L&D - test run #2

I've been worried about the baby the past few days. She hasn't been moving like she usually does. Last night I was up half the night (despite the JOYOUS fact that Squeaker slept through the night for the third night in a row ... first time in his entire LIFE he's done that!) because I wasn't feeling any baby motion. Woke up this morning in tears, told the Mister I was thinking of heading directly to L&D. Luckily, baby started moving as I was making breakfast, so we decided it was safe to wait until this afternoon's NST to get things checked out.

Busy day at the office. Made great headway on cleaning my desk, drowning my poor assistant in stuff to file, things to follow up on, etc. Finally headed off to the 4pm NST, where I found out that the baby is now ... SIDEWAYS again. #$%%&%@!!  Then the monitoring test strip came out "nonreactive", so they ran a biophysical profile (basically a long ultrasound), which baby passed, but both the nurse and I were uncomfortable with how lethargic baby seemed to be. The nurse buzzed her three times and ... nada. That kid would not wake up. That, combined with my worries of the past few days (plus the notes Doc put in my file that apparently read something like "Do NOT take any chances with this patient or heads will roll when I get back from vacation!") led the doc who's filling in for my Doc to order me straight to L&D for extended testing. The NST nurse (a self-confessed infertile who loves that I'm preggers at 46) was really worried and mentioned things like "emergency c-section," which of course was not what I wanted to hear. Keep in mind that it's now 6pm and I haven't eaten since noon. I have low blood sugar issues and I was tired from worrying all night. At that point, I was very suggestible and already convinced that something horrible was happening -- how could it not? An ideal pregnancy for an infertile is just too much to ask for. The universe was getting ready to smack me upside the head, I was sure of it.

I realized that I was starting to fall apart, so I grabbed a few snacks from a vending machine, then called the Mister (who promptly went into full-scale panic mode) and drove myself across the medical complex to L&D. The L&D nurse was great -- very no-nonsense and kind -- got me hooked up to the monitors, asked me a million questions, then brought me a box lunch and a big sippy cup of ice water. There was no cell phone service, but I figured out how to work the hospital wi-fi, so I was able to eat a crappy sandwich and email the Mister while I was getting monitored.

In the end, it all turned out to be much ado about nothing. The nurse and midwife both declared this test strip "gorgeous" and said the baby is doing great. Naturally, the on-call doc was the one I fired 3 years ago, but apparently we're best friends now, because she made a point to stick her head in and see how I was doing. I got stuck between nurses at shift change, so it took some time to get out of there, but eventually they discharged me to my own care, and off I went. I was home by a little after 8pm, just in time to dive into the chaos that is Squeaker's bedtime routine.

The good news is that now the Mister has his and Squeaker's bags packed, which means that we'll be able to get out of the house quickly if I do need to rush to the hospital. I learned a few things about what I should do if I go into labor while baby is still transverse (mainly, lay the F down to decrease the chance of cord prolapse while someone else gathers up my stuff, or, if I can actually feel the cord coming out, lay the F down and call 911). I figured out how the hospital's wi-fi works. I confirmed that it's a 20-minute trip when there's no traffic (and up to an hour when there is). But most of all I learned this -- for future NSTs -- eat first, as both the baby and I will do much much better.

Comments

[Rachel]

Yes, yes, yes: EAT FIRST. I can't believe they "zapped" the poor baby 3 times without offering you so much as a glass of OJ. I would never, ever, ever have passed an NST strip without some type of snack beforehand (varying from nuts to XL smoothie depending on my blood sugar. OJ works best about 15 minutes before the NST, something less-sugary a bit longer). My favorite nurse has a secret stash of M and Ms for non-cooperative babies. I'd definitely recommend snacking before all future NSTs - it will at least get you out of there much faster.

I am sure you also know that decreased fetal movement is a sign of very early labor.

I also can't believe she turned again! Crazy baby.

[Jill]

So glad you got home and all was okay.

My dr always had me drink some orange juice before those tests- between the cold and the sugar, babies usually get moving. Once I learned this I would drink it whenever I felt like he wasn't moving enough.

Hang in there, you're so close!

[Suzy]

If you have a Christmas baby, Howard will be sympathetic...his birthday is Christmas Eve. Keep a juice pack with you at all times, to keep your blood sugar up and little Sister dancing.