MRI Mania!

The Lord could not have blessed us an ounce more today. We had the most remarkable experience with Lydie's MRI, and we are so, so, so grateful. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who have been praying for her. Your prayers were heard, answered, and felt in a MIGHTY way!!

I finally went to bed last night at a quarter to midnight, and I got up at 1:45 a.m. to feed Lydie a bottle. She only took four out of six ounces and, after multiple attempts, I just put her back to bed and hoped those four ounces would serve her well. When I looked at the clock, I was laying back down at 2:20 a.m.

At 3 a.m., I woke to hear Tyler screaming for me and saying something I couldn't understand until I made it to his room. He was rolling around in the bed with his eyes closed yelling as loudly as he could, "Mommy! I wash hands! Mommy! Mommy! Wash hands!" I suppose his cleanliness OCD even appears in his sleep. I did a quick diaper change, tucked him back in, and prayed for some sleep for myself.

At 4:45 a.m. Danny's alarm went off. I wanted to cry. My alarm went off fifteen minutes later and there wasn't a second to spare. Danny and I dressed quickly, gathered everything we needed, and woke the baby. She was all smiles and coos, which made it so much easier for us than we feared.

We made the trip across town to Walter Reed and, I must say, the city is absolutely beautiful at that time of the morning. It was still really dark outside, but the lights on the monuments gave everything a dreamy haze. I couldn't understand all the people we saw out running before 6 a.m., but to each his own.

After about 16 different security checks, we found a parking place and made it into the hospital ten minutes early. I was so thankful for that extra ten minutes because I got to stop by the Dunkin Donuts for a hot chocolate and a bagel (and thought about you the whole time, Dad!). Oh, and a ten pack of chocolate munchkins that they had conveniently displayed right by the register. Who could resist?

We got Lydie to the fifth floor and waited for the nurses to escort us to the sedation room. It was a bright yellow room with all sorts of fun things to look at. I sensed that Lydie was immediately comfortable, largely in part to her sweet nurse, Raquel.

Our big girl weighed in at 19.3 pounds today, which was a little more than she weighed at her developmental evaluation (18.11 pounds, 58th percentile) a couple of weeks ago, so she seems to be growing nicely. Based on her weight, they calculated the dosage of medication she would get, and we were surprised when they showed us what a tiny amount it would take to put her to sleep.

Lydie played with all the equipment she could get her hands on (certainly a nurse in the making) while we waited for the next steps. I couldn't believe how happy she was. She wasn't even fussing for a bottle or anything!

Well, that contentment quickly turned to outright rage when it was time to place her IV. I can't blame her; they dug around in her right arm for what seemed like hours. She was soaked in sweat and tears by the time they decided to try elsewhere. I felt so sorry for her. I would have traded places with her in two seconds flat if they'd let me. It was torture to watch.

Finally, the nurses were able to place the IV in her foot and all was well again.

We traveled downstairs to the MRI room and signed all the necessary paperwork for putting her to sleep. I was really nervous about watching her be put to sleep, but, thankfully, it was very peaceful and calm. She was reaching for my face as she was getting drowsy which I thought was so incredibly sweet, so I covered her in kisses, rubbed her face, caressed her arm, brushed back her hair, and talked to her until she was in la-la land. It was much less abrupt than I'd imagined and I was thrilled to see her so comfortable.

Once we were in the MRI room, my emotions caught up with me. Have you ever seen an MRI machine? I mean, I knew they were big, but, man, that thing is BIG. Especially compared with my tiny baby girl laying on a long stretcher-like thing with her whole body, including her face, completely covered. The sight of her being pushed into that machine was more than I could handle, so the tears fell for about five minutes. After that, I curled up on Danny's shoulder and fell asleep. I was so tired anyway, and it was easier to just close my eyes than to continue looking at my girl in that tunnel.

The actual procedure took about 45 minutes because the doctor ordered the MRI to be done with and without contrast, so halfway through the nurses had to add dye to her IV. When everything was done and the radiologist confirmed that the images were good enough, we wheeled her back to the fifth floor. The nurse told us to take a break for a little while since Lydie would be asleep for a couple of hours. We hated to leave her side, but, at the same time, we couldn't do anything except get in the way by just standing around while she slept.

We grabbed a bite to eat, tried to find her a souvenir, and made our way back upstairs. It wasn't long before Lydie started stirring. As soon as she made a movement, Raquel turned all the lights on around her and took out her little earplugs. Before we knew it, she was sitting up and wobbling around about as drunk as a skunk.

We spent the next hour laughing and laughing at that sweet baby. She was hilarious! Once she got a taste of the apple juice they gave her, she couldn't get enough. They wouldn't let her have too much at a time in case of vomiting, so she was really mad when we weren't fulfilling her request for more. She would hold up that juice box as if to say "Cheers! Give me another one!" and then burp like a man at a bar. It was priceless! Slowly but surely she got her wits about her and when she passed all of her tests, we were released to go home. It wasn't even 12:30 p.m.!!

In my haste to post last night, I forgot to mention that Bobbi and Fred had come into town to help us. God bless them. I called before we even knew any of this was going to be happening and begged them to come stay with us again (you'll remember they were here most of January). They are absolute saints, and we are so, so, so blessed to have them in our lives. They stayed with Tyler this morning so that Danny and I could both be at the hospital. What an answered prayer!

Tyler was so excited to see us when we got home and the feeling was mutual. I was also thankful that it was, not only, almost his naptime, but that there were extra hands available to supervise Lydie so that I could take a desperately needed nap myself. I think I slept about 3 1/2 hours, and when I woke up, the whole house smelled of pot roast, potatoes, and carrots.

Do you see why I L-O-V-E having Bobbi and Fred come stay with us??

And, while the meal was delicious, the dessert was even better. Bobbi knows I love a pound cake almost better than anything else, but I really love the crusty part of the pound cake best. Well, she had broken out her mother's old recipe for an extra-crusty pound cake, and, as I am writing this, I am enjoying my second piece. I am helpless to resist.

Lydie has been doing well all afternoon. She continued to drink juice and eat puffs until about 4:30 p.m. when Danny offered her a regular bottle. She wasn't too interested in it at that point. During dinner, I fed her a container of applesauce and gave her some more juice, all of which she enjoyed. After a warm bath, she was able to drink an eight ounce bottle without any trouble. I won't be surprised if she wakes in the night for some more to drink, and we'll gladly oblige. Her little system has got to be hungry!

Again, thanks to all of you who so graciously prayed that this day would go smoothly. I wish I could express to you how deeply those prayers were felt. I can't think of a single thing that could have gone any better (except for the IV situation, but I don't think those sorts of things can be avoided). It could be three working days before we hear anything from the doctor, but I fully expect to hear something by the end of the week. Of course, we'll keep you posted on what we hear.

This one was post-IV drama. See her little foot? And her bandage on her right arm?

Waking up

"Ummmm, I'm gonna need some more of this juice, Daddy."