The Doctor's Appointment

To try to be chronological, here is 36 week and some change picture, taken last Friday:



Today's Appointment
I was not a very happy camper at today's appointment. This is what I expected according to the little paper we were given at our last appointment with directions for this one: pay, test hemoglobin levels, go downstairs and do autologous donation, pee in a cup, take weight and blood pressure, meet with the doctor.

Does that sound like an over 2-hour appointment to you?

They were very busy today, so thank goodness we got there early. We paid (yes, you have to pay first in this country), and then we went to to spot to get my blood tested. I thought it would just be a finger prick because that's all you need for hemoglobin levels. What I thought would be a finger prick wound up being four vials of blood. I later recalled our doctor mentioning a few last blood tests that we'd be doing, but neither of us realized that they would be done today. No problem, though. The man who took my blood was very nice and friendly. He switched things up on us and had me do my urine sample right after that. No big deal--I have to go to the bathroom all of the time anyway.

We went downstairs, as the directions on our sheet had directed us, and the people there weren't quite as friendly. I kept wondering why the blood donation place was where we were--a room labeled something like "Fetal Assessment Room". I figured I was the only one waiting to do an autologous donation and that we wouldn't have to wait very long. What I couldn't figure out was where on earth I would be giving my blood. There were two options: a lab (where they do ultrasounds) or the Non-Stress Test room.

After forever and a day, I was called into one of the labs, assuming I'd be doing my donation. Nope, I was having an ultrasound. I had thought my doctor would be performing one quickly, but nope--it was being done here. Of course, Hee Suk was not allowed in. Thankfully, though, it was over in a flash.

I went back out to hurry up and wait. After some time, I was called into the NST room. Oh, okay, this must be where the blood donations are done for whatever reason. There were a bunch of recliners and women all strapped up to something or other, so it didn't seem too strange. Of course, I am still thinking this is just for my blood, so when they said my husband couldn't come in, I almost had a heart attack. I just could not relax about the giving blood experience and wanted him there. So what if there were other pregnant women there? I wanted my husband!

I sat down in one of the recliners and was instructed to bare my belly. Huh? For a blood donation? I did as told and had two blue straps wrapped around me. They listened to baby's heartbeat and handed me a button. The nurse apparently only knew limited vocabulary, because all she could explain to me in English was, "Fetal movement..." (makes a motion). "Push?" I asked. She said yes, but I had no idea what they really wanted.

Hee Suk kept worrying about me and asked the nurse and doctor there twice if I was okay and if there were any communication problems. They kept brushing him off like, "Yeah. Why, you don't trust us?" according to him. Before I went in, he was right there with me and asked if anything needed to be explained, and they said no. Why on earth did they not take the time to just quickly explain what I needed to do so I could relax a bit more?

After being at the hospital for over an hour, I was pushing a button only vaguely aware of the whole NST procedure and trying to find a way to get a message to Hee Suk to try to tell him this still wasn't the autologous donation so we wouldn't be wasting time waiting somewhere else again. The only good thing here was that they were showing the movie Spirited Away. I just could not relax, though. I had no idea how often I was supposed to push the darn button. Was it supposed to be with every single little movement? He was moving all over the place, so how was I supposed to do it for every one? The woman to my right seemed trigger happy, and the woman to my left didn't push it once. And my goodness, do they have to seriously beep with every push?

Some of you might already be bright enough to realize that I was having an NST because I was going to have the autologous donation, that they would want to monitor baby while it was being done to make sure he was okay. After some time, a doctor came in with what looked to me like a Blood Kit of Doom that I imagined might have caused a little worry in the other women who might have then wondered, "What is she doing? Are they going to do that to me, too?"

This doctor was very kind, and of course, the thing I was worried the most over wound up being one of the finer points of the appointment.

Mad Skills
This was close to one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life--an NST and blood donation simultaneously. I was trying to relax and control my breathing, but I had the clicker in my left hand now to click away as our son kept moving, and I had a squishy grip thing in my right that I had to slowly squeeze and relax for the blood donation. The doctor was wonderful and kept talking to me, asking what country I was from and if I had any prior donation experience. I was happy to learn after she finished that it looks like she will be the one doing my next pint of blood next week as well. Thank goodness.

