Why It's Good To Ask Questions

So I went in for my routine 36-week appointment on Friday, and was surprised to be told that I was being placed in the 'high-risk' category, and would be required to come in for twice-weekly ultrasounds and non-stress tests for the remainder of my pregnancy. 

This all stemmed from some bloodwork that was done many months ago, after I had the second miscarriage. They tested me for two blood clotting disorders, and the results were a little unusual - in order to actually have either of these disorders, you have to have two abnormal genes for each. But in my case, I have one abnormal gene for each of the two disorders. Odd, yes, but the bottom line is that it really doesn't mean much of anything. That's what I was told, anyway, and so I didn't think it would even be an issue, and it hadn't been, until Friday. 

As I often do, while at the appointment, I simply agreed to what they were suggesting, and didn't even think to question it. I was too busy being annoyed that I was going to have to make the trip up to Providence twice a week for what would end up being nearly 2-hour appointments, and would have to try to find someone to watch Dante - or find some way to keep him entertained for 2 hours at the doctor's office (not a fun prospect). 

But then when I got home, I started thinking about it more, and realizing that it all seemed kind of crazy and unnecessary, and that I should have found out more about why exactly they were ordering these tests, and what it was they were looking for. And after talking with our doula, I was even more convinced that I needed to call the office to talk to them about it more and figure out what was going on. 

So this morning I did just that, and was able to speak to my regular midwife (the one who I've seen for almost all of my regular appointments), who was surprised and actually seemed a little annoyed that this had all happened. 

She confirmed that I do not have any kind of blood clotting disorder, and that there's absolutely no reason I should be considered high-risk, and no reason for me to go through all that testing. As she pointed out, if there was any kind of problem like that, she never would have cleared me for delivering in the hospital's Alternative Birthing Center (where I hope to labor, as long as it's available). But there is no problem, there will be no testing, and I am NOT high-risk. I am, however, very relieved.  

Apparently the midwife I saw on Friday was not familiar with my case, and is also a bit new to the practice, and when she saw the stuff about the bloodwork, she consulted with the doctors in the practice, who recommended the testing, and she went along with it. I'm not sure why she consulted with the doctors, rather than the other midwives in the practice, but the whole experience was a good reminder for me that I need to be proactive and advocate for myself and not just blindly agree to everything that the doctors and/or midwives recommend. 

So that's the latest baby news - and thankfully all's well that ends well!  The rest of the appointment on Friday was very routine - baby's heartrate is good, my blood pressure is great, and I'm on track to probably gain just over 35 pounds, which is just a teensy bit over the recommended weight gain, so I'm feeling perfectly fine with that. 

I spent most of the weekend feeling kind of sluggish, but I did manage to get out for a walk Saturday morning, because the midwife suggested that the issues I've been having with restless leg syndrome at night might be related to not getting enough exercise. And when I thought about it, I realized the problems started not long after I came down with the awful cold that dragged on and on and left me even more exhausted than usual, keeping me from doing much working out at all for the past week or two.

And since I walked Saturday, did yoga yesterday, and then walked again this morning, I've been feeling so much better overall - and am sleeping better, too. So hopefully I can continue to stay active enough these last few weeks to keep the restless legs away. 

I really needed the yoga, too. I missed it last week, and I definitely noticed a difference. I was more irritable last week, and just felt 'off.'  But after class, I felt better, and have continued to feel better since. I even had a huge burst of energy today and cleaned the entire house and made a pot of chicken soup. 

Of course now I'm paying for it, as my back is aching, but it felt good to get the house clean. The nesting is still going strong, and I'm beginning to have that feeling of "I better get this done now, because I could be having a baby any minute....." 

And oddly enough, Dante seems to have gotten the impression that the baby is going to hatch out of a giant egg, because he asked me earlier tonight (after I received a kick to the ribs that was hard enough to make me say "ouch!") if the baby was trying to "crack out of there." 

No clue where he got this idea, as we've read numerous 'where babies come from' books, but it's pretty amusing, anyway.....

We finally got our tree on Saturday, and after a mishap with a leaking tree stand, and a run to the store to buy a new tree stand, we got it decorated on Sunday, so the house if officially decked out for the holidays. I wish I could have put out more of my decorations, but climbing on a ladder to put stuff up above the kitchen cabinets is just not doable for me right now. And I also don't want to deal with putting away a ton of stuff in January - we're going to be busy enough as it is! 

The boys are just crazy excited, and I'm really glad Christmas is next week. I think their heads are going to explode if the excitement were to last much longer than that. We recorded all the Christmas classics on the DVR, so they're constantly watching Christmas movies, and constantly singing Christmas carols, and counting down the days. 

They picked out their presents for each other, and they both did a great job, I think. Dante got Gabe a small Star Wars lego piece, and Gabe got Dante the game 'Operation." I think they'll both be very happy with each other's choices, and it was fun to shop with them. Tough to keep them within the $10 limit, though - all the 'really cool' toys were WAY more than $10! 

And I'm just hoping the baby doesn't decide to arrive until after the holiday. December 26th would be fine - I just don't want a repeat of 4 years ago, when I spent Christmas day in the hospital. It's out of our hands, obviously, but hopefully he/she can hang tight for at least 12 more days.....

Comments

[Wes]

The doctor's first order of business is to test to rule things out, but obviously they ignored your history. I'm glad you took charge of the situation!!

[Jennifer P]

Thank you for sharing this. That is one thing that's good about having been through pregnancy and birth -- you get more familiar with your body and more confident about the questions you need to ask. Good for you -- if it's OK can I share this with my mama, doula and midwife friends?