Unexpected doctor's appointment

As I mentioned in my last post, I went to a doctor's appointment today. But it wasn't a scheduled appointment. I called and spoke to the nurse this morning because I had noticed a decrease in the baby's movement over the past couple of days and wanted to ask if it was normal. For the past 5 weeks or so, he has been very consistent in his movement. He kicks/moves at the same times during the day and I know what triggers him to move. He is VERY strong and the movements are very noticeable. They've been visible from the outside for weeks.

He had continued with that pattern through Sunday. Then on Monday, I realized that I hadn't felt him move very much. There were a few movements, but they were very subtle and soft, kind of like when he first started moving a couple of months ago and I'd only feel light taps. And he wasn't moving at his regular times like I'd come to expect. I thought I'd wait another day and see if it was just an off day for him. Tuesday came and it was more of the same thing. Even when I would lay down, he'd kick or move a couple of times, and then nothing (usually when I lay down, he goes wild for at least 10 minutes).

I called the nurse this morning and talked to her about it. She said she'd talk to the doctor and call me back. She called back within 10 minutes and said that they wanted me to come straight in to be hooked up to the monitors just as a precaution. I was really surprised, as I just expected them to say, "Oh, that's normal", especially since I'm only 27 weeks and kick counts down even begin until 28 weeks. I went in and they did a non-stress test. I laid down on an exam table and the nurse hooked me up to a monitor that they strapped to my belly that gave a readout of the baby's heartbeat. They gave me a little clicker remote to push every time I felt a movement.

Wouldn't you know it, that this little stinker barely moved a muscle for the past 2 days, but as soon as that thing was strapped to my belly, he was working like crazy to try to get it off? Right away, the nurse was like, "Well, he seems very active!". I was like, "I swear, he hasn't moved like this in 2 days!". This kid's making a liar out of me already. She told me to keep going with the test for 20 minutes and they'd come back to check the results.

In the middle of the test, I started to feel really hot. I tried pulling my pant legs up to get a little bit of air. I started feeling very faint and nauseated. I called the nurse's name a few times, but I guess she didn't hear me. I was trying to fan myself with my hands because I couldn't reach a magazine or anything. I sat up because I couldn't handle laying down anymore. I broke out in a cold sweat all over my arms. The nurse finally heard me and I asked her for a bucket. She grabbed the trash can and put it under my chin right in time for me to lose my breakfast. She grabbed wet paper towels and started wiping down my face and my arms and I finally cooled off and started feeling normal again. I even sweat through the back of my shirt and onto the paper covering the exam table! I guess I just got overheated. She turned a fan on and left the door open for me. She said that my color was coming back and that sometimes your blood pressure can drop if you are laying flat on your back.

I felt better, so we finished the test. I layed back down because my LO stopped moving when I was sitting up. When it was over, my doctor came in to check the printout and he said that it looked great for 27 weeks, but he was very glad that I called and we were able to confirm that everything was okay.

I went home and ate some lunch, and now I'm back to work. Darn being a freaking furnace when you are pregnant, and darn this 97 degree FL weather!!!!!!