Good Baby
Our baby loves me. Right after that doctor left, he decided it would be a great time to hiccup. As if I wasn't already confused about when to click, I had to wonder if I was supposed to click with every hiccup. I wound up asking one of the nurses in Korean, "If he has hiccups..." "Yes." I'm just used to doctors actually clearly answering things, so I took this to mean that yes, I should click it every time, but it wasn't as clear as daylight. Oh, well. I got to annoy the goodness out of myself by clicking away as he hiccuped, though it may have been a blessing in disguise.

I don't know if it is because he moved around so much and so well or because they were just doing the NST for the blood donation, but I finished far more quickly than pretty much all of the other women in the room. There seemed to be a correlation between clickers leaving more quickly than non-clickers, but I have no idea. I was glad to get out of there. I told Hee Suk about everything, and he was upset that it was such a negative experience for me. (Seriously? Non-Stress Test?) He said I came out looking like I had been in a battle or something. He talked to the nurse and doctor who he had spoken with a couple of times and complained a little, explaining how uncomfortable it was for me. They were kind and apologized, so we moved on.

False Alarm
I am pretty much a moron. I took my weight and blood pressure, wrote it down, then leafed through my little notebook to compare this week's to last week's.

Weight: 75.15kg (165.33 lbs)
Blood Pressure: 120/68 (high for me personally, but I didn't bother re-testing knowing how flustered I was feeling)
Heart Rate: 82bpm

I looked in my notebook and saw that I had written down that I was 79.3kg (174.46 lbs) at our last appointment. What?? How could I have lost 4kg (8.8 lbs)?

We later found out I had just written it down wrong. I was 73.9kg last time, which, I correctly recorded here in this journal. I am full of win. :D

We're doing that today?
If you've followed along, you'll know that I expected my first pelvic exam at our next appointment, which was to include the Group-B Strep test. Imagine my surprise when the nurse calls my name to go into the exam room and says my husband is not allowed in. What? I'm not even supposed to be going in there, and he's not allowed in?

I went in and asked my doctor about what was going on, and she just decided to do the exam and test this week. Hee Suk wasn't allowed in because he wasn't going to see anything anyway. :\ Thankfully, though, she finished before I even knew it. It wasn't uncomfortable at all (well, aside from the inherent uneasiness of baring your most private of privates to someone). No spotting or discomfort at all afterwards.

Follow-Up
We went in together to her office after that, and everything looks great. We were surprised that our son measured in at just 2.75-2.8kg (6.05-6.16 lbs), but reflecting on this later, these measurements had to have been taken at the speed of light at the ultrasound I had done on the Floor of Doom. Maybe they weren't totally accurate (as if ultrasounds are known for weight accuracy anyway). Anyway, that's still a fine weight, so it's nothing to worry about. We just expected him to be a little bit bigger.

When reviewing what we had done today, she realized that she failed to mention I was having the NST and what to expect, that they usually do the NST and blood donation together because some women end up contracting during it (which I did not). Good to know for next time, I suppose.

She was very happy with our baby's movement, though, and said that he seemed to be in great condition. I am still pretty closed, so hopefully, that means he's planning on coming right around his due date. I know some women go from 0 to 10 in a very short period of time, but for now, I am happy to hear that there is no early progress. We'll see how that goes later!

One More Surprise!
The doctor asked if I had done an EKG today, and no, I hadn't. She said that if we had a little time (we had already been there for two hours!), it would be good to go and quickly get it done. Thankfully, it was actually super quick, but it was in a very strange building. We wound up walking through the employee cafeteria to get there. Good times.

The Cherry on Top
After all of that today, we later got a call from the hospital. They forgot to charge us for the GBS test. (It is not routine here.) Thankfully, we can just pay for it next time.

I love my doctor and I am comfortable at this hospital. I just don't do well with surprises. Goodness, I can hardly live with surprising others. I can't buy Christmas gifts too far in advance because I risk giving them early out of excitement and feeling obligated to go out and buy something else to give on the holiday. We blame the frustration half on our doctor and half on the nurses and doctors on the Floor of Doom. I just wish I had known what on earth was going on even half of the time. Our appointment next week should be a million times smoother since it will pretty much mirror the one today minus a few tests, but yeah.

I was super exhausted after all was said and done, but I think it stemmed more from the stress rather than from having my blood taken. I was happy to come home to a grand ol' box from my family, though. Because this has gotten ridiculously lengthy, that will get a post of its own with plenty of photos. ^^