Scary NST

For some reason, NST sounds like a sexually transmitted disease to me. Don't worry, it's not. NST is a non stress test. They perform these tests on me twice a day. They monitor the baby's heart rate and monitor to see if I am having any contractions. Most tests I pass with flying colors. Occasionally, they keep me on a little longer to monitor, but things always seem to look really good in the end. Until last night.

They hooked me up to the monitors to start the test, and my nurse leaves the room for a minute to refill my water mug. A healthy baby's heart rate usually fluctuates between 120 and 170. That's the normal range. Baby Girl has had occasional decels, where the heart rate drops momentarily to 100-110, then immediately bounces back up. Last night, I could hear the heart rate slowing, so I watch the monitor and watch it as it lowers to 120. Then 110. Then 100. I start to get worried when I see it in the 90s, then 80s. My nurse comes back in and hears it as it drops to the 70s and 60s then disappears completely. She immediately tries to find the heart beat again, but can't find it right away. She asks if I can feel the baby moving, which I couldn't. She hits the red call button and tells them to rush in the ultrasound machine. As the nurse is desperately trying to find the heart beat, she tells me that she is very concerned that she can't find the heartbeat after it slowing that drastically. They bring in the ultrasound machine and are able to see Baby Girl, still there, with a beating heart. Thank Heavens! They pick the heart beat up with the regular monitor once again, and keep me on the monitor for another hour or two. The rest of the monitoring looked fantastic. It turned into quite a scare, but luckily, everything looked okay in the end. The nurse said that perhaps Baby Girl just rolled over the cord and we happened to catch it on the monitor. Whatever the reason, I hope it doesn't happen again. I like the very boring days where there is nothing to report.