Doctor's Visit - 34th Week

Another Doctor's visit today doing the exact same procedures. The only difference is, Dr. Chen picked up the Ultrasound scanner afterwards! It means that we'll have another look at the 4th A!

Well, I bet you're already looking for pictures... but No!

Looking at the screen, Dr. Chen asked if we can tell what organ is showing on the screen... it's the beating heart, I said.  That was an easy quiz to answer.

And then he moved on to scanning the 4th A's belly. Dr. Chen said everything looks good.

"Can you confirm that this baby is a girl?" I said.

"Uh... I can't. Your baby is in the fetal position and he/she will stay that way until birth." Dr. Chen said.

"How about this, I'll give you a coupon for a return visit if it turns out to be a boy?" Dr. Chan said.

<I didn’t respond to that comment.>

So this is it!  Based on our previous pregnancy with Addison, I don’t think we will be having anymore ultrasound sound scan, unless we are past the due-date, which is rather impossible this time around. 

I was telling Amy that considering the 4th A is already ‘in position’, I wonder if SHE will meet us earlier than scheduled.  But Amy said Addison was ‘in position’ right around the same time too. 

I guess we’ll just have to wait to find out.

Our next visit is another 2 weeks.  I thought we are changing to a weekly visit, but Dr. Chen said meeting again in 2 weeks is fine.

We Have a Name!

After some intense discussion between Amy and Myself, we have finally reached an agreement that we'll pick the name with the least votes. 

Wait... but both Aaliyah and Anatolia are occupying the bottom spot with 1 vote. 

What shall we do?

We Are Asking for Your Input

We have narrowed down the choices of name to 10.  Between Amy and I, we both know each other's preference.  Unfortunately, we didn't pick the same name so we couldn't just agree on it, like we did with Addison. 

With 97% certainty, the assumption is that the 4th A is going to be a girl, and therefore, all these names are (supposed to be) girls names. 

To help you with the process, we have already decided on the Middle Name, and also, finally, agreed on the Last Name (Surname) as well.  The Middle Name for this princess will be Bernice.  Yes, along with Chan, it will be another ABC.  So don't just sit there, tell us which "A" you think will do best with Bernice Chan.

Doctor's Visit - 32nd Week

The same old stuff happened during this visit.  Tests, Heartbeat, Blood Pressure, etc.  Our only question for Dr. Chen was to clarify when to go to the hospital should contractions begin. 

With Addison, we prepared ourselves based on textbook scenarios.  Meaning that we are not to leave for the hospital until the contractions are x minute apart, lasting more than y minutes.  (I used x and y because I don't remember what those numbers were.)  And if we get to the hospital too early, they will just send us home. 

But since we know this time around will be a C-section.  Shall we wait?  What if the contractions started in the middle of the night, but infrequent?  Shall we wait till the morning?  Here's the answer...

If less than 36 weeks, the moment Amy feels ANY contraction, she is to rush to the hospital.  The idea is that we want the baby to stay inside the tummy until he/she is past 36 weeks.  Otherwise, the baby may have to stay at the hospital a bit longer after birth.

If more than 36 weeks, if the contractions get down to once every 10 minutes, we can head to the hospital, regardless of what time of day it is. 

Our other question was Amy's blood test result for sugar content.  Dr. Chen said it was all good.

Our next visit is in another 2 weeks.  After that, it will become a weekly visit.  It's getting close!

Doctor's Visit - 30th Week

Another Doctor's Visit, another weight, blood pressure, and fetus' heartbeat check.  "The 4th A" was beating at 148 beats per minute.  Dr. Chen said it's the best heartbeat he'd heard all day.  I told him he said that only because we were his last patient of the day.  But he said 'no, I still have a C-section to do immediately after this.  They are waiting for me.  It's for a twins."

Fine!  As long as you don't tell me now that Amy is carrying twins, I really don't care what you'd planned to do after this!

We asked him if it's necessary to return to the hospital for another fFN if Amy feels the same kind of pain?  And he said 'yes.'

Other than that, it was just another quick visit.  Nothing really special.  The only change that is worthy of mentioning is... Dr. Chen has changed our schedule to visit every 2 weeks now! 

It's getting close!

First Hospital Visit

Remember the fFN test that I mentioned in my previous post?  Today, we have decided to stop by the hospital to run such test... to find out if "The 4th A" will be arriving within the next 2 weeks. 

Amy has been feeling the same pain around the same area in the past few days.  Therefore, per Doctor's suggestion, we have decided to run this test to see if it tells us more information about the source of the pain.

So as soon as I came home from work, I changed into something more comfortable, and then we headed out.

As we arrived at the Labor and Delivery Floor, I realized that this is Addison's first visit to this floor since he was born here!  And he has grown so much that he's actually holding my hand, walking with me!  Anyway, time to check-in!

Since we told the nurse that we were there for a fFN test, they put us into a slightly smaller room.  Once we have settled down, they ran a series of tests on Amy to make sure all the vital signs are good.  Meanwhile, I was starving and I had to head out for some food!

While I was gone, there was actually a 4.4 earthquake!  I didn't event realize there was an earthquake as I was too busy eating with Addison in the cafeteria a floor down.  I only found out after Addison and I returned to the room.  Here's a video of Addison walking around the room.

Here's another video showing the Baby's heartbeat.

 

After almost 3 hours later, the result is back.  "Negative.'  It means that "the 4th A" will not be born within the next 2 weeks!

 

This is good news!  But why is Amy feeling so much pain?  The nurse is guessing that there are ligaments around that tummy area.  So when Amy had to hold Addison's hand pushing and/or pulling him around, it's possible that Amy hurt herself without her knowing. 

 

Well, by then, I was all ready to leave because I was really tired.  We then packed up our stuff and left the hospital.  And Addison fell asleep rather quickly in the car too.

Doctor’s Visit – 26th Week

Time flies!  It’s time for another monthly Doctor’s visit.  It’s the same old routine again.  We got there; we waited; weight and urine test; blood pressure; fetus heart rate; a measure of the tummy.  Although the Doctor did say that based on the measurement of the tummy, the baby is 2 weeks ahead!

Dr. Chen also told Amy that she needs to do a blood test to find out her sugar content of her blood. 

Then, it was time for questions.

1)  Since we already know that Amy will be doing a caesarian, when the contractions come this time, do we still have to wait till the contractions gets to x minute interval and lasting over y seconds?

Answer:  No.  As soon as you feel anything, go straight to the hospital.

2)  And once we arrived at the hospital, will the nurse make us wait until “x minute; y seconds”?

Answer:  No.  The nurse will page me as soon as possible and I will come in for the surgery.

3)  Amy has been feeling some pain around her lower right abdominal area.  What’s up with that, Dr. Dude?

Answer:  Hmm… (looking at Addison) this little one is a ‘risk’ to your pregnancy.  Even though you are not lifting him up, you are still constantly looking after him, picking things up for him, and pulling/pushing him here and there.  The next time you feel the pain again, go straight to the hospital and ask for a fFN test. 

Our visit ended after the questions, and we returned home right after.  Our next visit is in a month’s time.