How to Have a Baby in Hong Kong: Part 5

(I have a lot of blogging to catch up on and unfortunately I don't expect what I'm about to write to be all that interesting, but something is better than nothing, right?)

Since my ultrasound on September 6 that I wrote about in Part 4, I have had two other prenatal visits. Both took place at the clinic here in Mui Wo. The Mui Wo clinic is open every day and there is 24-hour emergency services, but the Maternal & Child Health Clinic that does prenatal and child wellness visits is only open the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month.

The first visit was September 12 and the second visit was this past Monday, October 24. Neither visit was remarkable. These are the boring prenatal visits where they check your weight, blood pressure, urine, and listen to the baby's heartbeat. (Not that hearing Daniel's heartbeat is boring!) I did actually see the doctor on September 12, but that was only because it was my first visit to the MCHC. This past Monday, I only saw the nurse.

Two slightly more interesting things about these visits...

I have to bring morning urine to each visit. This is normal and is what my doctor in the States asked for as well. But whereas doctors in the states give you a little container to take home with you before each new appointment, here I am expected to use my own container. What container would you bring urine in? So my friend Amy gave me an extra container she had from a private doctor in HK that is much like what you get in the States. She (and you) would probably be horrified to know that I have been re-using that container. I have actually noticed that a lot of other women get little paper cups from the nurses once they get to the clinic, but that's not following the rules and I have a hard time not following rules. So re-usable urine container it is!

One this most recent visit, I was laying on the table for the nurse to find Daniel's heartbeat. As she moved the thingy (Doppler?) around my belly, I heard it on the right side. It seemed like she heard it too, but wasn't satisfied with that location. So she kept looking. And then she re-lubricated the instrument and kept looking. And then she said to me, "Sometimes it's hard to find the baby's heartbeat because of all the fat." And then she found his heartbeat right back where she had started and where I had initially heard it.

I wasn't really offended... because I think she was trying to save face. And because I know that Chinese culture is much more blunt about weight, among other things. But I really wanted to say, "I think you meant 'incompetence,' not 'fat.'" Because no pregnant woman wants to be told she is fat! Oh well!

And now my next appointment is this Saturday (tomorrow), for the glucose screening test. I will be 2 days shy of 30 weeks, which seems a bit late for the glucose screening and I'm tempted to just skip it. But I won't. (Again, rules.) But I am dreading, dreading, dreading it! I fast starting at midnight, take the 8:05 ferry to Central, take a mini-bus or taxi to Queen Mary Hospital for my 9am appointment. I collect my number and wait in the waiting room. Eventually (hopefully it doesn't take too long!) I will get my blood drawn and drink the glucose drink. Then I sit around for 2 hours and they'll draw my blood again. So my guess is that I won't actually be able to eat until noon. Ugh. We'll see how the no-eating and the ferry ride go together.

There is this line on the instruction sheet: "Inform the nurse in charge if vomiting occurs. Test will be cancelled. Another appointment will be arranged." I assume this only refers to vomiting after the glucose drink. But I assure you, if I throw up, there will be no rescheduling! That is one rule I am quite willing to break!