Blood draws

With my cerebral palsy I have extra movements.  This is particularly a problem when having blood drawn.  Blood draws don’t bother me, and when you’re pregnant you get blood drawn often.  My uncontrollable extra movement gets worse when I’m nervous or when I am supposed to be still.  I am fine until they get that needle close to me, then I just start moving which makes it difficult for the person drawing my blood and painful for me.  I can’t help it.  So I have to have a second person gently hold my hand, I have to look away, take deep breaths, and count out loud to get my mind off of trying to be still.  This works for me, but the poor ladies drawing my blood  think I’m going going to pass out, which is not true at all.

Oh, also when pregnant you have to pee in a  cup every single doctor’s visit, something I am not able to do.  I don’t have the stability in my hands to hold a cup of anything without spilling it.  This was embarrassing the first office visit I had while pregnant with Kiana, not only did I have to explain to the nurse why I needed a urine hat, but they didn’t have one, so my sweet husband had to assist me with that one.  After that they had a hat.  And with my current doctor all of the nurses now know I need a urine hat so thankfully I no longer need to ask or explain.