January 6th 2006

It was raining, imagine that! And we were cutting it pretty close so I dropped Kristy off at the west entrance which is right next to module E which is where all the appointments are. I then began the circling game, watching other cars circle as well, like sharks looking for their next meal, except instead of meals we are looking for parking spots. I was driving nice and slow; my head looking here, then there like a playful dog, then right in front of me this nice elderly couple decided to leave. I had seen them on the three previous passes, and now skillful timing paid off. I got a spot right in front next to the west entrance doors, I could see into the module E waiting room.

When I was getting out of my car I noticed an old black Ford with its lights on. I recited the license plate three times in my head, like I usually do when I notice some forgetful person has left their lights on. I went in and Collette was busy so the other lady helped me, I don’t know her name, she is usually very quite. I was looking around for Kristy hoping she didn’t start the appointment without me, and then I had to talk, “Hi, first a car left its lights on over there”. The lady said “in the west parking lot” I thought about where I was for a second, got my internal compass synchronized to magnetic north and then said “yes, the west parking lot”. That’s the very first time I realized that parking lot was the west parking lot, I always thought of it as the physical therapy and prenatal appointment parking lot, because I parked in it for my physical therapy and Kristy’s prenatal appointments.

I gave the license plate number 355 LHA, black Ford. “Award” Collette exclaimed! And I was like no, not “Award”, I said “Ford” and she was like, oh, I thought you said award. The person she was helping just kind of stood there looking at us, and we turned and went back to our separate business. I didn’t mention the Alaskan Girls Rock bumper sticker, but I did take note of it when I was memorizing the license plate. The lady helping me said she would tell the information booth and they would send out a page. Just then Kristy came out from the bathroom carrying the infamous brown bag. I didn’t remember that she had to do the brown bag ritual, I was very happy to see the appointment had not started without me.

We sat down for a second; a nurse said she would be right with Kristy. While we were sitting there I heard the page for the black Ford with its lights on. The intercom in that place kind of sucks though and if you weren’t listening for it, you would probably not have heard it.

After awhile the nurse finally came and got Kristy and I followed behind with my notebook. We went to weigh in, Kristy took her shoes off and hopped on the scale and the nurse dialed in to…. Drum roll please…. 150 and ½ pounds. The nurses reaction was, “wow, I never would have guessed that weight for you, you hide it really well, it’s all baby.” The nurse also asked if Kristy had begun to swell because she saw Kristy’s rings around her neck on a chain. Next was the blood pressure, which is still fantastic, 121/60. In case you are wondering I had mine checked sometime later and Dad is around 122/66 which is pretty good. If you don’t know or can’t remember what the numbers mean check out this Link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_pressure).

Instead of going to the second hall on the left we went to the first and instead of going into the first room on the right we went into the first room on the left. This was probably because we were seeing Ingrid today instead of Jill because Jill was out sick and had to cancel our original appointment we had scheduled earlier in the day.

We could hear Collette in the hall outside our room and then going back to the front. Kristy says Collette reminds her of a busy bee, buzzing around every place all the time.

Kristy had to go to the bathroom again, even though she just went like eight minutes ago max, so she made a run for it. I was sitting behind the door, wondering when Ingrid would show up and what I would do if Ingrid showed up and Kristy wasn’t here. I would have to explain right away, “my wife is in the bathroom, she’ll be right back, I’m not some weirdo guy just waiting in here”. Or since I was sitting behind the door I was worried that Ingrid might peek in and not see Kristy and I would be hidden behind the door and before I could say anything she could leave and then Kristy would come back and we would be waiting even longer because the staff didn’t know where we were. Finally I saw Kristy in the hall so she would be back by the time Ingrid came, but she looked in the room, didn’t see me behind the door and took off down the hall. I was saying “Hey you” through the crack in the door at the hinges but she didn’t hear me and kept on walking. Then when she came back down the hall I yelled at her again through the crack in the door at the hinges and she heard me and came in. Glad that was over!

Eventually Ingrid came in and asked how Kristy was doing and gave me a strange look like, “What are you doing here”. Then we continued with the rest of the appointment normally.

Ingrid went over pre-term labor signs and the kick count rule, anything less then 5 kicks in an hour and we should be concerned. She asked about classes and we said yes, we’ll be taking classes next weekend at the hospital. She said Kristy’s weight gain has been very good, although Kristy is definitely a bit alarmed by the overall number she has gained to date.

She asked Kristy about birth control and what she was taking before the pregnancy and what she could take after. She said that while she is breast feeding her options would be limited. She said that a non-estrogen mini pill is available but it is very unforgiving if you mess up the timing when you take it. You cannot miss a pill and you must take it the same time every day within a three hour window. Ingrid also mentioned that Depo provera shots taken once a month are an option, but a woman’s cycle and fertility are slower to return when you stop getting the shots, something to consider in family planning and when we want to have another kid. Also something Kristy doesn’t want to even think about until she gets this one out of her. Finally there was IUDs with a quick return to fertility, but are only recommended if you are not going to try to have another kid for three years or longer, because the IUD lasts about that long.

Next she measured Kristy’s belly and it measured 32cm, perfect. Then we listened to the baby’s heart rate which was 145 bpm. We asked what the results were from Kristy’s diabetes test and Ingrid said they were great. The glucose should be 140 or less and Kristy’s was 89. He is still head down in the same position he has been in for probably the last four months.

Ingrid also touched on circumcision, when they will perform the procedure, which is now viewed as a cosmetic procedure these days because there is not significant medical benefit associated with it and that because it is sometimes considered cosmetic some insurances cover it while others do not.

Kristy told Ingrid that she was supposed to schedule the rest of her appointments since we were getting closer to the due date, so Ingrid wrote out a week by week schedule to give to the nurses when we left.

Then the appointment ended and I was back in the waiting room waiting for Kristy to schedule her appointments. Collette used “Come on down” again on poor old Joe who forgot his insurance card.

Next Collette started talking about the light outside and when it gets dark. She said she’s not mad at it (the light) for going away so soon, she can already tell that it’s staying light a little bit longer. She raised her hand and said “I can tell it’s staying light a little longer, that’s why I’m not mad at it at all”. Then she got onto another topic really fast and said “Oh my Lord!, my grandma would say that was a sin of a shame!” I didn’t have a chance to figure out exactly what was going on because Kristy was done and ready to go. She went to the bathroom again as we were leaving the building. We then went out into the rain, but only had to go a few steps to the car since it was right up front thanks to my great parking skills and instincts.