Playing the Waiting Game

I really don't like being late for appointments, meetings, or other important dates. If I am running late (and yes, I do run late sometimes) I try to call the people I'm meeting to let them know I'm on my way. As an RA in college, we were taught the phrase "Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable!" At the time, it was funny.  Today, I could have grabbed my doctor by the white lab coat and shouted it right in his face.

WARNING: STEREOTYPICAL PREGNANT GIRL RANT COMING...

I try to be extremely patient and understanding when other people are late. Especially at a doctor's office, when I'm feeling perfectly happy and am in no hurry, I feel like the other sick people in the office deserve the doctor's time way more than I do. 

There comes a point, though, when I can not contain myself. Last month, Ben and I waited 45 minutes to be seen by the doctor. At the 45-minute mark, I calmly and politely got out of my seat and reminded the receptionist that my appointment was running 45 minutes late and to ask if she knew when the doctor might see me. As soon as I opened my mouth, the nurse called me back.  For 45 minutes of waiting, I was weighed and my blood pressure was measured. I spoke with the doctor for about 5 minutes. As soon as he heard I was feeling fine and had not had any troubling symptoms, he said goodbye. 

Today, I had great expectations about the timeliness of my appointment. My name was the only one on the sign-in list, and only one other woman sat in the waiting room ahead of me. I waited 60 MINUTES before mentioning to the front desk that I had yet to be seen. The receptionist said the doctor was busy with a "procedure" and I would be seen as soon as he was finished. Within 5 minutes, the nurse called me back, apologized for my wait, criticized me for waiting so long to mention anything, and admitted that my chart had been placed in a pile of other paperwork and they'd forgotten about me. 

Surprisingly, my blood pressure was in the normal range. 

Again, I met with the doctor for about 5 minutes. He tried to say his goodbyes without performing the doppler that he'd promised during last month's rushed visit. I politely reminded him and he allowed me to hear about 10 heartbeats. It sounded strong at about 140 beats per minute. 

My next appointment will be with the nurse practitioner with whom I had my very first appointment. She was punctual, interested in what I had to say, and very organized. I will ask her for a referral for another OB for delivery. The next appointment is also the first one of the day, so there should be no reason for it to run late. If I'm still unhappy after that appointment, I'll be transferring offices. 

STEREOTYPICAL PREGNANT GIRL RANT END

The important news is that I am healthy, Baby seems to be doing well, Ben's finished with his 1st draft of his doctoral paper (over 150 pages!!!), the sun was shining today, and winter is on it's way out! 

3 weeks until my anatomy scan!! What do you think - boy or girl???