28 week Ante Natal appointment

Today, Daddy and I visited Birmingham Women's Hospital for my 28 week Ante Natal appointment and the follow up for our heart investigations.

I didn't realise how anxious I was until I couldn't sleep last night. This meant I was a tired, anxious and grumpy mummy to be this morning. The appointment was at 9.30am but we waited quite a long time to be seen by the registrar. She asked how I was, checked your heartbeat and measured my bump. All fine. Next the chat about our results. Yours were in my file - clean bill of health. Mine? Not there. Echo almost a fortnight ago, report was supposed to be sent straight to maternity but no. No report. So we waited for the report to be faxed across. I had my bloods taken in the meantime but we mainly just waited.

Eventually, we were called back through and we went through my results. The report shows that my heart is functioning normally but there's a question mark over one of the valves. Presumably, the valve that's causing the murmur... She wasn't keen on the thought of me having a home birth but seemed to think the birth centre and a normal vaginal (TMI?!) delivery at term was feasible. To be on the safe side, I need to see a cardio consultant and then come back to the ante natal clinic for another follow up. I did get my Health in Pregnancy form and the form I needed for work - the forms I should have had the last time I saw the midwife.

I took my appointment booking in slip to the front desk. We queued. Birmingham Women's have a new system - I know this because there is a sign up by the area used to accommodate the queue caused by the new system. The receptionist was lovely but clearly close to a break down. She couldn't find the cardio clinic on the system. She called the consultant's secretary, who confirmed the December clinic hadn't been cancelled but advised it might not be showing on the system if it's fully booked. I need to be back at 32 weeks to have my follow up and I'm running out of weeks so the January clinic isn't an option. As she couldn't book me into the right clinic, she's booked me into the midwifery clinic with a note on the system and my notes to say I'm a cardio appointment. That's on 14 December. I just hope that's actually the day of the clinic.

This post is taking an age to write - it's a lengthly diatribe but you keep wriggling and kicking so I stop to stroke bump and talk to you. I may be here all night...

My follow up appointment is at 32 weeks. That's the 23 December...