Today's Midwife Appointment

Despite a somewhat long wait in the waiting room this morning (which was partly my fault because I arrived early, thinking that might get me out of there faster), my actual appointment with the midwife was not long. However, it was still somewhat anxiety-inducing.

It started out pretty normal. The midwife came into the examination room and asked how I was doing. I told her about the stomach bug I had earlier in the week, and that I had tried to stay as hydrated as possible even though it was difficult to keep anything down. She listened to the baby's heartbeat and felt around on my belly. Then she said that she thought she would like me to go in for an ultrasound, if I was okay with that, just to make sure the amniotic fluid was not decreasing. She said the heartbeat sounded fine -- that she was not even needing to count the beats -- but just said that her gut instinct was telling her, based on what she could feel from outside my belly, that I should maybe just go ahead and have the ultrasound done to rule it out. I told her I was definitely okay with that. That if there is anything wrong, I would rather be safe than sorry. I proceeded to ask her what would happen if the amniotic fluid was, indeed, decreasing, and at first she said she did not really want to even go too deep into that conversation because she was not sure there was cause for alarm. But she said the main concern is that if the fluid decreases enough, the umbilical cord can collapse, which of course would be a danger. She said that if they find that the fluid is decreasing to the point that something needs to be done, they will likely just speed along the birthing process, which I am assuming means I would be induced. This, of course, is not my ideal plan of action, but I will also, of course, do what I need to do to keep everyone involved healthy and safe. The midwife said that if she was really concerned, she would send me over to do the ultrasound right away, but we are still getting it done within 24 hours.

So tomorrow morning Jarrett and I are going into See Baby for the ultrasound. I pray that everything is totally fine and that we can just go on as planned, but we will see what the technicians and medical professionals have to say. If nothing else, it will be kind of cool to see the baby this late in the game!