I had an appointment with the midwives yesterday, and once again it proved to be a long wait. It is a good thing I think so highly of this practice and the ladies who run it because otherwise I might become fully fed up with the long waiting room visits. My appointment was at 9:30 a.m. (though when I received the confirmation call, it said it was at 9:45 a.m.), and I arrived right on time -- late for me, as I was actually hoping to arrive a little early, thinking it might help in getting me called back sooner. I do not think it would have helped a thing. It had to be close to 11:00 a.m. before they called my name, and that was after two other women, who arrived after me, were called back. I don't know if they were late for their appointments or what, but it was a bit discouraging.
Anyway, once I was called back, I immediately went into the bathroom to pee in a cup (everything must have been fine), was weighed (I weighed 134 pounds, up 5 pounds from the last appointment, up 10 in total from the very first appointment), and had my blood pressure taken (pretty low, at 90/60). I saw Sarah (I think that was her name -- I am terrible with catching the names of people the first time I meet them), who gave herself the title of "in-house midwife." Apparently she is helping out with the appointments there in the clinic, but does not actually deliver babies -- Anjli and Amy are doing that on their own while Margaret remains out with her ankle injury. According to the nurse, Margaret will likely be out for another couple of months, at least until she can really walk on her foot and put a shoe on. I definitely look forward to her return.
Sarah was really good, though. She was very thorough and adequately answered all of my questions. I asked her about getting my thyroid checked again, and she said it was planned for this appointment and that they would draw my blood before I left. I also asked about the Rhogam shot and when I should expect to receive it, and she said they typically administer it between 26 and 28 weeks, as its effects last about three months, which would carry me through the end of the pregnancy. She also mentioned that I will get another injection post-partum. I explained to her that I have absolutely no recollection of receiving that shot after Elsa was born, and asked her what that meant. She said I probably either just cannot remember receiving it or it was possibly overlooked (according to the Rhogam Web site, however, this injection is only given if the baby is found to be Rh-positive, so perhaps Elsa is Rh-negative and I was just never told that). She said that Rh-negative mothers usually have no trouble with their first births, and that the injections are really a precaution for all subsequent births. It is not usually until the delivery of the placenta that the mother's body senses the baby's Rh-positive blood and sees it as an intruder, thus producing antibodies against it. The shot post-partum is supposed to help prepare the body for a second pregnancy (with an Rh-positive baby). I asked if it was going to cause any issues with this pregnancy if I did not receive the post-partum injection, and she said they would just keep a close eye on things, and that the two things they look for is proper growth of the baby and signs of anemia. She felt my uterus and said it seemed the perfect size for a 20-week baby, so she was not concerned. But she did say they would obviously likely see a lot more during the ultrasound, which is tomorrow!
After feeling my uterus (from the outside -- the top of it is about level with my belly button), she chased the baby around with the Doppler device, trying to find its heartbeat. The baby was going nuts, moving all around and kicking me, so it was hard for her to linger on the heartbeat for more than a few seconds. Finally she got about a ten-second stretch, and it sounded great. She thought it sounded to be around 155, which is lower than what we have heard in the past, so I don't know if she was just off in her listening and mental conversions or if this was correct. She said the baby seemed happy and obviously very active, which was great, so at least in that sense it seems like the baby is totally fine. I cannot wait to get complete assurance of its health tomorrow at the ultrasound.
The nurse came in before I left and drew my blood, as promised. I should be able to get the results from the thyroid test by next Thursday or so, and if I don't hear from them, I will call the office and get the numbers so I can take them to Dr. J next Friday morning and email them to Dr. Owen. They want to see me back in four weeks, so my next appointment is on May 25, at which time I will see Amy again.
We had to get our car towed yesterday (from our own driveway -- long story -- basically the parking brake was stuck on), and the tow truck driver's wife (at least I am assuming she was his wife) became the first person (who did not already know I was pregnant) to ask me when I am due. So I guess I am really officially showing -- enough for people to ask such questions!
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