Let the fetal monitoring begin!

Starting at about 32 weeks, my doctor recommended I come in for fetal monitoring to make sure that Cletus and his or her placenta were doing well. This is no small commitment. Between the drive, the 20+ minutes hooked up to the machine and the drive back, we're talking an hour and a half twice a week plus all the other normal appointments (which are now weekly or more than weekly).

At first, I resisted the frequency of this monitoring thinking that if I kept up with my kick counts and made sure Cletus was active I couldn't possibly need to come in for fetal heart rate monitoring every Monday AND Thursday.

But, after going a few times, I realized that the process was just so reassuring that it was worth it. When the uterine real estate market heats up, Cletus' fetal movements changed somewhat dramatically, so it's nice to have a professional me everything is okay.

Monitoring also helped me learn what contractions feel like. One of the sensors tracks baby's heart rate while the other tracks any compression of the uterus. I've been contracting for weeks now! Cervix please take note.

There is also nothing as soothing as lying in a dark room surrounded by the heart beats of fetuses. It's more nap-inducing than the ocean.