Week 19 - Ultrasound

Well, some days just don’t go as planned…

I was scheduled for my 2nd OB appointment today, as well as my 19-week anatomy scan. My appointment was scheduled for 11am, so I showed up a bit early at 9.30am. I checked-in at Reception and then sat in the waiting area and made myself comfortable. I was bummed to find that I didn’t get cell or wifi signal in this particular part of the hospital, and I hadn’t brought a book or anything to read.

And so I people watched as women and their partners came and went. I was still waiting at 11.55am. My anatomy ultrasound was scheduled for 12 noon just down the hall. I got up and asked the Receptionist if I should stay and wait for my appointment with the Doctor, or if I should go to my ultrasound appointment? She sent me off to the ultrasound, and told me to check in with her again when I was done.

So off I went, down the hall to another Reception Desk and another waiting room. Half an hour later I was called for my ultrasound. The 19-week scan is the main ultrasound of your pregnancy.  It is the best time for a universal detailed check of the fetus. This is when it is already large enough to examine in detail, and equally developed enough to be using its structures a lot. This gives extra information on its development. Additionally, it is not yet so bony that it blocks the ultrasound waves (and therefore the picture). 

Typically the scan examines the skull, brain, face, lips, chest/lungs, heart, stomach, bowel, abdominal wall (umbilical cord insertion), kidneys, bladder, spine, arms, legs, hands, and feet of the fetus. And also checks the placenta, that the cervix is not shortening with the weight of the pregnancy, and may detect conditions in the mother that may be relevant to the pregnancy.

I laid back on the examination table and exposed my growing tummy. The Tech applied the gel and got to work moving the wand across my lower abdomen. As she worked, she said that it’s normal for the scan to take up to an hour. What! OMG, I thought. What about my delayed appointment with the Doctor? I laid there staring at the ceiling as she worked taking photos of here, there and everywhere.

45-minutes later she told me that she had some more images to collect, but needed the baby to shift position first. She asked me to wipe off the gel, stand up, walk around a bit, touch my toes, bend over, stand on my head (haha, just kidding). She left the room while I paced back and forth, trying to coax the little one into a new position.

Back up on the table. More gel to the tummy. She took some more images, and then said we needed to try to get the baby into a new position again. She assured me that this is very normal. And so I wiped another layer of gel off my tummy, accidentally smearing it this time on my top and underwear. So gross! They don’t show all this glamour in the movies… this time I walked to the bathroom, did side-bends and high-knees. I squatted and talked to the baby, urging it to roll over. I felt like I was trying to teach a puppy a new trick. Ahhhhh the things you do…

15-minutes later I’m back up on the table. More gel. The wand. And 10-seconds in the Tech announces that the baby is too comfy where it is, and hasn’t budged. We’d need to reschedule another appointment in order for her to capture the final images. Ugh, I thought. I don’t want to have to come back in two weeks.

I wiped the increasingly sticky layer of gel off my tummy for the last time, pulled up my pants, and returned to Reception Desk #1 to check back in for my appointment with the Doctor. The Receptionist gave me a vague nod, and waved me back to the seating area. The time was 1.45pm. I was tired and so very hungry and thirsty. I hadn’t had anything since I left the house at 7am.

I sat in that waiting room for another two hours! It seems that when the Receptionist sent me off to my ultrasound, that kicked me to the end of the line to see the Doctor. I was silently fuming as I watched people who arrived later than me that morning, complete their appointments before me. My chest was tightening with stress and my toe was tapping a million beats a minute.

Finally there was one chart left on the desk, and my name was called. The nurse took my vitals. My weight was OK, up three pounds from my last visit, which seemed reasonable. The first reading of my blood pressure was elevated, at 139/80. I explained that I was feeling pretty stressed and frustrated about the long wait. She apologized and empathized, and was really very sweet. We chatted for a few minutes and she repeated the blood pressure measurement. 119/80 this time. Totally normal. She had a calming nature!

She walked me to an examination room to wait for the doctor. Before she left me, she gave me a requisition for a urine test, and asked me to stop at the Lab before I left. Oh dear god, I thought. I’m never getting out of here! My mouth was sooooo dry and I was daydreaming of a big, cold glass of water.

Finally a doctor I’ve never met came in and introduced himself quickly. I didn’t even catch his name. He explained that Dr. Maxwell was home today, with a sick daughter of her own. The doctor didn’t have any updates for me, and explained that the ultrasound department was having technical issues today, so he couldn’t review my results from today’s anatomy scan with me. Someone would call me tomorrow with the results. In my mind I was screaming “SO WHY THE HELL WAS I ASKED TO WAIT HERE FOR TWO HOURS?” On the outside I just nodded and stared at him blankly. He asked if I had any questions. I did not. And so he excused me after a mere 3 minutes. WTF?!

I could feel my cheeks burning with frustration. I so badly wanted to leave and reunite with my hand-packed lunch bag I’d left in the car. Alas, I had one more Reception Desk to visit… off to the Lab!

Down the hall in the opposite direction, this Reception Desk wasn’t even attended by a person. Instead I tapped out some particulars on a screen and a numbered ticket was spit out. 15-minutes later my number was called. A human did take my requisition form, and confirmed all my info. I wanted to scream, “JUST GIVE ME THE DAMN CUP TO PEE IN.” But I smiled demurely and waited to be called by yet another nurse. The time was 4pm.

FINALLY, my name was called and off I went down another dimly light hallway. The nurse gave me the cup, and the instructions, and motioned me off to a washroom across the hall. Two bathrooms. Both occupied. As I stood waiting, I realized that my mouth was dry and I hadn’t had a single sip of liquid in six hours! I was starting to sweat a bit… did I have enough pee in me to fill the cup at least ½ way?

One of the bathrooms was vacated and in I went to find out. They tell you to let the first part of your stream go in the toilet, but I didn’t have a drop to spare. I squeezed out everything I could into that little cup, and it was a little shy of the ½ way mark. I didn’t care!

I washed up and marched my cup back over to the nurse who was busy with another patient. She motioned to leave my specimen on a nearby table, which I gladly did. And then I almost bolted. But one last step… you have to check-out with yet another Receptionist. Sweet baby jeezus.

And so I went and stood in another line. Waited my turn to schedule another appointment with the Doctor in two weeks, following the continuation of my anatomy scan. By 4.20pm I was in my car stuffing my face alternating between my giant water bottle and a nice homemade sandwich.

Today is the first day of my pregnancy that I might be wishing that I had a partner. Someone to have kept me company throughout the day. Someone to go get me a bottle of water. Someone to drive me the bleep home. But I’m tough. I made it through. I’m leaving without a cute 19-week picture, or the reassurance that all is OK. But I’m also leaving with a renewed sense of just how strong I am. Good thing too, cuz I know motherhood will be a whole lot harder than today.