My husband set the alarm for 3 am (at my request) so I could get up to pump last night. I was unhappy about waking up when it went off, but I dutifully pumped. My breast still felt clogged, despite my putting the hot pad on it (maybe I made it too hot!) and taking a hot shower and massaging in the shower. I really needed to nurse. A baby is far better at emptying milk ducts than a pump.
At 8 am I woke up to the sight of my baby crawling into the room where I was sleeping (sort of my sewing room). Of course, my husband was right behind him. I was pleased to see that it was 8, which meant that it was 23 hours since the radioactive glucose was administered, so almost 12 half-lives had elapsed, making it ok to finally hold my son!!! (The doctor and the tech told me yesterday that the half-life was 110 minutes, but both rounded up to 120 minutes for ease of conversion/understanding.) I was instructed that 10 half-lives, or 20 hours, was ok but 24 hours was better.
I happily held and kissed my beautiful boy. Once he was ready to come out of the shower (my husband takes a shower with him every morning and has done so for almost all of our son's life) I was eager to wrap him in a towel, take him in my arms, and put him on the changing table to be dried with a hair drier (on low and warm, not high and hot!) and then oiled with sweet almond oil before diapering and dressing. Oh what wonderful fun to take care of/play with my growing boy! He insists on standing up on the changing table now. Frankly, this does make it easier to dry him, but more difficult to oil him! Also, quite difficult to diaper him!! But whatever--I had a great time.
I nursed him starting at 9:30, over 12 half-lives after the PET shot but only 47 (instead of 48) hours after the MRI shot...hope I don't go to hell for it...I drank at least 4.5 liters of water yesterday to help the my body get rid of all that stuff...
In fact, I broke nearly all my weaning rules today. I really needed to get the clogged duct cleared out and thankfully nursing is the best way to do that. My breast is back to normal. Good gracious how nice it is to take my baby into my arms. How wonderful it is to calm him with the comfort he is used to--the comfort of nursing. (It is the comfort I am used to as well.)
What a relief.
Anyhow, it was a wonderful day of hanging out, reading books, crawling after him as he climbed the stairs, supervising him as he chased the cat (Piggy), and all those other little things we do together. I enjoyed the whole day with him, especially nursing him to sleep this evening. Golly dern how I am going to miss that.
Tomorrow my husband (whom I am going to call Captain Obvious from now on) , the baby (whom I am going to call Captain Adorable), and I are going on a little trip. We're going to hit Luray Caverns tomorrow afternoon and Monticello on Saturday. Then we're coming home.
Tomorrow is also the day the oncologist is supposed to call and tell me about the PET CT scan report...if she has good news, the trip will be a celebration. If she has bad news, it will be a distraction.
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