Pregnancy update : Week 34

And THIS is what happens when you think you're going for a routine prenatal exam, and end up with an IV... by a nurse who can't seem to find a vein...


Really not a big deal, but I'd like to go into detail anyway.  So I go for my regular check up (weekly for me, although I believe it's weekly at this point in a normal, healthy pregnancy as well), and I also have a BPP scan.  Basically this is just where they check the baby and score him on different things.  They check the lungs to see if he is breathing, check his movements on each part of his body, etc etc.  The doctor informed me that baby got an 8 out of 8 for the little "test" in only 2 minutes.  What a good boy!  Since baby scored so well so quickly, the doctor doing the scan says "Let's have a little fun and turn 4d on so you can really get a good look at him.  We have extra time to kill here".  Let me tell you... the things they can do... amazing!  I loved seeing his little face so clear, and watching him move around in real time!  I teared up because I'm hormonal. all I could think about was how amazing it is to be able to grow another human being inside of me.  :-)

During this visit, I also was able to find out the results of the holter monitor from before.  It showed some abnormalities, but nothing big.  I apparently have an arrhythmia (irregular beat) about every 200 beats or so.  Because of this, as well as the fact that I am in my third trimester and they require an echocardiogram for every trimester, they gave me an order to have the next echo done within the next two weeks.  After we finish up in the office, I head to the cardiology department to see if I can schedule it while I'm there instead of calling later and trying to do it all over the phone, since I had the order with me anyway.

I get to the cardiology lab area, and the woman behind the desk calls the technicians to get an open date for me, looks up from the phone and says "If you don't mind waiting about 30 minutes, they can do your echo today."  I was thinking, "Great!  I won't have to make this drive an extra day next week!", so of course I say "Sure, I can wait."  I was called back in less than 30 minutes and started the echo.  Normal boring stuff, and then the technician gets up some-what quicker than usual and says "I will be right back, I just want to make sure the info and photos have gone through".  I've never had someone go check to make sure the photos from the echo made it to the room next door...but I didn't think anything of it.  I am sitting in this room now for about 30 minutes and I literally thought she went to lunch and forgot about me!

About to get up, get dressed and walk out, I hear her outside of the door whispering, "So is the doctor coming in?".  About 1 minute lady, a woman doctor comes in and tells me that they noticed some "extra flow and leakage" in my heart, and it's bad enough that they would like to do further testing to find out exactly where it's coming from.  They are going to administer an IV, give me 6 injections and try to find out some more information.  I say "injections of what??"  The doctor tells me it will just be saline and will not harm me or baby.  Relief!!

So the nurse comes in to start the IV and the technician comes back to get ready to start this part of the echo.  The nurse tells me this is a "bubble test".  She says if they can see what they need to with the first or second injection, they won't need to do any more.  Now is the fun part where I get pricked, and the nurse THINKS she found a vein, but didn't yet, and starts filling saline up into my tissues and swelling my arm up.  Excellent.  I can't say anything bad about her because I do apparently have tiny veins... almost every nurse tells me this.  But they are usually able to find a good spot to do what they need to do, without the sexy bruising you see above.  So, they begin the process with one, then two injections of saline.  Can't see what they need to.  So with the third injection, I'm told to "push like I'm going to the bathroom... constipation" (her exact words).  I'm feeling good at this point... sexy pregnant woman on a table with an IV, pretending to poop.  Fourth injection, same thing.  Now with the 5th and 6th injections, I'm told to cough without moving my shoulders.  Not impossible, but not entirely easy either.

That's basically the end of the test... they leave, come back in about 15 minutes, remove the IV and tell me I can go home and that my doctor will call me about the results.  I'm entirely confused at this point, but I'm glad to be done this and going back home.

And then 12 hours later, I end up with the super sexy heroin look on my left arm that you see above.  Perfect way to end your day.  lol :-)