Appointment Scheduling

I've got a great suggestion for all the OB's in the world: Have someone on staff that can watch kids for 10 minutes at a time while a mother gets an internal exam.

I can't even describe how much easier that would make my life right now.

I'm 36 weeks pregnant and was scheduled to go early next week to get my Strep B test done. For those who have never had that lovely procedure done while pregnant, the Dr. basically swabs you in the bum and the hoo-haw to check for Strep B. Results take a few days. If you have the infection, you get antibiotics administered via an IV line during labor. It doesn't sound that bad, but apparently the antibiotics burn like the fires of hell and if you've never been in labor before, they like to put the IV in your hand. Yes, your F*ing hand. Just one more way to torture you while in labor, I suppose.

Anyway, yesterday I got a call from the office saying my appointment time needed to be moved up. To 9:30am. Getting my kids up, dressed and to someone's house to be watched at that hour is nothing short of impossible. Especially given that just getting them in the car this far into pregnancy is like an Olympic sport. I can barely get myself into the car, let alone 2 30lb+ kids. Not to mention they haven't been watched by any of the moms in the club before, so it would be a scary early morning experience for them. Awesome.

Well, there's a chance my husband could work from home that day, so I called to agree to the earlier time and let them know that I might have to cancel at the last second. Oopsie, the 9:30am time is no good. The Dr. will be gone all day. The next available appointment is Friday at 3pm. My youngest naps at that time and there's no way my husband can take Friday off or work from home on a Friday. Nobody can come here to watch the kids. Ok, that one's out. The next one is April 1st at noon. At that point I'll be 37+5, but at least my sister will be here to watch the kids. Fine, that works. Oh, and it takes 3-4 days to get test results back, so I'll definitely be past 38 weeks by the time we know anything.

Uh... the longest I've ever gone is 38 weeks on the dot. I've got the feeling that I'm getting the antibiotics no matter what. Awesome. Just one more choice taken away during labor and one more forced procedure. I can hardly wait. So, fingers crossed that baby boy bakes a little longer than his sisters did and that he's not the monstrously huge child the ultrasounds make him out to be.