Week 33: 3 Doctor's Appointments in 3 Days!

I'm 33 weeks today, and whew, what a week it's been! I flew on Saturday, and had an easy uneventful trip, for the most part that is. As usual, I was traveling with the Vest as one of my two carry-on pieces. Normally I would simply stuff it in the overhead bin myself, but being in my current condition, I didn't think it would be wise to lift such a heavy weight over my head. I had figured (incorrectly, it turned out!) that either a flight attendant or a helpful fellow passenger would see me struggling with my relatively large bag and offer to give me a hand, but no such luck. In general, I have not received the doting care from strangers that seems to be lavished on most pregnant women. I wonder if it's because I'm not a "cute" pregnant women with a perfect little bump, but that could just be the bitterness talking :P

Anyway, I ended up asking a flight attendant for help in stowing my bag in the overhead bin, but she said that due to liability issues, she was not supposed to lift passenger bags. Excuse me?! Isn't that part of your job?! I mean, what are disabled passengers traveling alone supposed to do in that case? She also said that my bag was really too big and that I should have checked it. I was starting to get annoyed, but I told her calmly that this was a piece of valuable medical equipment worth over $16,000 so I didn't want to check it, and suddenly she changed her tune, and said that in that case, there was a special area in the back for stowing medical equipment. After we'd landed, all I had to do was wait for all the other passengers to deplane before retrieving it (which wasn't a big deal since I had a long layover in Phoenix). On the next leg of my flight I knew to ask to have my bag stored in back, and everything went off without a hitch.

On Tuesday I had my first appointment with the new MFM, and overall I like the office. It seems a bit busier and more disorganized than Dr. W's, but they also seem a bit more proactive. After a fairly long wait (even though I was supposedly the first scheduled appointment of the afternoon), a nurse took me back to weigh me and check my blood pressure. I didn't even bother looking to see how much I'd gained and thankfully, they didn't tell me. I knew it wouldn't be accurate anyway, since I was being weighed right after lunch and they wouldn't even let me empty my bladder beforehand (there was a line for the bathroom). Finally I got to leave a urine sample and wait some more. Then a nice 4th year medical student came in to go over some of my history with me. She also measured Ziggy's heart rate with the doppler (154) and my fundal height (31, so almost 2 cm less than it should be). She was eventually joined by the doctor and someone else (a nurse maybe?). In order to try to keep this post to a manageable length, I wont go into too much detail about the visit, but I did want to post a few things I learned.

My doctor, Dr. D, will be on vacation in October, but will be back in November, so I will be seen by another doctor in the practice until he returns. They have a team approach, so I'll be delivered by whichever doctor happens to be on call when I go into labor. Dr. D is only on call once a month, so it's unlikely he will be delivering me. Honestly that's fine with me. Since I've had such little continuity with doctors throughout this pregnancy, I don't feel especially attached to anyone. Assuming that everything continues to look good, he expects me to have a normal vaginal delivery and to make it to full term (approximately 40 weeks), but if I haven't delivered by my due date, he wont let me go much beyond 40 weeks, but will induce sometime between 40 and 41 weeks. It's kind of nice to know the upper limit of when I'll deliver. So, at most I have 7.5 weeks left! Eeek!

Other than that, he ordered an Echo of my heart just to make sure everything was fine. With situs inversus, there is a slight risk of heart problems. In fact, my internist ordered me an Echo a few years back when I was experiencing occasional chest palpitations, but it didn't indicate any problems, so this is really just a precaution. He also ordered an ultrasound for next week, as well as weekly non stress tests to check on the baby and the functioning of the placenta. He also said I should meet with an anesthesiologist to discuss receiving an epidural. At the end of the visit, I received the regular seasonal flu shot and will get the H1N1 shot as soon as it's available in a few weeks. I also had to deposit another urine sample and have my blood drawn before finally leaving the office several hours after my appointment time.

Yesterday, Wednesday, I met with one of the anesthesiologists to discuss getting an epidural and also the possibility of needing general anesthesia. After reviewing my medical history and asking me some questions, he told me a bit about the epidural and general anesthesia procedures and seemed to think I wouldn't have trouble with either one, although he did say that avoiding general anesthesia would be preferable of course.

Today I had the non-stress test over in the hospital where I'll be delivering (Dr. D's office is right across the street, so it's all very close by). The nurse strapped two monitors on my belly and had me lie down on my side on a bed for 15 minutes. One monitor measured Ziggy's heart rate, while the other measured whether I was having any contractions. Ziggy's heart rate was very stable and consistent in the 150s, so the nurse said he must be asleep. She gave me some cold water to try to wake him up, but that didn't work, so then she pulled out a little buzzing alarm and placed it down low, right by his head. Well, that definitely woke him up, and his hear rate climbed into the high 160s, which was what she was looking for. The nurse seemed a little concerned however since the second monitor showed that I was having some contractions. She asked me if I could feel them, and I said no. However, once she pointed them out, I could feel the monitor digging in slightly when I was supposedly having the contractions.

After she removed the monitors and checked my blood pressure(118/72), she instructed me to sit tight while she verified with the on call doctor that it was ok for me to leave. At this point I started to get a little worried that these contractions were a big deal. She came back though and said I was free to go, but to make sure to drink plenty of water and to not overdo my activities. Also, if I have four contractions in an hour, I'm to go to labor and delivery to get checked. It kind of worries me though--if I can't tell that I'm having contractions, how will I know when to go to labor and delivery? Now I'm at home guzzling water like crazy and trying to stay off my feet as much as possible.

So that's the story for this week. I'm sure I'll have more to report next week what with three more medical appointments, but for now it's a relief to have a four day break without any responsibilites.