Today I had my monthly appointment with my doctor to check up on Alex. I arrived to the doctor's office about 10 minutes early, checked in, and waited.......and waited.....they forgot about me!! The receptionist forgot to take out my patient file and I thought it was strange that ladies who had come in after me were being shown in back. I waited about half an hour before one of the nurses recognized me and took me back. Then all the torture began. Since i'm 27 weeks along, it was time for my Glucose test. That meant that once I had checked in with the nurse (get my weight measured as well as my blood pressure), I had to walk to the lab for my Glucose drink (this nasty orangeish tasting liquid which I had to have in my system for an hour before my blood could be taken and tested), and once I had downed it all, I walked back to the doctor for my visit. My normal doctor was out of town this week, so I saw a subsititue doctor which was a guy and I was quite nervous. I like my lady doctor. My substitute doctor was actually quite nice even thought he talked really fast. I listened to the baby's heartbeat which the doctor said sounded excellent. Then he measured her growth which he said was also good. We chatted for a few minutes and then that part was over. I went outside and waited another 40 minutes for my hour to be up and when it was, I went back into the lab to have my blood drawn (never a pleasant experience for me). While I was getting my blood drawn, the technicians were asking if I would participate in a research study that would help identify possible markers for babies who are born prematurely. They were asking every patient who was getting their Glucose tested since they do not have a large data pool for their research and need some volunteers. Since it wouldn't cost me extra, I decided to participate and all they had to do was draw some extra blood. When that was all over, I had to head back to the doctor's office for a shot. The reason that I had to take this shot was that I have a rare blood type which can possibly cause potential issues if I ever try to have other children, but if I get this shot, I should be able to have children in the future. I gladly got this shot even though it was in a place that was slightly embarrassing for me and the nurse. Oh well. She said that she was used to it. I left the hospital a little over 2 hours after I entered it and much sorer for it. I am glad however, that I can help others in the future and especially, that I got to hear my little girl's heartbeat!
