I'd been anticipating this appointment for a while due to thinking that my baby was breech which would have meant I would have had a lot of things to discuss, but with baby no longer being breech I was feeling a bit meh about it.
So I get called in for my ultrasound, surprisingly by a male tech. I don't really understand men opting into careers that really require a women's perspective, so I was a bit put off and if I was braver I might have asked for a female one.
Instead I got on the bed and exposed my tummy, at which point he looked away and threw some tissue in my direction for me to tuck into my waistband - a job normally done by the tech themselves.
Instantly I felt very awkward and he went on to explain that he always does his ultrasounds with the women facing the bed height screen, even if there is a wall screen (which there wasn't today).
He started the scan and immediately his arm was completely blocking my view! Annoyingly I then realised that James wasn't even recording it today! He later explained that it's no fun watching it through a phone camera - pfft.
I tried to shuffle up the bed which he assumed was due to discomfort so I told him I couldn't see anything. He said he'd keep his arm as low as possible but that lasted about 2 minutes.
So peeking at the screen from under his armpit, I saw her heart beat and everything else. Her legs, her ribs, her profile zzzzzzzzzzzzz. I'm so over ultrasounds.
He even took the measurements differently. Instead of finding a good view and taking the lines as exactly to the edge as possible, he put it roughly at the edges several times and averaged it out. It might have been more accurate if he wasn't working from the same paused cross section.
Head slightly over average (sigh) and same for her belly, but then her legs seemed to come up really short in comparison. On the screen they came in at 31-33 weeks but then miraculously in my notes it said 34 weeks, so I'm a bit worried about that.
We wanted pics so I suggested taking them of her hands and feet... No, let's get some more crappy profile pics that show nothing because she's so huge now. They were so crap that we got them for free too. James seemed to be starting to worry that her nose is very wide, but that's my fault really because I thought it seemed like a huge nose on our 3d scan although it's very similar to James nose is what I meant lol
James doesn't have a particularly wide nose, but mine is narrow in comparison.
Anyway, so that was that and it was off to wait to see the consultant. I didn't know if it would be my last consultant appointment before I gave birth so I was keen to see the head guy but on the board it stated "not in clinic" which was just marvelous.
We were called in after about 30 mins and it was yet another never seen before consultant. She was a stocky Indian women that I'd place in her late 40's and she seemed like a bit of a no nonsense kind of person which I like.
I handed over my pee sample and then she looked over my notes and assured me that everything was fine with the baby. I went over to the bed for my blood pressure reading and as the nurse came over she stated to the consultant that I had "protein+" in my urine. I asked the nurse what that meant and she started to reply but the consultant cut other off and told me that it meant maybe an infection so the sample would be sent off but they wouldn't prescribe antibiotics anyway. Apparently it came mean pre eclampsia but my blood pressure came back normal. I thought maybe it was diabetes related but it isn't.
Dr Google says that it could simply be an indication that my kidneys are working hard which is normal during pregnancy, so I'm going to try looking after my kidneys a bit more by drinking plenty of water and things. I have been feeling thirsty.
I sat back down and the consultant started talking about due date and things and I was expecting her to pretty much discharge me but instead she said something about me still being on Clexane meaning I should be conscious of trying to not have taken a dose for 24 hours before active labour due to bleeding risk and that she'd have me in again to discuss my options regarding induction.
I expressed surprise and said that I was hoping not to go over 40 weeks so she said she'd have me in to see a consultant again at 39 weeks.
It was a bit scary to be honest. I felt like I was already being admitted for an induction and it really hit home that I'm on the final stretch of the pregnancy. The next milestone is labour.
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