Arriving at the room, we were first put off by the fact that the tech wouldn't allow Rob into the room until she was done all of the measurements. Now I can't speak for him, but I would assume that an ultrasound is one of the things expectant fathers look forward to since they aren't involved in much of the goings on until the baby is actually born.
Already disappointed my frustration quickly escalated when I was lying on the table and she wouldn't show me the screen or tell me anything that she was looking at while she was probing around my tummy. For the record, I understand that for OB's and ultrasounds techs, pregnancy is old hat. They deal with plenty of people everyday who ask the same questions and want the same reassurance so it must become frustrating, but as a pregnant woman, especially a first time pregnant woman, I would like to be able to expect that my OB or anyone involved with the pregnancy would make it his or her job to make me as comfortable as possible and reassure me that everything is indeed fine along the way. Well this particular tech did not. She left me in silence for over 20 mins. I would ask if everything was fine, or what she was measuring, or if she was going to let me see the screen, and she would simply grunt or tell me to wait until the end.
Every horrible thought possible was racing through my head. Was something wrong? Was there still a heartbeat? The only reassurance she did give me came near the end when she said "taking pictures of your baby is like taking pictures of my dog".... and to that I said "excuse me!" She clarified by saying that the baby was moving around so much it was difficult to get clear pictures, just like how her dog constantly moves when she tries to take his picture, but the explanation didn't do much to remove the sour taste in my mouth. Did she seriously just liken my child to her dog? What is wrong with this woman. I guess on the one hand it was kind of a compliment, being that you want your baby to be very active, but what kind of class did she take in bedside manner? I took a deep breath and pictured my baby doing somersaults and kicking its legs to help pass the time, since i couldn't actually see what she was talking about.
Finally she got up, walked out of the room without explanation, leaving me on the table and a few mins late returned with Rob, giving him strict instructions to stand on my left side by my head. She finally turned the screen and systematically went through some of the different areas of the baby. We got to see the spine, the hands, the feet, the legs and arms, the head, including the brain and face, the stomach, the heart and then we got the hear the heartbeat. Keep in mind during this show and tell she never did tell us if everything looked ok or not, just simply that it was present.
We had mentioned to her several times that we wanted to know the sex of the baby. She proceeded to lecture us in the fact that she is not a doctor and doesn't want to be held liable. We explained time and time again that we understand and wont hold her liable, we're just curious and she again repeats that she doesn't want to fathom a guess and even if she did it would really only be that, a guess. We asked her to show us anyways, and she finally scanned down to the baby's legs to try and catch a peek. She explained that if its a girl you'd see the lips of the genitalia and if its a boy you'd see his bits between the legs. She showed us the picture and tells us to guess. Seriously! At the same time that I say girl, Rob says boy... turning to her to see which one of us is right, she simply says I can't tell and don't want to guess because its really not clear with the way the baby is lying. I thought Rob was going to slug her right then and there. Pissed, I just wanted to leave. She puts the probe away and tells us she will bring the pictures out in a few mins.
We waited in the waiting room for a good 10 mins when finally she emerges with a CD. We payed and head home. Getting home, we looked at the disc and realized she has given us about 6 pictures. She gave us a few decent profile photos, the hands and the feet, and then gave us the scariest pictures I'd ever seen. I was of the baby's face, but not in a cute, look at his nose kind of way, but in a scary I'm a skull kinda way. It looked like it was straight out of some Halloween movie. What kinda parent wants to see that?? I'm not posting it because its that wrong, so you'll have to take my word for it.
I've never been so annoyed and frustrated with a medical professional before in my life. I will never ever go back there, in fact when I see my OB at my next appointment I will be requesting that he send me for another ultrasound at the other location. At least that way the scan will be done by an actual doctor and not a bitchy tech with her own agenda. We both feel she purposely didn't tell us the sex of the baby. She didn't even try zooming in or spend anytime waiting for the baby to move or roll over.
The only great thing to come out of that appointment was knowing we have a very very active baby. While she was showing us the various parts we did get to see the bun roll over, wave, make a fist, suck its thumb and kick its legs. It was pretty awesome to see that!
