-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monitor This!

Yes, I've been delinquent in my updates. I'm busy growing a baby - that's my excuse for everything right now!

In baby news, the weird leg syndrome persits and it is now making a debut on the front of my right leg and a bit more on the back of my left leg. My OB's practice likes to rotate patients through the different doctors so that just in case your OB isn't on call when you go into labor, there's a chance you will have met the doctor who delivers your baby. On Friday, we saw the doctor who's name is listed first on our practice's proper name signifying that he is highly important. After reviewing my case and checking out my leg, he decided to sign me up for twice weekly fetal heart monitoring (a.k.a. fetal nonstress tests). Joy. So now I have to drive to the hospital twice a week where they strap a fetal heart monitor and a uterine monitor around my waist and ensure the baby is doing what good babies should be doing at this stage.

I went for my first session yesterday, and it was interesting. First of all, I go to the maternal fetal medicine/perinatologist location which means that most of the moms there are high risk. One young lady struck up a conversation with me and I learned she was 20 weeks along and had been referred there for a 4D ultrasound. I know a bit too much about some of the complications that could suggest due to my work with pediatric healthcare, but I did my best not to let on anything. I could already tell that she was nervous enough. For some reason, despite the fact that they are monitoring me like I'm high risk, I don't actually believe that I am high risk. The ultrasounds show no signs of anything wrong, heartbeat has always been strong and normal, and I feel fine.

My test went fine - the baby had the hiccups, so we got our first "period of activity" right off the bat and the baby's heart raised just as it should. A few minutes later, the baby repositioned itself so that its heart was closer to the monitor (good baby) and that was my second spot of activity. Nonetheless, each test must go for a full 20 minutes, so the nurse left me alone for the last 7 minutes during which time I closed my eyes and relaxed - listening to the rythmic beat of my little one's heart.

Then, to my surprise, the monitor noise increased and the heartbeat got a lot faster. I looked at the monitor to see a steady rise and hold on the uterine monitor. Up until that point, I'd associated the feeling in my belly that was then occuring with the baby stretching or moving around funky. Guess who's an idiot... me! The peek in activity was actually a Braxton Hicks contraction which, the nurse reassured me upon return, was completely normal and nothing to worry about. The only problem is that now that I know that is actually a BH contraction, I've realized that I'm having them quite often. Of course they aren't at all consistent or long enough to be worrisome, but nonetheless, I was happier being ignorant!

Anyhow, I am anxious to see my regular doctor again in a couple of weeks to see if she wants to continue the monitoring until the end of my pregnancy. Unless I fail a test in the next two weeks, I kinda think it is a bit of overkill, but as I have to keep reminding myself - this is the first baby I'll deliver, these doctors have delivered hundreds if not thousands!

7:00 p.m. - September 24, 2008

previous - next