A Smidge of Drama

Whenever we discuss having babies, the husband makes me promise that the next pregnancy and subsequent delivery will be drama free, as though that is something I can help. He claims I promised him a drama free experience this time around. I do not recall ever saying that, although I'm sure that I agreed that no drama would be good.

Yesterday, there was a smidge of drama. On Wednesday my doc referred me to a perinatologist so yesterday morning I went to work as usual and was waiting for it to be after 8:00 a.m. so that I could call and schedule an appointment. Before it even hit 8:00 a.m. though my doc called to say that he had spoke with the peri and they both agreed that I needed to be admitted to the hospital for 24 hours so that they could monitor the baby's heart rate. So, after only about 15 minutes at work I was leaving, heading home to back a bag, and heading to the hospital.

Once we arrived we got situated in a birthing suite and I was hooked up to the monitors. The baby's heart rate was high, in the 180s and they could see that I was also having some contractions. Over the next five hours or so I watched tv, the husband worked on his laptop and the baby did somersaults in my belly. The heart rate ranged anywhere from the 150s to as high as 210 at one point. In the afternoon the peri paid a visit and he said that although the heart rate was on the high side that so long as it was going into the 200s and staying there he wasn't really concerned. His advice was to test me for some thyroid issue, send me home and have me return twice weekly for non-stress tests. So, a 24 hour stay turned into about a five hour stay and I was happy to go home although still a bit nervous about why the baby's heart rate is so high.