We arrived at Memorial Hermann Katy at about 5 pm. We filled out the paperwork and sat in the waiting room for a room to be cleaned. Michael was less than impressed with the hospital, especially the waiting room. It was a mess...hopefully on Brooke's birthday it will be much cleaner, as to provide all of our loving family and friends with a nicer environment to wait in!
We finally got into a room and the nurse had me strapped in like before; 2 monitors - 1 for baby and 1 for mommy. We heard a good strong heartbeat, which was very relieving to mommy! We were there for about an hour before they came and got me to go do a biophysical profile - a prenatal ultrasound evaluation of fetal well-being involving a scoring system. The tech said she was very active, of course much more active than she had been all day. Nonetheless, it was good to see her moving about. Her diaphragm was also making some movements, which the tech said was her probably trying to breathe. This is a very good sign at this early in the pregnancy. She had the hiccups during the ultrasound too; poor baby's whole body contracts as she hiccuped. The tech assured me that they are not hurtful in any way to the baby, again more relief for mommy! She said I was definitely not dehydrated by the amount of amniotic fluid I had and everything else seemed to look great!
The results took about an hour, but little miss scored an 8 out of 8. I was wheeled back to Labor & Delivery, where I was strapped back up to the stress test monitor. The nurse wanted me to hit a button every time I felt a movement. This way if she moved to the point the monitor wasn't picking up a heart beat, they would know it was because she was on the move. By this point, Michael and I both were starving. I couldn't tell if the movements I felt were my tummy growling due to hunger or Brooke moving! The kitchen was already closed as it was about 7:30 pm, but the nurse was able to find some juice, saltines and graham crackers. We scarfed those down, and I had an orange and grape juice. Well, that was a sugar rush for Brooke - she was bouncing off the walls!!! The monitor couldn't get a reading at all, as she was all over the place. You could see my stomach just rolling about! It was about 9 o'clock by the time the nurse had gotten a hold of my OB, for her to give the word to discharge me. I suppose since it was my doctor's orders to go in, she had to be the one to okay me to leave. They gave me some papers on kick counts and gave me a briefing on preterm labor. They assured me everything was fine, and I knew it was at that point. Again, after last week's visit and the idea of dehydration, Sunday's unusual abdominal cramps and the lack of fetal movement during the day, I needed to be reassured that our baby girl was okay! It may have been unnecessary to be at the hospital for 4 hours, but at least we knew that she was alive and healthy! I would rather be too cautious and paranoid, than not - better safe than sorry! Michael was tired and anxious to get home, but he was supportive of me and just as happy to hear that Brooke was alright.
It was wierd at first to feel the kicks and punches, stretches and rolls, but when you don't feel them, it is very scary to an expecting mother. You get used to feeling your little one inside your tummy, so even if it is just a nap they're taking, you want to confirm their little heart is still pumping away! I felt silly after hearing that everything was okay, but I know I could have never forgiven myself if it weren't. Needless to say, next time I will be sure to drink a gallon of grape juice before making a run to the hospital for 4 hours on a Monday night.
I will put all of my faith into the Lord and continue to pray for our baby girl.
Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or
the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother's womb,
so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.
~ Ecclesiastes 11:5
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