"...the baby was doing fine..."

Tuesday, March 19, 1991 (Part 1)
     When we got back home from the wedding reception there was a message on the machine for Guy saying that security duty was secured (done) & he was to muster at 9:00 Monday.  That meant he had to miss my appt. with Dr. Rand and the non-stress test.
     On the 4th, the test went fine, it was fun.  The lady, Bonnie, was nice & friendly.  She held a microphone on my tummy to hear the baby's heartbeat.  There was a monitor with a little heart-shaped light that blinked with every heartbeat and a digital readout of the rate.  She gave me a button to push whenever I felt a movement and the machine registered any movements it felt; both were marked on a graph that also marked the heartbeats.  We did it for about 20 minutes.  She moved around more than she had been during the mornings.  The lady said it was a good test and the baby was doing fine and Dr. Rand said so too.  He also said I'd need to start coming in every week and having this done every time too.  Just because I'm a high-risk pregnancy.
     Tues., 3/5, Guy had already been scheduled to requalify on his night stick.  He was done by lunch & came home instead of going on to SIMA.  I can't remember now but I think we just stayed home & watched tapes.
     Wed., 3/6, he went back to his regular job at SIMA.  It would have been his regular duty day but he wasn't on the schedule for it because they hadn't known when he'd be back.  That's good though because that night was our first Lamaze class.  Wed. was our last choice of nights but that's what we were assigned to.  It's at the dr.'s office so it's nice & close, but it's so crowded.  There were eleven couples - it's in one of the waiting rooms so once we got on the floor it was pretty crowded.  That night we learned a slow breathing pattern and relaxation by tensing up & then relaxing one part of your body at a time.  We did pretty good with the slow breathing.  But it's hard to tense up one part of your body & keep the rest relaxed.  We need to practice more than we have been.
     Thu., 3/7, I went to Piece Goods' customer appreciation day sale.  I got fabric for more pants, 3 tops & a dress/jumper.  Everything came from the remnant tables & cost less than $20.  But I haven't gotten past washing the fabric so far.  I did finish the jumpsuit except for the hem, one top, & almost another top from the fabric I got previously.
     Fri., 3/8, I went to the hospital for the first meeting of the new support group Ann Prescott is starting for women going through a pregnancy after losing a baby.  It went pretty well, even though there were only three of us there - me, Cathy Rudolph, and Margaret - I can't remember her last name but she lost a baby boy, Levi, to toxemia.  Kim Hundley couldn't come because she had the flu.  She'll be confined to complete bed rest soon so I don't know if she'll be able to come any.  Pat couldn't come cause her kids were sick.  She'll probably be there next time.  We decided to meet every other Friday at 10:00.  And we're call the group Expectant Arms.  We talked for about an hour & a half, mostly about how we're feeling emotionally & physically.  We all have a lot of anxiety and hesitations to feel happy & excited about this pregnancy.  I think this group is a good idea.  I just hope I get to go several more times.