Test Day at Cinci

We had to be at Cincinnati Children's at 7:30 am Thursday to register for the day. So we decided to leave Wednesday night after Joshua got off work at 11 pm. That way we wouldn't have to worry about sleeping through the alarm or traffic, especially since the hospital is two hours away from our house. We didn't actually end up leaving until 12:30 am. We had to make a couple stops on the way so we didn't arrive at the hospital until 3:15 am. Since it was so late, we decided to "nap" in our car for a few hours. It really wasn't as bad as it sounds! It definitely was hard to get up when the alarm went off at 7 am!! But we got up and went to sign in for our first appointment in Radiology.

8 am- MRI
We get taken back to a room where will fill out more paperwork. Joshua cannot come back with me since he works in maintenance and he is always around metal shavings. The MRI is an electromagnet, so there cannot be any metal in there.  I was given a gown to change into and picked out a movie to watch. The technician tells us it will take about an hour and a half!! In the room there is a machine kind of shaped like a tanning bed except the bed slides in and out of it. I have to lay on my side and be strapped in to a foam "thing" (I don't know how to explain it). She called it an antenna. Okay so she gives me my headphones and 3D looking goggles to watch the movie. Then she tells me not to move, not even to straighten my legs! I am nervous. It is so loud! It's blowing air and even though I can't see, I can feel how close it is. I'm not claustrophobic but I was definitely feeling anxious. She starts it up and OH MY WORD!! Here's my experience:

BEEP BEEP BEEP DING DONG DING 

BOOP BOOP BOOP BI-DO BI-DO 

Basically all the annoying sounds you can think of at the highest noise level possible!! Baby was not happy! They kicked and wiggled and moved all over the place. By the end of it I was in so much pain I was close to tears. It is really hard for a pregnant woman to lay on one side and not move! My hips come out of socket. When she was finally finished it took me a while to stand up. Seriously it was so uncomfortable! When I went to put my clothes back on I had red lines all down my right side.

10 am- Ultrasound
I was led to a room for our ultrasound. The nurse left and went to get Joshua who was still waiting in Radiology. The bed in the ultrasound room was amazing! Ahhhh! The room was dark and quiet and we got to see our baby. Bliss. Baby makes all tests difficult lol the technicians had to work so hard to get all the measurements they needed! But they were laughing and talking about baby's little fingers and toes and how precious they are. We also saw our baby kick!! For SB parents that is so exciting! We left there pretty happy.

11:30 pm- We go to get lunch from the cafeteria. It is huge! And there were so many choices. Joshua knew right away what he wanted (Chicken strips and French fries) and he had to follow me around until I finally made a decision ;-) It was a good lunch!

12 pm- We were supposed to have a meeting but the nurse couldn't see us until later so we waited in our nesting room up in the Fetal Care Center until it was time for our next appointment.

1 pm- Fetal Echo
We go to the Cardiology department and sign in. After a short wait we follow our cardiologist back to a room. She explains to us what she's looking for and tells us it will be a long procedure, about an hour. She tells us it's ok to sleep. And she doesn't talk so she can concentrate. It's like a high tech ultrasound. Joshua gets all snuggled in and prepares to take a nap. Lucky dog. It's almost impossible to sleep with someone pressing on your belly! After a little while, I open eyes and look at the screen.  The doctor says "Do you see your baby? Look at that. Baby has their legs up by their face and is sucking on their toes!!" It was so cute!! I was just cracking up. The doctor smiled and said "C'mon baby you're making my life miserable!" Baby is a stinker all ready. :-)

From 2 pm-4 pm we have meetings in our nesting room in the Fetal Care Center. By the end we are so tired and ready to leave to check in to our hotel room! Guest Services gets us into one of their discounted hotels for patients. We find a place to eat and then lock ourselves in our room and don't move from the bed! Lights out!!