Delirious

That word best describes both Brian and me right now. Olivia got to celebrate her birthday yesterday by staying up all night in preparation for a sleep deprived EEG today.

Here's the recap of our adventure.

Monday:

5:00-9:45 pm- Hanging out with the birthday girl and eating some cupcakes.

9:45-11:45 pm- I sleep. Brian and O spend some father daughter time together awake.

Tuesday (barely):

12:00-1:45 am- Start the trip to Concord. We drive both cars, leaving Brian's in Hickory so he can go straight to work when we get back. I drive from there to Concord. Brian and O sleep.

1:45-2:15 am- Park at a McDonald's in Concord. Try to sleep, until McD-third-shift knocks on the window and kindly tells us to move around back as we look "suspicious". Two thirty-something parents and a toddler asleep in a stereotypical-family-SUV. Yep. Be afraid. I decided to drive to keep the kiddo asleep, as she is only allowed to sleep from 12-3 and the knock on the window and the conversation with McD-third-shift had her beginning to rouse.

2:18-3:02 am- Drive 22 minutes one way. Turn around and drive 22 minutes back.

3:02 - 4:00ish am- Breakfast at Waffle House. Good food, in that greasy spoon fashion you expect from Waffle House. Sweet waitress. We found ourselves explaining to anyone who would listen that Olivia had to stay up all night for an EEG. Apparently, we were fearful someone was going to call DSS on us for having a toddler out and awake in the wee hours of the morning. Sweet waitress takes some coins from her apron pocket and plays the birthday song on the jukebox.

4:00ish - 4:30 am- Spend a little while driving in circles looking for 24 hr. Walmart. Finally found it, went inside, gave our DSS-avoidance-story to the first Walmart employee we saw (you know, just to make sure someone in the store knew our game plan).

4:45 - 6:00 am- Brian convinced me to let him take first shift, so I went back to the car and slept. Well, between sounds of buggies being gathered from the parking lot. Sometimes it sucks to be a light sleeper.

6:00 - 7:50 am- My turn with O in Walmart while Brian went to snooze in the car. Started out pretty strong, though she was tired of being in the buggy, so I held her as much as my arms could stand. We headed first towards the toys, where we met two Walmart ladies. They knew that Olivia was having an EEG (Brian did a good job of spreading the word during his shift). They talked to me and Olivia and found her some toys from the shelves that made noise. After a long conversation, one of them mentioned to the other about getting (insert someone's name that I can't remember). They asked me if I minded them getting a coworker who was also a pastor. I told them that would be great and in a few seconds, he joined our little toy aisle gathering and asked that we join hands. He prayed the sweetest prayer for us. I wish I could remember everything he said. It was the perfect prayer, shared by a stranger, for a mother who was too sleep deprived to gather the right words together herself. Three Walmart employees, a tired momma, a tired three year old in a buggy with a toy that made noise, and a prayer.

We kept shopping after that, making our way down aisles with no path or pattern. Just focusing on staying awake. Olivia started fading, so I tried to get creative with my tactics. We played with some helium balloons for a minute, went to the cold grocery section (hoping the temp change would wake us up), and I even let her down to crawl on the dirty floor (I was desperate). She went immediately from all fours to flat on her stomach, arms outstretched, face down on the floor. Hmmm. Next idea. I found a Dora kid-sized loveseat that I put on the floor and I sat her on it. Spark of a second wind. I gave her my BlackBerry, with a blank email, and she was set, typing letters for a long time.

At 7:30, I went to the food section, got some applesauce and spoons, got out the Melatonin pill she had to take, ground it into fine pieces with my fingernails (should have planned that one a little better) and fed her in the middle of the furniture aisle.

7:50-8:30 am- Checked out and said goodbye to Walmart at 7:50 and headed to the Dr's. office. We hadn't been in the car 30 seconds before she was out, and no amount of tickling or wind from outside her open window did the trick. We gave up and crossed our fingers that she would stay asleep a while. We roamed around the medical building with a limp Olivia until we finally figured out where we needed to be. Got settled in the EEG room and watched as the nurse measured and marked the locations for the sensors. Then she placed each one with its paste on my sleepy girl's head.

9:00ish-10:15 am- I sat on the bed with Olivia as the minutes ticked away. Every once in a while, she would move a little and I tried to keep her on her back and still as much as possible. It was hard, in the dark and with the soft music playing, to stay awake. Brian dozed a little here and there sitting up in the chair beside the bed. Close to the end of the EEG, the nurse positioned a strobe light and set a sequence of light patterns in front of Olivia's face. Then, with five minutes left, she asked us to try and wake her. That was nearly impossible as Olivia was thoroughly enjoying her long awaited nap. We tickled her, took her socks and pants off, put a loud toy close to her ear. No luck. She finally started to stir when the nurse started cleaning off the paste from her scalp. Olivia earned two My Little Pony stickers and some green Mardi Gras beads for her hard work and we were on our way.

10:20-11:25 am- We went to the other side of the building and joined a big roomful of folks waiting for lab work. Olivia fell back asleep almost immediately and we waited to hear our number (187) called for us to head back to the lab. They were on 167 when we got there. 188... 189... 190... 191... 192... Brian finally went to check to see why we were skipped and they said that they were verifying details on one of the tests requested. Finally, they called us back to the lab.

11:25-11:40 am- Bloodwork. Sweet girl cried a little with the needle and then watched patiently as the lab nurse filled nine vials with blood. He said he also needed a urine sample, but mentioned that we could bring it back tomorrow. We didn't want to make two trips, if we could help it, so we decided to go get some breakfast/lunch, fill her up with some sweet tea and hope her bladder kicked into high gear while we were still in town. They gave us a baggie to catch the urine (think big bandaid covering her bottom with a plastic bag attached...ow).

11:40 am-12:15 pm- Lunch at Zaxby's. Olivia didn't eat much, but she drained a sippy cup of sweet tea, which at that time was more important to us than her appetite.

12:15-1:15ish pm- Waiting. In the car. Baby girl with a plastic bag attached to her and both parents praying for pee. She drained another sippy cup full of tea. Listened to Brian have many one-sided conversations with Olivia about where she was hiding all of that liquid, as none of it was making its way out for our sample. Got a call from the Drs. office on Brian's cell phone. They missed two test vials. We have to go back to have her stuck again. Waited a few minutes, then gave up on Project Sweet Tea, put the diaper over the baggie and headed back to the lab.

1:15ish-1:30 pm- Dropped Brian and O off at the lab, only to pick them back up a minute later. The labs have to be sent out by a certain time. We missed the deadline and therefore have to come back to Concord for those two tests they forgot. Not happy campers.

1:30-2:30 pm- Drive back to Hickory. While Brian and O slept, I managed to drive to Gastonia before my eyelids started winning the fight against sleep. Brian finished our trek back to his truck. We checked Olivia's bag and Project Sweet Tea was finally successful. Collected our sample. Brian headed to work, and baby girl and I headed home.

She was such a trooper. A champ. I hate that she has to be stuck again, but we want the tests done, so we'll head back to Concord sometime soon. I'm so anxious to hear the results of the EEG and bloodwork. Our follow-up appointment can't come soon enough.