Anastasia’s pregnancy diary - week 16-18

Meanwhile I had a new addiction to contend with. The heartbeat-hearing device became permanently attached to my ear. I couldn’t go 6 hours without checking out the little sprout’s rhythm. My lovely family indulged me (there must be absolute silence in the room for the vague noise to be heard) and listened with interest to the sound of the tiny drum. If I couldn’t find the sound, I’d become anxious for the rest of the day, until I could hear it again and breathe a sigh of relief. A phone call to my sister-in-law in Chicago put me at ease. She said her obstetrician told her that, the First Sounds device was responsible for more unnecessary doctor visits than anything else and he wished it didn’t exist. Apparently the baby’s position can make it impossible to hear the heartbeat, and worried mothers-to-be often panic and rush to the doctor or midwife unnecessarily. I vowed to be more relaxed about it. But my obsession continues…and speaking of obsessions, why is it that one of my books tells me I should be able to feel the baby move by now and I can’t? Sometimes I think that too much information can be crippling. Nonetheless, I must look up ‘foetal movement’ in one of my many books.