25 Weeks Bumpdate: The Glucose Test

25 Weeks Bumpdate: The Glucose Test

I know I say this often but I really can’t understand how quickly time is passing. How am I 25 Weeks pregnant already?!  Unreal.

We have been busy with packing up our apartment and getting ready for the move.  I honestly can’t wait for it to all be over.  It feels really great to go through items and throw things out but moving in general is just stressful and I’m ready for it to all be done.  I am focusing on when we are in our new place and I am able to organize the apartment the way we will feel the most at home, especially with having everything set up and ready for Liam.

In baby news, I had the dreaded glucose test which was nothing like the horror stories I had been hearing leading up to it.  My family wanted to make sure I wasn’t alone for this test just in case I had a bad reaction to it, so I thankfully had my Dad come with me.  We got to the hospital for around 10:30.  It was the first time I had received my number and was called within 2 minutes to register- it was so fast, I couldn’t believe it.  After registering, it was only another couple of minutes before I was called to get started.  I am accustomed to waiting at least 20 minutes just to get registered so to have all of this happen in less than ten minutes was amazing but surprising.

When I got to the back, I was expecting to have an initial blood test done but all they did was tell me to go sit in a different waiting area.  A woman who was called after me was given her drink and I continued to sit and wait.  Another nurse walked by, shaking her head and said to me “That nurse was supposed to give you a drink too but she’s not used to the process yet- here you go,” as she handed me a bottle of orange liquid and a straw “-you have 5 minutes to drink it all.  Once you’re done, come back to see me.”

I was a bit worried that I would find it so disgusting that it would take me longer than 5 minutes to drink it, so I chugged it down as quickly as I could while using the straw.  It wasn’t that bad!  It tastes like a tad bit bitter Orange Crush.  I ended up finishing it before the woman who got hers before me finished hers.  I went back to see the nurse and the one who forgot to give me my drink registered me.  She told me to come back in an hour at 11:29.  I went back to the waiting room and sat next to my Dad.

After about 5 minutes, I heard my number called again which confused me since I had just seen the nurse.  I asked another nurse if my number had in fact been called,  She told me to go see the one who registered me after drinking the glucose solution.  I went to see her and said “I think you called me again, I’m just making sure everything is alright.”  She went to her computer to start the next process then saw the time stamp.  “But it’s not 11:29 yet…. what are you doing back and why do you have an empty bottle?”  I said “I know it’s not 11:29 but you called my number again so I came back to see if there was something else you needed from me.  As for the bottle, you registered me and I had just been holding onto it.”

She continued to make a big deal about me throwing the bottle out and saying it wasn’t my time yet.  Another nurse had to tell her I was called back because she hadn’t registered my number properly; they would continue to call me over and over again.  Sigh!  Her tone had been so condescending when she spoke to me. In the end, it was because of something she had done.  I was not the least bit annoyed by any of this since it seems like she was new to all of this. If she had spoken the way she had to me to another patient who was not in a good mood, it may not have gone as civilly.

I returned to the waiting room and was then able to relax with my Dad for an hour.  He did a good job at making sure I was feeling okay the entire time.  My reaction to it, was that my face turned red and it stayed that way all day.  I looked like a tomato even several hours after I was home.  At the beginning, I had felt a nauseous feeling in the back of my throat and my chest but it wasn’t too bad.  I felt a bit of pressure on my temple and my eyes felt “buggy” but overall, I was feeling quite good.  I can definitely see why they tell you it is best to rest while you wait.  If I had to move around, I know I would not have felt well.

The good thing about waiting in the hospital is that you never run out of things to watch.  The computer system they use to keep everyone’s numbers in check, announce when it is your turn/where you have to go crashed.  The doctors and nurses had to figure out which number they were at and proceeded to call everyone manually.  They fixed it in 10-15 minutes but it made things interesting!

When it was 11:30, I was called to have my blood taken.  I gave 3 vials since they also check CBC for Anemia and another test is for Hepatitis B.  They said it takes a week to get the results so I will get the news when I see my Doctor on the 4th.  You’re not allowed to drink or eat for the hour you have to wait and believe me when I say, you will want to have a bottle of water ready for when you’re done.  It tasted so good.

Overall, it all went completely well and we were back in the car at 11:34.  It was super fast and I feel good about it.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that the results show good news– I will update you once I know.

Other than that, Liam has been kicking up a storm lately.  Yesterday, it was non-stop ALL day.  At one point, my whole tummy vibrated like I was having an earthquake on my belly.  I had never experienced it before and it honestly made me nervous.  It felt like he was having a seizure or something- that’s how weird it felt.  It made me pause and check to make sure that he continued kicking, which he did.  When I looked it up online I found that he may have had a muscle spasm or was just kicking his legs really quickly but that it was normal.

That morning, I also put headphones on my belly and played some music for Liam; at a safe volume of course.  It was always my plan to introduce music to Liam from an early age.  It was fun to see how he reacted to the music while in the womb.  I chose some of my favorite City & Colour music, and he kicked a lot at the beginning.  Then, he stopped as though he was really listening to the song.  Once the song was over, he kicked until I started playing another one.  It was pretty cute and I can’t wait to do it again.

His kicks are so strong, it honestly feels like if he keeps this up he’ll end up breaking my ribs!  I am not complaining.  I’m very happy he seems so strong and I rather feel him non-stop than not at all.  I thought that would only happen later on when he started running out of room to grow but nope!  All in all, everything is going smoothly and we are all happy!

More to come in the following weeks!