Yesterday was a funny day. On our return from the hospital we went to sleep around 6am until 8am when Jasmine woke up wanting to be fed. After some usual vomiting and singing and tidying around she went back to sleep around 9.30am and so did I (Neil had made a dash for the camp bed and silence of the other room at 8am). And we all slept until noon.
After that the whole day passed in a blur of tea and toast and pyjamas. Neil connected Jasmine at 5pm and I went to bed as I was still really tired and in my pyjamas and slept until my mum rang around 6pm and we had a big chat. Then I got up and wandered about for more tea and toast as I was too tired and feeling too sick to eat anything else. Jasmine was very good and caught up on her sleep and snoozed from 5pm until we went to bed around 11pm and then she slept all night.
We were all awake at 7am and had lovely breakfast in bed and now I am on my second breakfast of tea and toast (my first was fruit and nuts – aren’t I healthy?). Jasmine is lying next to me intermittently snoozing and singing and coughing up phlegm. My new discovery is that a handful of almonds when I feeling a bit ropey, helps to take away the morning sickness feeling.
Jasmine has a really bad cold again and has been coughing which makes her vomit and has a snotty nose. She gave up feeding on Monday evening which was a bit of a shame, as we had had a lovely day. We went out for lunch and to an afternoon matinee at the cinema to see Ghost Town, which was really funny and made us laugh. Jasmine loved the cinema and kept shouting out to join in with the people on the screen. Everytime we walked her to the doorway she would immediately be quiet as if she didn’t want to miss any of the film.
In the evening, it was a struggle to get her feed down her and then at bedtime she refused her milk altogether. I put the NG tube back down on Tuesday morning. She cried for two hours and pulled it out and then I put it down again and she sicked it up and then I put it down again and she screamed. It was a tiring day. I guess after having drunk all her milk every day for seven weeks, Jasmine had forgotten what the NG felt like and was really upset. Tuesday and Wednesday, every time I went near her to hook her up to the food pump, she would scream when I touched the NG.
Wednesday was a tricky day as I had to go to the hospital to have a glucose test as they suspect that I might have pregnancy diabetes. I didn’t eat anything after 10pm and could only drink water. The test started at 9.15am, they took my blood and gave me two cups of Lucozade to drink. The nurse had difficulty getting my blood out and told me she would do it differently the next time. Unfortunately, she had a worse job that time and was trying to suck it out with a syringe until my arm went numb and the blood trickled down to my hand and I threw up everywhere. I was a bit worried that the test would no longer work since the Lucozade was all over the floor, but she said that it was ok and bravely pressed on using my other arm and got another nurse to mop up the sick. Poor things! And then I waited another hour to have the final blood test with my arms all bandaged up.
Neil came down to drop Jasmine off and then Jasmine and I went to lunch and waited about for my 12-week scan in the fetal renal unit. I had to sit with a rather full bladder and feel extremely uncomfortable for ages as unfortunately everything was running behind by about an hour. Poor Jasmine was throwing up in the waiting room every two minutes much to the horror of the new mothers-to-be and then when I went in for the scan she kept vomiting there and everyone was really brilliant entertaining her and mopping her down. It was the same group of people from my last pregnancy and they work closely with GOSH so they knew all about Jasmine and were just lovely. And the doctor who had sent me out in the night to Homerton when I was in labour was really sorry and kept apologising, which was very sweet as it wasn’t her fault there was no room at the inn.
So, it seems that I am further along than first thought. Today, I am 12 weeks and 5 days. The baby was whizzing about so quickly that it took ages to get all the measurements they needed and they had me jumping up and down on the table to get the baby to move to a better position. But Jasmine was very good and sat patiently for ages. Afterwards, they wanted to do another blood test which took a while as my veins were in ribbons and we had to hunt about for another vein. This test went off better as I was well-hydrated and well-fed.
We finally got home around 6pm after Jasmine and I had put in a full day at the hospital. Jasmine came home in a pair of socks, a baby body, a jumper and a fur coat, as we had run out of all the trousers, tops, tights and dresses I had taken with me. I am glad she had her blanket on in the buggy otherwise people would have been wondering why I dress my baby like a nutter.
I met a retired nurse from GOSH on the tube who was attracted by Jasmine’s NG tube and wanted a full medical history. Ah yes, we are back in the NG world of nosy people and people who want to share with you all their terrible stories and troubles, and want you to tell them yours and don’t seem to care that you might find it painful to talk to them at all and that you are sitting there wishing that they would bugger off and mind their own businesses.
Anyway once home I was looking forward to an early night but what with one thing and another and a midnight trip to GOSH, it was 6am before I got my early night.
Neil keeps thanking me for spotting the split, as we have had to ring the community nurses three times this morning to get some syringes, and each time it reminds him about when they had to come in every two days for a fortnight after Jasmine’s last line break. He is so grateful we have avoided all that – not least of all because antibiotics and nystatin for 14 days don’t help with Jasmine’s weight gain – and I feel very popular today.
My Godfathers, I plugged Jasmine into her foodpump at 9am and at 10.45am I wondered why it hadn’t finished and Neil came in and said that I still was feeding her on the overnight schedule. We put her on an overnight feed last night for the first time in months to catch up and let us all sleep, as she had vomited so much. So poor thing this morning had only had a few mls. I have upped the pace and she has gone off to sleep – finally getting some food in. Seven weeks off the food pump and I have totally forgotten how to use it too.
Right, I think it is time I got out of these pyjamas, as lovely as they are, and got on with the day. I might have to wear a long sleeved top as my arms are covered in bruises and I don’t want to frighten anyone.
Oh no Jasmine has started vomiting. Aaargh!
Evening
I know this is the longest blog in the world already, but when Jasmine and I went to the shops, I met a very nice lady who asked what was wrong with Jasmine so I just said that she needs an NG to feed better. And then she told me a rather sad story.
And it got me thinking. The other night, Neil and I had a discussion about what sort of help we would like to have, and if we feel we need help then what sort of help should we be giving others. And perhaps this is one way I can help others. I may not want to talk about my problems but the people I meet want to talk about theirs, and if they choose to do it with me, then the least I can do is listen to them so that they feel better. It doesn’t matter how sad their stories are, if they need to share them with me, then I must let them.
Right, time to do Jasmine’s dressing.