Another Doctor Update

The latest and greatest from Dr. Fagnant:

I had my first nonstress test done. We'll be doing them every week from here on out to make sure that the baby is healthy. If things were to go south, that could be one of the side effects - the baby not getting enough oxygen, and thus not moving much. But don't worry, she's fit as a fiddle. And it was actually kind of cool to hear her heartbeat accelerate immediately after I felt her kick.

I mentioned to Dr. Fagnant that I had a few dizzy spells this past week - they were pretty intense, actually, and just came out of nowhere. Not a feeling of being lightheaded, just really dizzy all of the sudden. While I was sitting. Doing nothing. And he asked me if I'd been tested for anemia. Well, funny he should mention that. I actually had been wondering if I could have anemia a couple of weeks ago, seeing as I was slightly anemic pre-pregnancy and was taking prenatal vitamins for it. And I asked the nurse (medical assistant? whatever she is) about it. And she said, "Well, we took your blood at the beginning of your pregnancy, so if we didn't notice it then, then I'm sure you're fine." But remember how everything was different at the beginning of pregnancy? As it turns out, when they took my blood for the glucose screening test, they also did a hemoglobin check. And when Dr. Fagnant looked at the number, he noticed it was a little bit low. So he told me to take an extra iron supplement. Gee, it's nice to actually get the results for a test back, especially when that test indicates that there could be a problem. And even more especially when you specifically ask about it. Lame.

I then bombarded him with a bunch of questions, mostly about labor and delivery. He said that it might not be necessary to use the forceps/vacuum, and that the nurses at this hospital are actually really good about letting the baby descend on its own quite a ways before making you push. I guess the big deal here is that no one wants a cardiac patient pushing hard for an hour or more. But if I have an epidural, and the baby makes her way down quite a bit, then we might be able to do this without assistance. He also allayed my fears that an assisted delivery means a harder recovery. He said that as long as the person knows how to use the forceps, which he does, it shouldn't be much different than a regular delivery as far as healing goes. So that's good. He also told me that they wouldn't let me go a day past 41 weeks, which means we will most definitely have a baby by April 16! And if things look good, he said he would induce me as early as 39 weeks. While this doesn't seem like a big deal to some people, it is to me! I know some doctors down here won't even consider inducing you until you hit 42 weeks. That's a whole extra week! I was excited about it.

I also had to tell him that I've been feeling pretty out of breath when I go up stairs. Once again, we've got to decide if that's just the pregnancy talking, or if there is something deeper. I feel pretty confident that it's the pregnancy. Especially since it's mostly after I've eaten a big meal that I get so out of breath, indicating that there just isn't enough room for my lungs to expand. But I'll have to keep my eye on it, make sure it doesn't get worse.

There you have it. It was a very informative appointment, we talked about a lot of stuff and I felt like i got a lot of answers. Which is funny because I know that he was particularly busy that day due to all of the medical assistants being out sick, but he still took the time to answer every question on my list. He really is a good doctor. He knows his stuff. And he gives very thorough explanations of everything. I'm kind of sad that I'll have to go back to my other OBGYN after this is all over. But, barring anything extreme, I'll be back to the regular once a year check ups, which will be a nice change.