I went in for my last nonstress test this morning. It seemed fine to me - unlike several other times, the nurse didn't need to wake the baby up with the buzzer, and she seemed to move as much or more than normal. So when the nurse got back from bringing the printout to the doctor, I was unprepared to be told that the test was "nonreactive" and that they wanted me back in 90 minutes for an ultrasound.

I know it's fairly normal to have a nonreactive NST once in a while, but I panicked, of course. I called Andy, and thanked God his office is right across the bridge from the hospital. He came over and we forced ourselves to go eat lunch before my ultrasound appointment. When we got back to the office, we had to wait about an extra 45 minutes - which actually sort of made me feel better. I figured that if they'd seen something truly dire, they'd have rushed me in for the ultrasound right away.

As it turns out, the Pad is fine. The technician pointed everything out - the different parts of her heart, her stomach and kidneys, and her labia (it's definite - she's a girl). We got to watch her practice breathing, and we got some astonishingly clear shots of her face, even though it wasn't a 3D ultrasound. She has fat little cheeks and a squishy little mouth.

I am home now and collapsed on the couch with rubber-legged relief. Kid, don't ever scare me like that again, OK?