37 weeks update and observations from the Hospital waiting room!

Wow! another week closer to holding that baby 🙂
I am positively bigger-even Babushka has been commenting on it..and she was the one person,who thought I was PERFECT! Last couple of days,every time Babs is sitting next to me or kissing my belly,she says..’WOW Mumma your tummy is soooo big! LIKE a huge watermelon!’ umm yeah thanks baby!
The other day,I was trying on some pants to put in my hospital bag and they refused to go up.. and both SD and Babs,said,together.. ohh yeah its too small.. you are too big!! umm as if I can’t see/feel that!
Anyway,so last week,we had to go into the hospital because for no apparent reason,my blood pressure shot up and I went in for monitoring..spent a couple hours there and then for no apparent reason,it came down on its own..:)
The appointment today was pretty routine..everything looked as it should.. and since I have already scheduled my C-sec,there is not much to discuss with the OB.She did say,that if I go into labour naturally and if they think there is a chance of normal delivery,they will give me that option..so that’s good:)
I have been cramping last two days and have a terrible back ache..which is a good sign at this time,said the OB! Last time,after I was cramping for two days,Babushka made an appearance!:D So,I have hopes!
So lets see.. my observations from the hospital waiting room..I mean really.. we were there from 1:30 to 5:00 pm for various appointments..I have lots of fodder for a blog-post of its own.. but I am a good person and will spare you the minute by minute details!
First appointment was the CTG,where they are supposed to monitor the baby’s heart rate and my contractions,if any! And the OBs insist on doing it on Monday,before seeing them.. that way,if there is a problem,they can take action,immediately..So,Mondays are very busy in the day stay unit,where this test is carried out..So,I can’t just understand,why they can’t keep competent and experienced staff on their busiest day! 2 weeks back,I spent nearly 8 hours in the day stay unit..why? because there was a swap nurse,who didn’t know what she was doing! She monitored my heart-rate for more than half an hour,despite me telling her 4 times,that its too low for the baby’s heart-rate! Anyway,today,started off nice..I had a nice mid-wife,she hooked me and said,she’d check back in half an hour. At around 20 minutes,came the midwife,I have dubbed as Ms.Panicked.I was reading a magazine..The baby was moving a lot..so she asked me to stop reading,because,it might move the monitor…I swear if she could,she would have asked me to stop breathing!!LOL! So, anyway,the monitoring took around 1 hour..towards the end,the baby moved and there was no heartbeat on the screen and,I hurried put my phone away,where I was checking FB statuses.. simply because if Ms.Panicked caught me with the phone,she would tell me to stop moving my fingers too.Seriously,last week or the week before,when she was on call, and I dozed off,she woke me,saying..no no don’t sleep.. I want u to be awake…so that Your breathing stays steady! OK!!
Another mid-wife came and checked and said,we had already got a continuous 20 minutes read before the baby moved the first time..so,it was fine!*rolling eyes*
We finished that and went off to the main reception to sign in and wait for our appointment. And I cannot tell you how annoyed I was at the Desi girl who jumped the line. She was going to the toilet..I was up next..Babs came running to give me a cuddle and this girl,changed her mind and sneaked in between me and the person before me! It took both of SD’s hands to restrain me from giving her a piece of my mind.
SD stood in the line and sent me off for a blood test.This time it was a Russian lady..She looked so stern,like a school matron!She asked me my name and address in the most stern voice and then asked me..if I was a resident or overseas visitor..as soon as I said,Resident,her whole demeanor changed..:P I wonder why!! Anyway,the next thing she asked me was..”Do you have one baby or two inside?” Gulp!OKKKK now I knowww..I am reallyyyyyy huge! When I said,’ONE’,she shook her head and said,’hmmm biggggggg baby’..I was sure she was going to narrate a tid-bit of her own..but she didn’t.Instead,she grabbed a big needle and poked me,without even the slightest warning.. Here I was….waiting for the sharp scratch of a delicate butterfly needle..and instead there was this huge needle,sticking in my arm…phew..the blood draw done..I went back to the line,where SD was waiting.
The Desi girl was at the counter and we were up next..the other receptionist called us.. and we were done in a jiffy.. and poor desi girl was still at the counter!!yayy there is justice after all!LOL!
While we were waiting,there was another nice lady..dressed up in the smartest clothes..a lovely green woolen skirt and tights and she was there with her 3-4 yo too.. expecting her second too.. we exchanged some pleasantaries and notes on 3-4 yos and finally after a long wait,when her turn came,she raised her eyebrows and I raised mine,in solidarity of motherhood!!
Then there was this family-I think they were Sudanese or Africans.. There were 3 boys and the mother was expecting her 4th.The father spent most of the time,outside the waiting room…and the boys,ran around the waiting room.. between rows of chairs,pushing smaller kids..one of them hit Babushka on the head,SD was on his haunches,instantly and called her away,and gave her his phone to play with.I was amazed,how the mother and the father(when he was present in the room) never even raised their eyebrows or asked the boys to sit still. One of the men,got up to stop them,when they pushed his little girl and SD,said Hey! and glared at them,when one of them pushed at my belly,when they were running between the chairs. I couldn’t help but get annoyed at the father.. he was anyway,waiting outside,he could have taken one or two of the boys with him and given his wife a break. Even when she was called in to see the doctor,all 3 of them went with her,while the father,sat outside reading a newspaper!
Ohh and last but not the least,I got mistaken for a Hijabi! When we got down from the car,I realised that I had forgotten to take my coat.So,I just wrapped my scarf around my head and neck really tight.I was wearing a full sleeves T-shirt inside my top..When I looked up,I saw another Muslim family walking by-the lady was wearing a hijab too.The Man looked at me and wished me,Salaam-wa-laikum.It gladdened my heart 🙂
Ohh! And how can I not mention this…
When we were driving back,we saw the most beautiful sight.. golden sunlight peeking through the clouds..It was really really beautiful… It also reminded me that on the last appointment before Babushka’s birth,we had to wait a long time,to see my OB and when we left from the OB’s office,we saw the moon and it wasn’t even dark…Somehow,these two sightings sound similar to me..:) May be Babykins will be here soon..As it is Babushka came at 37 weeks and 2/3 days!
I still want to write a couple posts before Babykins comes..I hope I can:)
More later….