was to the wheelchair and down to the NICU.  When I stood up to get in the chair the woman giving us the tour commented how teeny I am.  Made me a little sad because I was just starting to think I’m getting big!  Darn.  The elevator felt SO strange to me on the ride down.  I guess I forgot what being on an elevator feels like.  Once we got to the NICU, The first room we saw was full of the itty bitty preemies.  They were on monitors, in isolettes, etc.  One little babe started screaming the minute we walked in the room, he was a bit bigger than the rest and not on many monitors.  The nurse walked over, put her gown on picked him up, calmed him down and just sat in the rocker with him.  I knew she was a nurse, but Kayvan thought she was a mom.  He was so impressed.  I was too but not as much as him since I knew she was a nurse.  The second room we saw had little mini cribs set up and was just for babies who needed to learn how to eat, digest and expel (we will call it) before going home.  These babies were much bigger.  Kayvan and I would love it if we can take little man home with us, but if he isn’t quite ready I prefer room two.  Who knows where we will be in a few months.  Only time will tell.

The non stress test went well today.  On and off rather quickly.  The boy seemed to be sleeping probably on his sugar crash.  I drank apple juice and that didn’t work so I resorted to poking at him.  That worked remarkably well.  Kayvan still hates that I poked at him.  I used to be able to say, what the amniotic fluid will protect him.  I know he is still fine to be poked at but I don’t have any reasoning for him.