Dr. Appointment Trauma!!

So I was suppose to have an ultrasound, non-stress test (nst) and my 37 week appointment yesterday. The ultrasound was scheduled at 2:15 and the appointment/nst at 3:15. Nick and I got to the doctor's office around 2:10 and signed in. The ultrasound tech at the dr. office I go to always seems to be running behind and yesterday was no exception. I think we got called back at 2:45. The tech asked me if I was doing these (ultrasounds) weekly and I said yes. She then asked if they took the baby's measurements last week and again I told her yes. So she said that she would only be looking for movement and fluid level because they only take measurements every other week. I really wanted to call bullsh*t on that, but didn't. The baby was moving around and the tech said the fluid level looked normal. The tech then said she was going to print off the report and then I would be called back for my NST and appointment. So Nick and I went back to the waiting room. I'd say we were back to sitting there a few minutes before 2:55.

About 4:00, they finally called my name to come back! (They only have one NST machine and I later learned that there were 6 of us scheduled for NSTs between 1-4pm.) I had to do the usual (urine, blood pressure check, weight). My blood pressure was higher than it's been in awhile (138/90) but my weight stayed the same. I was then sent to the exam room with the NST machine and nurse #1 came in. She tried for a good 10 minutes to find Gracie's heartbeat and finally gave up and went to get nurse #2. Nurse #2 tried for awhile as nurse #1 watched. Finally nurse #2 told #1 that she could go finish up some paperwork. As soon as #1 shut the door, #2 said to me, "I don't know what she was trying to do, but let's start over." I hate it when someone talks like that about someone else after they leave the room! It's so rude. So nurse #2 tries for another 10 minutes and finally says that she is going to go get Casey (the midwife). I was laying (flat) on the exam table and we waited and waited and waited. Finally I told Nick that I was feeling sick and to help me sit up. He said my face and neck were bright red and I wasn't feeling so hot. I bet we sat there 20 minutes with no one coming in the room. Finally, nurse #1 storms in the room, doesn't even bother to shut the door all the way and mumbles, "I'm going to try this again since Casey won't come in here." She tries for about 5 minutes before I lose it. I started crying because I was tired, hungry and very uncomfortable from laying down for so long on my back. So nurse #1 leaves (probably to go tell Casey that I'm sobbing in the room) and a few minutes later, Casey shows up. Casey is very apologetic and tells us how many NSTs they scheduled for her and she is only there from1 -4. But even she can't get Gracie's heartbeat on the monitor. Then she says, "So have you been over to the triage yet?" I knew where this was heading... I was going to have to go to Labor and Delivery at this hospital. Casey let me sit up and said she wanted me to sit there for a few minutes to relax so she could recheck my blood pressure. She asked me if I was still working and I said yes. She told me that next Friday needed to be my last day, if not sooner. So my maternity leave will start on Monday, the 14th at exactly 39 weeks! (unless of course, Gracie decides to make an earlier appearance!) After another blood pressure check (138/84), I scheduled next week's appointments (that's another story), and Nick and I headed to the hospital. We left the doctor's office a little before 5.

We got to the hospital around 5:30 and checked in at the maternity registration window. About 20 minutes later, a nurse came and got us and brought us back to the triage room. I got changed into a lovely gown and belly band and hopped into the bed. The nurse took about 5 minutes to find a good read on Gracie's heart. She also hooked me up to the contraction monitor (no contractions though!). Again, my blood pressure was taken (140/79) and she started asking me a bunch of questions. After about 20 minutes, another nurse came in and told the first nurse "thanks for getting this started" and she took over. As soon as the first nurse left, the second nurse said she was going to move the monitor. Then she said that nurse #1 was newer and didn't know the best way to do it. Do all nurses do this (put the other nurses down)?!?!? So she placed the monitor in a different area and it sounded the same as when it was in the first area. Other than that comment, both nurses were very nice and explained everything that was going on and what they were looking for. Unfortunately, Gracie wasn't being very cooperative and even though she was moving, her heart rate wasn't going up as much as it should with the movement. So I got to eat ice chips to get her going. Poor baby, I think she was just traumatized from the nurses at the doctor's office!! After 40 minutes of monitoring, the resident on call looked at the results and said I could be discharged. We finally walked out of the hospital at 7:00.

Nick and I stopped to get something to eat near the hospital, stopped at Meijer to grab some items and then came home. We walked a little ways at 10:00 to watch the fireworks our city puts on every year and was back home at 10:30. I was then in bed, with two Tylenol PMs in my system and other than waking up to go to the bathroom, I don't remember anything until 9:00 the next morning!

While it was a very annoying afternoon/evening, I am very grateful that my ultrasound was first. Since I had just seen Gracie moving around and had heard her heartbeat, I didn't panic with all the commotion of the nst. I would have been much more upset if I had to lay there wondering if something was wrong! My next ultrasound appointment is Tuesday and my next nst/appointment is Wednesday. I have to go back to the same office for my ultrasound, but I am going to other office (the one closest to work) for the nst/appointment. Hopefully, they will have better results there. I believe they will also be checking to see if I've made any progress!!