I NEED that week off

There was a bit of an Incident on Friday.

Phillip picked me up at work for our regularly scheduled SMALL BABY ultrasound. We were late, but we ended up sitting in the waiting room for half an hour anyway. At four. On a sunny Friday. Finally they took us into one of those dark little ultrasound rooms and for the first time being flat on my back was agony. I couldn't tilt my head far enough to see the screen, so instead I focused on the little tech lady with the eye twitches and the, "Oh, I don't want to answer THAT question yet," demeanor and it went on forever. I think she took her measurements in triplicate or something.

At the end she still wouldn't tell us anything and scurried out of the room to consult with the radiologist, which was good because I was probably going to kill her if she stuck around much longer. Phillip and I sat on the bed and consoled each other about our baby's apparent lack of initiative.

I should add here that I wasn't worried. The baby was wiggling and squirming and generally letting me know he was still in there the entire time and to be honest, that is really the only thing that matters. I know all sorts of things can happen, but as long as I know there is still a baby- yeah. That's good.

The tech came back to tell us that the baby had grown a little bit, he was still symmetrically small but the amniotic fluid level was even lower this time and the radiologist was going to call our doctor.

Excellent.

We got shuffled into another waiting room because the Women's Imaging department was going home for the day. We sat there long enough to see the girl at the front desk go home five minutes early and for a stream of patients to amble up to the desk afterward and awkwardly wonder if they were supposed to wait or use the phone that said, in giant letters PLEASE DIAL 1 FOR ASSISTANCE. Eventually our little tech lady came out to say that the radiologist had spoken to the doctor on call (of course my doctor wasn't there, it was five thirty on a FRIDAY) and we were to go directly to Labor and Delivery, do not pass go.

So maybe I got a little nervous right then.

Seriously. What is up with the Medical Community not telling you things? It wasn't until we'd made it to the elevator when the tech told us the doctor wanted me to have a non-stress test, that I wasn't actually HAVING THE BABY at this point. Although, I then asked the nurses what we'd do if the baby, you know, failed the test, and they nonchalantly said, "Oh, you'll stay here and we'll induce you."

Super!

They ushered us into one of those rooms where you ACTUALLY HAVE THE BABY and started opening cupboards and turning on machines and Phillip and I were just standing there like UM, WE ARE NOT PREPARED FOR THIS.

"The car seat is at home," I said.

"I have work to do," he said.

"We don't have any diapers," I said. "Or wipes. Or clean sheets. Or a going home outfit."

"I have a lot more work to do," he said. Have I mentioned Phillip and his revolting work ethic?

And then I remembered: "I DON'T HAVE ANY LANSINOH!"

They had me climb into the bed and strapped the monitors around my hardly-as-big-as-it-should-be belly and we waited. Oh, and they offered us tea and juice and water, like I was getting a pedicure or something. And we waited some more.

The nurses were awesome. I had heard excellent things about the nurses at this hospital, but now I can say: IT IS TRUE. They were wonderful. They explained everything. They laughed and joked and made sure to call me Maggie right away instead of going off all the forms that say my name is Margaret. (Which it is. Woe.) And after ten minutes they said, "Oh, your baby is doing great! Everything looks great! You won't be having your baby this weekend!" and we said, with profound relief, "Great!"

I am NOT ready for this baby, Internet. Well. I am. Pretty much. We are dying to know what he looks like. Yesterday we went to a birthday party where loads of Asian and half-Asian babies were crawling around the living room and I spent the whole time deciding which one my baby would look like. I can't wait to hold him and tell him he is all mine, but he is supposed to be born in May. MAY. I am supposed to have an entire week of unemployed bliss, a week when, hopefully, that so-called nesting instinct will kick in and I'll clean my house and do the laundry and nap in front of daytime television. I DESERVE THAT WEEK.

The baby was a champ. The little printed strip thingies looked exactly as they were supposed to- they didn't even see the things they would "normally" see with a baby who is living in "low fluid". (And what does that mean? Is the ultrasound WRONG?) As soon as the nurses let us go, Phillip and I drove straight to Target and bought everything we didn't have. EVERYTHING. Diapers, wipes, burp/barf rags, sheets, the holy tube of Lansinoh. We figured out how to install the car seat and now it is living in the trunk, along with the diaper bag and a half-packed hospital bag. I say "half-packed" because I finally got around to looking at Emily's hospital bag packing list and craaap what was I thinking packing my bag before I consulted the Internet?

I'll be doing non-stress tests twice a week now (I have one today!) and while I feel pretty good about how the baby's doing, I know if something doesn't look right I won't be going back to work that day. Gah. But I have to be okay with this and weirdly enough, I am. My boss is aware. My bags are half-packed. My mom said, "YOUR bed wasn't made when we brought YOU home," and that makes me feel a little better.

But oh dear God I do not want to be induced.

Comments

[Emily]

This is just to tell you that I think it is AWESOME that you are now prepared. No more running around worrying that you don't have what you need - at least that is DONE. Yay! Pat yourself on the back.

I remember when Whoorl was induced, it was because it appeared that she had low amniotic fluid but it ended up that it was just hidden behind the baby. So maybe that's your case??

[Jennifer]

I'm so glad to read the update---we had the same sort of "uh, we have nothing ready" moment at about 33 weeks when I had 18 hours of regularly occurring Braxton-Hicks. Sometimes I think God just needs to kick our butts into gear!

Besides, you CANNOT beat me to labor. I just won't allow it. :)

[maggie]

Update! No baby today! PRAISE GOD.

[Angela]

Man, I got nervous just *reading* this, I can't imagine actually experiencing it! Pregnancy just sounds so confusing! Anyway, I'm glad you've still got some prep time, and good luck with the bag packing.

[Christina]

Oh man that would have totally freaked me out. Glad you got a little reprieve and are now ready! :-)
And just so you know, my son was induced and I *loved* it. (okay, not that one ever loves labor, but compared to the 2+ days of labor I did with my daughter, the 6 hours of induced labor for my son felt like a miracle). So fear not, it could be a very good thing. :-)

[Maureen]

Dude! I am impressed that your story is noticeably lacking screams of "WE ARE NOT READY!" Because if that stuff had happened to us? I would have FLIPPED OUT. But now you are ready and all is good. But the baby will totally be late, because you are ready.

And aren't nurses just the best people ever? I love my nurses. We bought the nurses a gigando box of fancy pants chocolates and brought them to the hospital two weeks after Jack was born because they DESERVED THEM.

One tip on the bag: You will be allowed to ask for/buy things after the baby is born, so if you forgot something, don't worry. Your mom can bring it or Phillip can go get it or whatever.

I am so excited! I can't wait to meet him! Virtually!

[Laura]

So glad all is well with you guys. Also happy you have it all packed up and ready to go if he does decide to make an early entrance into the world. You guys are going to do GREAT and he is going to be the perfect baby. It won't matter who he looks like b/c he will be so beautiful... like the Chinese proverb goes.. "There is only one beautiful baby in the world, and every mother has it"

[MrsMarcos2003]

Man, I can't stand the suspense!!! I'm counting the minutes until "Wang's" appearance!!!!

[Jenny Ryan]

{{{{good thoughts and prayers}}}}

[jackie]

I had NST's twice a week for the last 7 weeks of my pregnancy. They're not a big deal, but the anticipation SUCKS. Will today be the day we go straight to the hospital or not??? You're going to be fine...but if it helps you in between, make sure to stay up on your kick-counts after every meal just to make sure baby Wang is okay!