A Not So Fun Appointment

Apparently I can't always win at pregnancy.

Last week, I had a fabulous appointment.  All the numbers were great, and I was happy.  Yes, I had (and still have) some body issues, but things looked good as far as pregnancy was concerned.  Then there was this week.

BP: 112/72 (awesome!!)
Weight: Down 1 pound from last week (I'm attributing this to less eating out and less water weight)
Fetal Heart Rate: 141

So, by the numbers, things looked good.  However, there was one number that had me a little concerned.  At this point, I should be feeling the baby move about 5 times an hour.  I definitely wasn't feeling that.  It was more like 5 times a day.  I wasn't really worried, but I mentioned to my nurse practitioner (NP).  So, the NP ordered a stress test.

They hooked me up to a fetal heart rate monitor and gave me a button to push whenever I felt her move.  With me lying there, concentrating only on her moving, I did feel a little bit, but the concern was that the movements weren't very big.  Even the HR monitor reflected small movements.  Now, let me take a moment to say that I'm fine with one test.  When they sent me over to ultrasound for another test, I started to worry.

I knew that one concern was that the baby was breech, but there seemed to be other concerns that weren't being voiced.  Let's just say I wasn't at my most relaxed state heading into ultrasound.

So, I was there on the table while the ultrasound tech looked at pictures (can I reiterate how horrible I am at deciphering ultrasounds?).  The first thing we hear is, "Oh, your baby is breech."  Oh goody for us!  I figured that would be the end of the ultrasound, but then she kept moving the wand around, having me turn to one side, having me turn to the other side, asking me to cough.  I wondered what she was looking for, and then at one point she said, "I'm trying to see your baby breathe."  Well, that's one thing to make an expectant mother worry.  Why couldn't they see her BREATHE?  How often is she supposed to breathe?  Was it just an angle thing, or was she simply not breathing?  And then I heard the words that made my heart stop.

"I'm going to go talk to the doctor."

The tech left the room, and I immediately pulled out my phone to look at pictures of Cody and Lollie to help calm me down.  Hans, I'm fairly certain, just stopped breathing.

I grew even more concerned when I learned that our NP had come over to ultrasound to have a little pow wow with the tech and the ultrasound doctor.  Ummm, that can't be good.  Our NP briefly came into the room to ask us a question about our stress test, but then she left again.

It was at least half an hour before the tech came back in, and she said "OK, let's try again."  I hesitantly said, "Alright" and tried to take deep, calming breaths.  She put the wand on my belly and then you could hear the relief in her voice.  "There she is!  See the breath?  See the belly move?  There.  She's breathing!"  Well, I was relieved, but I also was confused as to what the hell had just happened.

Our NP came back to chat with us a bit.  Hans had hit the nail on the head when he'd mentioned that they were probably concerned that something was wrong with the cord.  Not only had they been searching for her breath (which sometimes can take 30-45 minutes to see, a fact that would have been helpful to know), but they also ran a Doppler test.  Was she getting enough blood from the cord?

Apparently everything came back A-OK, and now we just have to work on getting her to flip.  Breech baby = C-section, so we want to change that.

So, this week, I'm not winning at pregnancy, but that's OK.  I'm healthy, and she's healthy.  That's all that really matters.  I am wondering, though.  Could I take my dogs with me to the next appointment?  I think I'm going to need them for therapy!