I had my Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) earlier today. Despite reading and hearing a lots of complaints from women with regards to some aspects of the test such as the fasting, the very sweet concoction that they give you to drink and the long wait that you have to endure before all three samples would be taken, I am happy to say that my experience was relatively good and manageable.
I woke up at around 5:30 this morning and went out an hour after that to commute to the hospital where I will have my GTT. Since my midwife told me during my last appointment that women were already piling up in the pathology section’s area starting at 7 am, I made sure to come in earlier than my scheduled appointment of 7:30 am so that I could be served immediately. The commute was a breeze as I was already in the waiting area before 7 am.
When I arrived, a lady was already sitting in there waiting for the receptionist who’s going to hand out numbers to arrive. Yes, at least, I was second in line. Pleasantries and conversations ensued. She asked me how long I am in and I told her that I’m already on my 27th week. Apparently, she’s also on her 27th week. She told me that she arrived at 6:30 am because she needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. Same sentiment here, since I still had to go to work after that. When the conversation died down, I took out the book that I’ve been reading for two weeks now to pass time. It’s a good decision that I brought the book (even though it was heavy) because I was able to read lot a while I was waiting for my turn. ♥
Five minutes before our scheduled appointment, the receptionist came in, placed a box of laminated numbers on the desk and asked each of us to grab one. It’s actually amazing that all of the ladies there know where they are in the sequence even though we were not in any line whatsoever. If we’re in any other country, I don’t think that would be the case! After 10 minutes, they were already calling out the numbers one by one and getting our appointment forms.
At 7:45 am, one of the collectors called out my name and led me to one of the rooms there. She took the first blood sample and then explained to me that she will again call me at 8:45 am to take the second sample and lastly at 9:45 am to take the last sample. She also gave me a plastic bottle which, by the looks of it, contains the controversial drink that every pregnant woman in Australia knows. She instructed me to consume the drink within 5 minutes after she had taken the first sample. I already had a preconceived notion how’s it gonna be because of the stories from women I had talk with and had read. I was already preparing myself for the worst! This could be the worst drink that I could ever have tasted just yet. While I was sipping away, there’s only one thought that had popped into my head: “This is not so bad!”. It actually tasted nice for me. Well, that’s coming of course from someone who generally appreciates everything edible. ♥
The collector led me again to the same room and took my second sample. She inserted the syringe back to where she had inserted it earlier. God, It was painful! It would definitely bruise, I thought. The collection lasted for a bout a minute and off I go to the clinics’ waiting area. After 5 minutes of sitting there to continue on with my book, I heard my name being called out. When I checked who it was, I saw a cute midwife in a uniform wearing a pixie haircut. I jumped to my feet and approached her. She greeted me with a smile and made me at ease as she led me down the hallway to one of the clinics in there.
As I entered room, I noticed that there’s another person already sitting there. I initially thought that we were approaching the wrong room but it turned out she is another midwife and Alison, who called me in earlier, was a student midwife. So that explains the uniform she was wearing.
As we sat down and got comfortable, Alison started by asking me how I was feeling. I told them I was feeling great. They were both in shock as normally pregnant woman especially those who are approaching their third trimester would not be so inclined to use the word “great” to explain what they are feeling. But I really do and they told me that it was good to hear that. She continued on by explaining what the GTT was for and proceeded on checking the results of my previous blood tests, which according to them looked fantastic. She also iterated that if there’s some problem with the results of my GTT, the hospital would call me to inform me about it but if I haven’t heard from them in the next couple of days then that means that all is well. ♥
After the discussion, they asked me to lie down so that they could check the baby’s heart rate. Alison checked where Bibibam is by lightly pressing on different parts of my belly. When she found him, she then placed the gelled doppler on my exposed belly to search for his heart rate. Every time Alison places the doppler on my belly, she would get a hard kick from Bibibam and he will move to a different position. This went on for more than 5 minutes. I can’t help but laugh every time he kicks the doppler or Alison’s hands. Alison would laugh a little too every time he does it. He is still in my belly and he’s already stubborn and very aware of his private space!
Since I was already feeling that Bibibam was giving Alison such a hard time and he will not stop anytime soon, I asked him to behave and cooperate. Well, he did not respond positively immediately so the other midwife stepped in and took the doppler from Alison. Again, when the midwife pressed either her fingers or the doppler on the part of my belly where Bibibam was, he would kick it hard and went deeper into his position. “Oh, hello there!”, the midwife just said and proceeded on to look for him. I asked again Bibibam to behave and not give them anymore a hard time. After pleading twice, he eventually succumbed and listened to me. At long last, the midwife was able to find his heart beat. We listened to his heart rate, which sounded like a galloping horse, for about a minute before finally concluding that he is indeed a happy baby. I just smiled when I heard it. ♥
It is funny to observe the feeling of pride when midwives or doctors would praise Bibibam or comment positively about him. I also feel deep joy whenever people notice him or how big my baby bump is becoming. I adore it when he does new things, when he kicks or nudges me hard or when I feel him move swiftly in my belly. Always would I share it with Aaron and I even try my hardest to capture videos of him moving whenever I could so that Aaron could see what all the fuss is about. I usually wear tight clothing and refrain from wearing ultra loose blouses that would cover him up as I love to show him off to the world. When people ask me how my pregnancy is coming along, I do not think twice about showing them my tummy. Yes, he is still in my belly but I am already very proud of him and his achievements.
After the antenatal visit with the midwives, I again headed back to the pathology section’s waiting area and waited for the my final blood sample for that test to be taken. A new collector called me in, led me again to one of the rooms and asked me to sit back and relax while she prepped. I asked her to take the sample on the other arm this time.
“No news is good news”, she said to me while she was taking the sample.
After pulling out the syringe and covering it up, she told me that I was already finished for the test and was done for the day. She reminded me to not do any heavy lifting or put any unnecessary stress in my arms so that the covered up parts would not bruise.
Although I had not been feeling any pangs of hunger then, I still took out the cookie that I packed and ate it while I was waiting at the bus stop. I was able to munch the cookie down even before my bus had arrived. Eating it was pure bliss.
I went straight to work and I still was able to work for 6 hours before calling it a day. It is only when I got home and took my jacket off have I realized that the cover-ups from the blood sampling were still there stuck on the inside of my elbows. Taking them off slowly as if it was an important and big reveal, I’ve noticed that the side where the girl took the 2 samples did not have any bruise although it hurt and bled a while back. Interestingly, the other side which I thought will not have any bruise actually bruised. Oh, well.