Too Small?

We had an appointment this morning, a morning where I've been pretty emotional. They're so quick and, dare I say, boring. One of the nurses that I've seen before took us back and took my weight & blood pressure. Both were good.

Dr. Tumaneng came in a few minutes later, asked if we had registered at the hospital yet. I told her we were waiting to hear about VBAC'ing at Woodwinds, and she said it looked like a "go," but I didn't get registered yet. She asked if we had any other questions, but we didn't.

So I got up on the table and she measured me. Having not done this many times before (like growth ultrasounds or biophysical profiles), I learned that I should be measuring between 30 and 34 cm this week. But I measured at 28 cm. She said she wanted us to get an ultrasound to make sure that she's growing alright, but wouldn't be surprised if it's just because I'm a small person. I don't really have any measurements to compare it to from Danni, as I was never measured. (But I'm going to keep it in mind with our next one if it turns out she is just fine.) She was getting ready to write up a slip to have an ultrasound done there at their clinic, but I asked if I could go to MN Perinatal instead. She was concerned about my insurance covering it, but I assured her it would be fine, and told her that Krista (my favorite u/s tech) had told us to come back if we needed another one.

Then she tried to listen to baby girl's heartbeat. She was kicking and moving around, so it took her a little bit to find her. But she finally got her to hold still for long enough to hear. Her heart rate was 135 bpm.

Before she left, she said another nurse would be in to talk to us about postpartum stuff. And shortly after she left, another nurse came in. I wish I would have remembered her name, but I didn't. She asked if this was our first, and I simply replied 'no.' She started talking a little about postpartum stuff, then asked how old our one at home is. I said, "She would be 13 months old," and I could see her looking at me differently. So I added, "She died when she was two days old." She apologized, and said she had a little one in heaven too. As she kept talking about the postpartum stuff again, I noticed she had a tattoo on the inside of her forearm of two tiny little feet with a heart around them and a name that I couldn't read. Later, when we were in the car, Adam commented that if they were the actual size, then he or she must have been about 20 weeks along.

Before she left, she gave us our Pampered Pregnancy gift. It was a booklet with some postpartum information and a $20 gift certificate to some postpartum workshops that we could take, along with a yellow receiving blanket. The blank, I think, matches her nursery pretty well with brown, blue, and green polka dots.

On our way out, we made our next appointment. From now on, I will be seen every 2 weeks since I am in the third trimester.