Movement or Lack Of ...

Jojo and I spent the entire morning at Torrance Memorial Hospital today. Let me reassure everyone that everything is fine now but but we did have a bit of a scare this morning. Allow me to bore you with the details ...

This morning I went in for my routine check-up with Dr. Chen. Luckily Jojo insisted on going with me, even if I repeatedly told him he didn't have to. Since today was just a basic check up - nothing else, not even an ultrasound, was planned, I told Jojo he could sit this one out. THANK GOD he was stubborn and insisted on going with me. The first part of the check up went smoothly (oh except for the fact that I found out I had gained 6 and a half pounds in the last 4 weeks! Shudder!). Anyway, during the consultation portion, Dr. Chen asked if I feel Jellybean move regularly (by "regularly" he meant at least three times during the hour after breakfast and three times during the hour after lunch - among other times). I told him that I feel flutters throughout the day (mostly at night) but no real "movements" and definitely not on schedule. Dr. Chen was concerned since at 7 months, I should be feeling more than flutters - he said I should feel little kicks and jabs - and they should be pretty regular throughout the day especially after meals. He then listened to Beanie's heart rate (which was normal). But as a precaution he made me go to the Labor & Delivery Dept of Torrance Memorial for additional tests. As usual, I got really nervous and paranoid, which is why I was so glad Jojo was with me. He is very calm and reassuring at times like these!

When we arrived at the hospital, the nursing aides were really helpful. After a few minutes wait, I was sent to the testing room and had to undergo a non-stress test to listen for fetal movement. Since it was my first time, I was hooked up to this machine that read my baby's heart rate and recorded her movements. I had to stay hooked up for 2 hours so they could get a baseline rate. Everything looked normal - Beanie's heart rate was great and she was moving - only I could not feel anything. The doctor-in-charge ordered an ultrasound for me. The ultrasound showed everything was ok - Beanie was the right size and the right position. She was moving and her heart rate was strong too. Lastly, I did a quick urine test and we waited for the results with baited breath.

My nurse, Natalie, and Dr. Chen came by to tell us that basically it boils down to three things: 1.) my placenta is located in the front of my uterus (sorry for being so descriptive) which makes feeling Bean's movements hard. 2.) Bean does not move "on schedule". And 3.) most of Bean's movements are in the late afternoon / evenings (which explains why I am tired at the end of the day and am restless at night). Natalie said we have a "night baby" which may also mean she will be keeping us up at night! Uh-oh.

I am sort of relieved but not quite - only because monitoring Jellybean's activity is now doubly hard (I have to be super sensitive) and jot everything down in a journal. Keep track of any movement as best as I can. And if anything changes (drastically increased or decreased movement) we should head over to the hospital - ASAP! I mean, having them tell me to come in whenever I feel apprehension is great but having to go through these tests every single time is pretty nerve-wracking too!