Double Duty

I hit both doctors offices today and the results are somewhat the same as last time. First up was my OB - relatively uneventful. I'll be seeing her again next week and then every 2 weeks until 36 weeks - then I will see her every week until I deliver. Of course on the "off" weeks I'll be seeing the specialist. The specialist was 2nd in line yesterday. I had an 11am appt - they were running on time (which is noteworthy- I think they are all great, but they do tend to run late - very late.) Anyway, I got in right away and they started the standard work up. There are certain things the ultrasound tech (Dana) checks at every appointment (1) baby's heart rate - in the 140's today, which is good! (2) a measurement of the amniotic fluid - which was good. (3) blood flow rate to/from the placenta-also, good- (4) and, she always tries to find the baby's face and get a good shot for me to take home - I don't know that she ever has to do this, but I think she just likes to spoil me :) Anyway, all that went great, the doctor came in and said my effacement and dilation was essentially unchanged since last visit, but it looked like I was having a contraction....so, they stuck me in a lazy boy with (2) monitors strapped to my belly - one for measuring the baby's heartbeat and the other to measure contractions. This was fine with me since it was essentially the same as the bedrest I was doing at home. I grabbed a magazine and started browsing... 1/2 hour goes by and the nurse comes in, takes a look at the paper, rips it off and tells me she'll be right back. I figured she was just going to come back in and let me go. It's now about 12:30 and I'm starting to get a little hungry, but no big deal. So, the nurse returns and opens up a drawer and proceeds to tell me that she needs to wake the kid up, so she's going to stick this little instrument on my belly and it vibrates and makes a loud noise - fine - I thought it was a little cruel and I'm worried about future payback, but I wasn't really going to argue. So, now, baby is doing flips and jumping all over. I figured I'd be in for another 15 minutes or so...nope, 45 minutes later the nurse returns - note: I'm pretty darn hungry now and completely finished with the magazine in the room - she rips off the paper and asks if I can feel any slight cramping or discomfort...I really can't feel anything but the baby moving like crazy. She leaves the room and comes back with a little pill. Apparently, my uterus looks unhappy (can you blame it?). There appear to be mild contractions and so I get to take a sort of muscle relaxer to calm it down. She added that I might feel a little shaky or feel like my heart is beating fast... well, I was already shaky from the severe sugar low and by now I just wanted to get out of there and eat! Normally, I listen to potential side affects and think that they are just that - a possible side effect. So, I take the pill and have another 45 minutes in the chair. Yeah, they weren't joking around about those side effects. It was like having a caffeine drip when you're dehydrated. Apparently, they have me on a low dose - I can't imagine how I'd feel on a normal dosage. I already feel like my heart's about to beat out of my chest and I'm shaking like a recovering addict. Supposedly, your body adjusts to this and the side effects go away in a couple days....I'm really hoping they aren't lying about that. I got out of there around 2:30 and headed straight to the border....Taco Bell. I don't even feel a twinge of guilt about it.

30 weeks