Ryan's MRI

Ryan had his first MRI this morning. Our day started VERY early. Ryan wasn't supposed to nurse after 6 am. I had set my alarm for 5.30 am thinking that I could nurse him just before 6. But, Ryan apparently had other plans. He woke up at 5 am. I took my time changing his diaper in hopes of delaying his feeding, but he was finished nursing by 5.30 am and wouldn't nurse any more after that.

We left the house around 6.45 am and arrived at the hospital at about 8 am. We went downstairs to the pediatric radiology waiting room to register. After about 5 minutes, we were taken to the prep/recovery area. They weighed him (14 lbs) and took a medical history. I met with the anesthesiologist who decided that we would just try an IV sedation.

It took 5 ... yes, you read that correctly ... FIVE attempts and 1 1/2 hours to get the IV placed. It was heart-wrenching to watch as they pinned down his legs and arms, and pushed and twisted his little limbs in a desperate attempt to find his tiny veins. When they finally had the IV placed, he went straight to sleep before they even started the meds. The little guy was just exhausted from all the trauma.

They took him back to the MRI and of course I wasn't allowed to go with him. They said he'd be back in 30-45 minutes, but it was 65 minutes before he came back. He apparently slept through the MRI, but woke as they took him out of the MRI. He cried all the way back to the room, and as soon as picked him up he went right back to sleep.

We spent quite a while in the recovery room trying to get him to wake up enough to take some clear liquids. They couldn't discharge him until he had kept some of the clear liquid down for a while. We eventually got him to drink enough of the glucose water and to keep it down, so we were discharged.

We got home around 2.30 pm. He and I slept for about an hour. I was hoping for a little more sleep, but I'm glad to see that the sedative seems to have worn off completely. I'm thankful that the ladies were eventually able to get the IV placed and Ryan was able to have the MRI done.

Now we wait ... about 62 more hours ...