Stress Tests

Last week at my 37 week appt, I had to have a "non-stress test" done for the baby. They strap 2 monitors to the belly and monitor if the baby's heart rate increases with her own movement.   So, every time I feel the baby move, I am supposed to hit a little buzzer. It is "non-stress" because it is not an invasive procedure.  I received these instructions in Tksh of course. So, last week, I don't know if our little girl had hiccups or if I just was feeling my own heart rate racing, but I pressed that little buzzer twenty times in the first minute. I decided that couldn't be the purpose of the test, so I backed off. Anyway, this 20 minute non-stress test resulted in a very stressed out momma trying to figure out when I should be pressing that little buzzer. On top of that, she must have been sleeping, because she hardly moved at all. Good grief.

So, yesterday, I got to do it all again! This time I tried asking if the baby was moving, did I need to continue to press the button? The nurse responded, if she doesn't move for a long time, we'll give you some sugar. (So, that was a mis-communication.) This time was totally different than last week in that she moved nearly the entire 20 minutes...like a gymnastics factory! Since I was so tired, I couldn't get too stressed out this time. And the doctor decided she/we passed and I don't have to do it again. Thank goodness!