Every Week Appointments

Yesterday I had another doctors appointment. Dr measured me and said I am right where I should be and Kailey's heartbeat was at 136 - a good heartbeat at this stage of the game. I have been having some bad back pain in one specific spot and also some pain right at the top of my belly. I thought that might be a foot digging into my ribs or something but I guess from what I described, the doctor thought it just might be some muscle pain. She asked if I was taking any Tylenol and I told her no. I would rather not take anything if possible. She told me to just take it. I also asked about pregnancy massages. I didnt want to speed up this process too much and was worried that a massage could do that. She said I was all cleared for massages. Woo hoo!

Some of you know that my mom had a problem with blood clots a few years ago. I got tested for a certain gene and found out I have the same thing. When I found out I was pregnant, the doctors put me on extra Folic Acid to help this problem and now at this point in my pregnancy I will start going to the office every week. That usually wouldnt happen for another 3 weeks. At each weekly appointment I will have a non stress test for 20 minutes, then meet with the doctor to look at my results and have my normal appointment of measuring me and listening to her heartbeat.

I looked up some info on the Non Stress Test and this is what it had to say:

The test involves attaching one belt to the mother’s abdomen to measure fetal heart rate and another belt to measure contractions. Movement, heart rate and “reactivity” of heart rate to movement is measured for 20-30 minutes. The primary goal of the test is to measure the heart rate of the fetus in response to its own movements. Healthy babies will respond with an increased heart rate during times of movement, and the heart rate will decrease at rest. The concept behind a non-stress test is that adequate oxygen is required for fetal activity and heart rate to be within normal ranges. When oxygen levels are low, the fetus may not respond normally. Low oxygen levels can often be caused by problems with the placenta or umbilical cord.

I will be sure to be posting about the appointments and how they go. Now I need to go get ready for Dylan Ziegler's baby shower!