Another appointment with the midwife

Well, on Monday, March 22nd, I was scheduled for another visit with the midwife at 9:30AM. In my mind,I was going to be done early, which was nice to think because it was actually one of the nicest days of the year so far, as far as the weather is concerned.
On the other hand, I wasn't really looking forward to the appointment that much.
Really, up until now, the appointments with the midwife have been less than informative, and mostly a waste of time for me. I am scheduled to go in and be weighed, have my blood pressure taken (things I can do at home), and show any paperwork that I have since received from other places (something they could do over the computer if they perfected their system a bit). Once that is done, we wait for the abnormally slow computer to come up with my medical information so that she can spend the next 15-20 minutes filling it in with the new info.
Once that is all done, she takes the new public system paperwork (such as that from the hospital) from my nicely organized notebook, and starts randomly stapling it to the covers of the cartilla de embarazo that I received during my first appointment, after copying most of that information by hand into the various sections of the booklet. The sometimes slightly obsessive/compulsive side of me is more than slightly annoyed by this part.
Anyways, today was going to be different.
Apart from the beautiful weather outside, today just wasn't going to be my day.
From the beginning, on my way down to the clinic, I got rear ended by some old woman who just decided to drive off without stopping. Luckily, other than maybe adjusting my spine a little, and leaving a line of her ugly black paint on my white bumper, the hit was pretty uneventful.
When I arrived at the place where the midwife was last time, I saw that this time there was a sign outside that said "matrona;" nothing more, nothing less. Just like last time, no list was up. I figured I must be in the right place, but found it unusual to see so many other pregnant women around me.
The nice thing about the midwife appointments is that instead of the usual 7 minute appointments, you are alotted 30 minutes. So, usually, you are only waiting with one other person, at the very most. I double checked the other office, but nobody was there, so I sat down in front of the door to wait...
and wait...
and wait...
Each person would be inside for about 20-30 minutes, and each time, they would come out and another would go in. Hmmmm, something strange is going on.
Meanwhile, a german woman came by looking for Dr. Layla. I told her that the office was being used by the midwife that morning, but that normally Dr. Layla is there too, something I know because she is also my principal doctor. She showed me, though, that her appointment was for that morning, and she had no idea where to go.
(such wonderful organization, as usual...) I guess next time I have a visit with my doctor, I'll have to try to figure out where the heck they've moved her to now too.
Over an hour had passed, and I still hadn't gone in.
It turns out that despite the fact that the half-hour appointments start at 9:00, they had scheduled 4 girls for 8:30. So, instead of being the 2nd person to be seen that day, as it should have been, I was sixth.
Grrrrr
So, instead of getting done early before work, I had to call in to say I would be late!!!
Finally the girl in front of me went in.
Just as that happened, though, another girl came from downstairs. She had been one of the "8:30" appointments, and had been sent downstairs for some reason or other. In all of the time I had been there, I hadn't even seen her- that's how long it had taken her to get whatever she needed to do done. (which doesn't surprise me. I saw how many people were downstairs waiting to do things when I came in.)
She said that as soon as that person was done, she needed to go in for a minute.
How frustrating!!!
I'm finally next, and now someone else gets ahead of me again!!!
Well, finally, my turn came.
I went in, and was told to wait a little bit.
Of course.
It turns out that the midwife needed to fill something in on the computer for the girl who went in a "minute" before me, but the computer was very, very slow.
The midwife looks at me with her head on her hand and said-
Does this seem normal to you!?!?!?!?
I didn't say anything, but, of course, I was thinking, normal for what? For the seguridad social?? Well, then, probably.
Along that line of thinking, do I think it's normal to schedule 4 people for half-hour appointments at 8:30, when the appointments start at 9:00? I'm guessing that that wouldn't happen at a private clinic, but if it did, someone would have called to say there was a mixup, or at least an announcement would have been made- so I could make up my mind whether to wait or just go ahead and reschedule. Here, though, I was just left guessing as to what was going on.
If it weren't for the fact that the girl with the "first" 9:00 appointment, knew what had happened, the rest of us would have had no idea.
Anyways, once my appointment actually started, it basically went as expected. She looked at the new paperwork, and we talked a little bit about the upcoming amniocentesis. I found out that I was going to be confined to bedrest for a couple of days after the procedure, something they hadn't told me before I scheduled it. You'd think that they would tell you that before you schedule, so that you can work with your work schedule a bit better. I, though, had scheduled mine for a Tuesday morning, first thing in the morning, so that I could go to work afterwards. The annoying thing is that because of Easter, I only would have had to work until Wednesday anyways. So, I could have easily scheduled it in a way that my bedrest was already part of my spring break if I had been given more information. Now, though, I'd be missing my last 2 days of work before spring break.
She then took my blood pressure, which was actually relatively low, something that surprised me after the incident with the car, and my annoyance at how the morning was going so far. My bp, alhtough normally in the low-normal range, tends to vary quite a bit, depending upon my current mood.
Next, I hopped on the scale to find that I had gained another 2 kilos since my last appointment. That is something that I have a hard time understanding because I'm definitely not eating more than usual, and, if anything, I'm eating less because many nights go by that I just don't feel like eating much for dinner. I told the midwife that, and she responded- "everyone says that they're not eating more".
I was a bit annoyed by that response- first of all, because I felt it implied that I wasn't telling the truth. Secondly, because most girls I've talked to have told me that they were a lot hungrier than usual during pregnancy, and that they had gone through many stages of eating a lot more, at least after the first trimester. I have had 2 or 3 days like that, but most days have been just the opposite. Oh well,...
She said that I was going up two by two kilos... a bit more than usual, but not much more was said about that.
Finally, she wanted to listen for the heartbeat with a doppler, similar to the type that I have at home. Of course, I am used to listening to the heartbeat, and know exactly where to look to find it right away. She kept looking on the other side, and quite a bit higher up, and couldn't find it.
I was tempted to say something about where she might be able to find it, but didn't, because any time I have offered a suggestion or answer to something, I've been met with sarcasm. (How could dumb me have any idea about where the baby might be or how far along I am?!?!?!) An example? At every appointment, when she looks at the stupid date wheel to try to figure out how far along I am, and I respond, tomorrow will be 15 weeks, she ignores me, at best, or she makes a sarcastic comment about my response as she confirms on the wheel that I am as far along as I say I am. Of course I understand that she wants to confirm something like the date, it just bothers me that it bothers her that I tell her how far along I am, and the sarcastic comments are really unnecessary.
Finally, she moved the dopple to the place where I usually can hear the heartbeat, heard it for a few seconds, and the appointment was over.

So, until the amnio next week, I probably won't have much new to tell about.

Meanwhile, though, you can read Tuesday's week 15 update from my email:

How your baby's growing:
Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")