I'm starting to think it's true...

...When I hear people say that girls bring the drama.

While getting pregnant with Camden was anything but simple, my entire pregnancy with him was pretty much a breeze. There was no extra monitoring, no extra tests involved. In fact, I remember my OB describing it as a perfect "textbook" pregnancy at one of my last appointments before I went into labor. So, that's kind of what I was expecting this time around.

You guys, I was at my OB appointment yesterday for (count 'em!) THREE HOURS. And I was the very last patient to leave the office, long after they had closed up shop for the day.

Because my daughter? She likes to bring the drama.

Basically, Macey decided to be a little rebellious during my NST. I ended up hooked up to that thing for over an hour as the nurse had me turning from side to side, chugging water, eating granola bars, and waddling to the bathroom to empty my poor bladder while still hooked up to all of the cords. Given that during all of my prior NSTs, I was only hooked up to the monitors for 20 minutes, I was starting to get alarmed. I really didn't get any information from the nurse other than the occasional "Hmmm..." while staring at her computer screen and commanding me to roll over again. She then took my results to the doctor and came back into the room to tell me that Macey had failed the test.

The next step was to go back into the ultrasound room for a more in depth test. I have no idea what the name of this test is (I didn't think to ask), but basically, the baby gets scored based on a number of different criteria. The test is 30 minutes long, and during those 30 minutes, the baby must do certain things like: turn her neck from side to side, twist her belly, open and close her mouth, and practice breathing for 30 seconds. All of this must occur in the 30 minute timeframe. If the baby does all of these things in the first 5 minutes, then great-- the test is over. But it can take the full 30 minutes sometimes too.

Well, Miss Macey was more than happy to twist, turn, and open and close her sweet little mouth within the first few minutes of being monitored. The ultrasound tech smiled reassuringly, telling me she was breezing through the test and we'd be done in no time. All we needed was for her to practice breathing for 30 seconds. Fast forward 27 minutes and we're still staring at her little belly, waiting for those breaths. And finally she took them-- 2 minutes before her time limit was up. I'm telling you-- she likes to keep things as dramatic as possible.

When I met with the doctor after all of these tests (and long after most everyone else had left the building), she told me that Macey looks perfect. The reason for her failed NST? She wouldn't stop moving during the entire test, therefore making it impossible to get an accurate reading. The more in depth test (I really should Google the name of that one) trumps the NST, and since she passed that one with flying colors, they have no concerns about her well being in utero. In fact, the doctor even told me I could just have a regular appointment next week-- you know, the kind with just a doppler and the fundal height measurement? I kind of forgot what those appointments feel like.

Also? She did offer me an elective induction once again and this time I hesitated. I'll be 40 weeks next week (when they would induce) and I really have nothing against induction itself-- I'm just not a fan of induction before 40 weeks, or with unfavorable conditions (like an undilated cervix). So, I told her it was a possibility, but that I'd like to know what was going on with my cervix first. Remember how I just wrote that I feel like doctors sometimes tell you that you're a fingertip dilated just to make you feel better? Yeah, pretty sure I was right on about that. This doctor said my cervix is totally closed. That took the induction option right off the table for me. My body is clearly not ready. So, I'll just keep waiting it out, and hoping that Macey will keep the drama to a minimum during these last days of pregnancy.