Part I
I had barely stepped into the 2nd trimester. Matt was always able to take time away from work to go to our baby appointments. I was very thankful for that and really appreciated that he always wanted to go…that was until this particular appointment. I probably would have been better off if he would’ve stayed at work and I had gone solo.
My appointment that morning was your typical monthly checkup…urine test, weight check, blood pressure, ask a few questions, and then listen to the baby’s heartbeat. I hopped up on the table and patiently waited as Dr. Price searched for the heartbeat…we waited a little longer and a little longer. She pushed a little harder and moved all over my stomach. Where was the heartbeat? She asked me to hold my breath, so I did. Nothing. I started to panic. I glanced over at Matt (hoping to get a little reassurance) but he was busy checking his watch to make sure he wasn’t gone too terribly long from work. After what seemed like an eternity, Dr. Price tells us she can’t find the heartbeat so she’s going to send us to the Perinatal Center for an ultrasound. She hands me a paper and asks us to wait in the waiting room while they call the Perinatal Center to see if I could come over right away.
As we sat in the waiting room, I had nothing to say. I was nervous. I looked at the paper and those 3 words stared back at me, “No Fetal Tones.” Matt on the other hand was “hoping they’d hurry up so he could get back to work.” At one point he leans over and says, “I hope they don’t schedule it until after I get off work or maybe you’ll just have to go by yourself so I can get back.” Really, Matthew? I just glare at him thinking, “he really has the nerve to say that?” At that point, it was very tempting to pop him in the face…but I didn’t want to cause a scene, so I didn’t. The nurse comes out and says it’s ok for us to head over. Matt said he was walking down to the department to let his boss know that they were sending us over for an ultrasound and that he’d meet me there. (My OB Dr was in the same hospital that he worked at.) I walked out to my car, in tears, worried about what was about to happen. Pulling into the Perinatal parking lot, through my tears I see Matt...waving like a lunatic, with a goofy smile on his face, pointing to a front row parking spot. (Here would’ve been punch #2.)
We walk in, hand the receptionist my paper, and take a seat. I kept telling Matt how nervous I was, that I was scared, and so worried. He nonchalantly says, “Why?” Finally I was like, “You aren’t nervous or worried at all?? How can you not be?” It wasn’t until I mentioned that Dr. Price had written on the paper “No Fetal Tones” that his demeanor changed. Now we were on the same page. We’re called back. I sit down; pull my shirt up, and the ultrasound tech starts. It didn’t take long at all to find Giblet...who by the way, actually looked like a real baby now! : ) Those tiny, tiny arms were “fist pumping” in the air, legs were all over the place, and Giblet was literally bouncing all over the place. (No wonder she couldn’t pick up a heartbeat.) It wasn’t until that moment that I was able to breathe a huge sigh of relief!
So, Matt’s take on the whole situation and why he was so “la-dee-da” about it…the Doppler reminded him of a kid’s karaoke machine. Not only that, but he figured it was just “a crappy piece of equipment.” “Besides,” he said, “One of us had to hold it together.” : )
More 2nd trimester stories to come! : )
~Renee
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