Passed!

I got a call from the OB clinic today and the nurse told me the good news about my 3-hour glucose test. I passed! Yeah!

Over the weekend, I was already practicing looking closely at the food stuffs we were getting at Whole Foods. I started looking at sugar content. My small can of Knudsen Natural Ginger Ale has 28 grams. Hmm...is that bad? Obviously, I haven't read up enough. Heh. But it was a good exercise on conscious shopping. We stirred clear from the pastries and sweet snacks all together and loaded up on fruits and veggies.

As for the test last Friday, man, it was grueling. It wasn't the needle pricks that bothered me, my phlebotomist is this older lady who has such light hands that when she stuck the needle in, I swear I didn't feel a thing, but the long wait got to me.

When you're hungry and thirsty and have to wake up really early the next morning with nothing to eat and have to wait 3 hours on an uncomfy chair, it can try your patience. Did I forget to mention that you have to drink liquid sugar and get your blood drawn four times? Ugh.

I made the mistake of choosing the lime-flavored glucose. When I was trying to gulp it down within five minutes, I wished I've gotten the orange one instead. Ugh (again!). Just when I thought I've drank the whole thing, the lady at the reception looked at my container and told me to get every last drop. I should have told her to get a funnel and just dump the whole thing straight into my gut because trying to swallow it made it tastes even worse.

After I finished every last drop, I started doing my mantra: "Please don't puke. Please don't puke. Please don't puke." It took all my will power and attention to suppress the urge to regurgitate the glucose every hour I waited. I know if I did, I would have to freaking come back and do the whole thing all over again.

So I tried to distract myself. I brought two books and started reading. But I can't focus, I kept re-reading the same paragraphs and nothing was sinking in my brain. Top that off with sitting on uncomfy chairs in the waiting room. They should have loungers or recliners in there for pregnant women. This way, we can relax and get a little nap in between blood draws.

At one point, I found myself really wanting to just lie there on the floor and get a quick shut eye to appease my quesy stomach and prevent myself from vomiting. But there were several people coming and going so I just settled for a seat by a side wall and leaned on it.

During the first hour, I was active and still able to read my books because the sugar high kicked in. Even TLB was doing rolls and circles in my belly. But he was probably grimacing at the taste of that glucose. I did apologize to him for chugging down something awful. By the second hour, I got a bit drowsy and I honestly wanted to just sleep and not mind the time.

Dave went to the lab and waited with me during the last hour. I was so glad to have somebody to talk to and keep me distracted during this last stretch of waiting. There were two other pregnant women there who came in later that morning but one only did her one-hour glucose test and the other did a two-hour one. I was the only one there doing the long-haul test.

When things got hectic, the staff at the lab kept forgetting that I was doing a timed glucose test. So every time the hour approached, I showed my face by the reception to remind them that it was time to get my blood drawn. They did have a timer set up but with a lot of people coming in and out for blood drawings, they had a tendency to forget the time and the person taking the test.

At the last hour, my phlebotomist completely forgot my name and kept calling for "Tam." I was looking at her and she was looking at me while she kept saying the name. And I thought she was calling for another person so I didn't budge from my seat. Then finally she pointed at me and said it was time for my blood draw. I got up and told her: "I'm sorry, was that me you're referring to? I'm not Tam. I only answer to Jennifer and other derivative thereof." Oh I couldn't help being cranky. I guess that was the final phase after the sugar-high and the sugar-crash, the sugar-cranky phase.

But we both had a laugh. She apologized and told me she needed to go on a break. I answered: "Oh boy, so do I. So. Do I." After the last blood draw, I was rejoicing. Time to get something to eat and go home to get some much needed nap. I was just glad I didn't puke, the prospect of having to repeat this whole ordeal leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Literally and figuratively speaking.

Anyway, my next OB visit is at the end of the month where we'll check the status of Ms. Placenta. Oh wow, I'll be on my 28th-week mark this week. That would be seven months. Man, I need to breathe. Real deep.