1st OB Visit! :)

Yesterday I had my first 1st OB appointment! 🙂 It was relatively uneventful, but I consider that to be a good thing at this point. There was only one doctor available, as the other two working that day were over at the hospital, so she was responsible for every single patient there. So my 10:30 a.m. appointment lasted until almost 1:30 p.m.! Luckily I had brought things to read. Next time I will bring more snacks, as by the time I got out of there I was SOOOOOO hungry!

When I did finally get in to meet with a nurse (about 12:20 p.m.), she went over an extensive medical history form. I had forgotten how detailed they get with those, but for good reason. The nurse was so happy for me that we were able to conceive through FET, after all we have been through with infertility and pregnancy loss over the past 3 years. I really appreciated her enthusiasm! I had a urine test, which I forgot (from being pregnant with Sean) is routine there. So they sent me home with a container that I will fill before each of my future appointments and then I will get a new one to bring home each time. She weighed me and took my blood pressure, both of which seemed fine/normal to her. The nurse went over paperwork related to the rest of my pregnancy, which as she pointed out hasn’t changed much from when I was pregnant with Sean. After that it was time for the doctor to come in. I waited a bit longer and then she arrived.

I knew she had her hands full with all those patients, so I wasn’t taken aback when she seemed busy and didn’t appear to have much time to chat. She did a pap smear (as my last was in January) and they prefer to do them earlier on in a pregnancy if need be. She did an internal exam and said that my uterus felt like it was getting bigger and that my cervix was closed. When I asked her about the peachish fluid and brown discharge, she concurred that it was normal and can be caused by a variety of factors (including irritation from vaginal suppositories and something about additional blood being at the cervix during pregnancy). I found that reassuring.

My doctor also went over some of the prenatal testing they recommend during pregnancy. My records did not show that during my pregnancy with Sean that I had been tested for being a Cystic Fibrosis carrier. If I am negative, then Bob will not need to be tested. If I am positive, then he will be tested to determine if he is a carrier. So I agreed to be tested yesterday, when my other routine 1st OB visit blood work was done. Which by the way, the guy who took my blood yesterday (and does the ultrasounds there too) remembered me from the past and couldn’t have been happier for us about this pregnancy and asked how our older son was doing, which I thought was sweet.

The last test, a rather new one, that she told me about is the “Ultra-Screen” First Trimester Down Syndrome Screening. Apparently it is the earliest and most effective Down Syndrome screen available. The test is made up of a combination of a blood test and an ultrasound (u/s) exam. Thy use the u/s to find a fetal heartbeat, determine gestational age and measure the amount of fluid accumulation behind the neck of the baby, called nuchal translucency (NT). The blood is analyzed for two chemicals called free Beta human chorionic gonadotropin (free Beta), and a pregnancy associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) which are normally found in the blood of all pregnant women. The results of the u/s will be combined with the results of the blood test to estimate a specific risk for Down syndrome and trsiomies 18 and 13. I told our doctor that we would never abort a pregnancy based on such diagnoses, or for any other reason. She explained that the test was not about that, it was to be informative and if it was positive, it would help us and our doctors be more prepared for a child that might have Downs or trisomies 18 or 13. Having grown up with very close family friends who have a son, close in age to me, who has Down Syndrome, I am not afraid of having a child with Downs. I don’t think it is any parents’ dream to have a child with Downs, however through my life experience I feel prepared and would welcome such a child, if it were to happen to us. I do think, if our insurance covers it, that doing the screening makes sense. And I like the idea of having an additional ultrasound during our first trimester to give us more reassurance that our baby is growing and developing on track (in light of our history of losses). So I have tentatively scheduled the Ultra-Screen at the Fetal Diagnostic Center, at the hospital we go to, for Wednesday, December 10 at which point I will be 11 weeks and 4 days pregnant.

I also asked our doctor if this pregnancy will be treated as “normal” and she said “yes.” The nurse said she thought with our history they might do more frequent ultrasounds, but the doctor did not indicate that. I will be seen every 4 weeks for the first 7 months, every 2 weeks during the 8th month and weekly after that, until our baby is born. She confirmed that I will have a scheduled c-section no later than 39 weeks (which I will be in Saturday, June 21). She said that if I went into labor prior to that time that they would go ahead and do a c-section then. As we get much closer to the due date (37-38 weeks) they may do ultrasounds to check on if I am dilated and such and might choose to schedule the c-section earlier. But they will aim for between 38-39 weeks (June 14-21). My next appointment at our OB’s is scheduled for Saturday, December 22, when I will be exactly 13 weeks.

So I think that is everything! I know it was a lot of detail, but as I have said before, posts like this are as much for me to be able to refer back to, while it is fresh in my mind, as it is to inform you. So I don’t mind and will never know, of course, if you skimmed it! 😉

In Sean news, today was his first “school picture!” We dressed him in a very cute outfit this morning and being the slightly controlling mother/picture taking freak that I am, it was hard for me to know that I wouldn’t be there to witness and help to primp him for the experience! 😉 But we did talk about how he would do a normal smile, no silly faces, and that hopefully it would be fun! He will be having his own portrait and then a class picture. I don’t think we will get the proofs for a few weeks, but I am excited to see them!

Over the past few days we have started to decorate our home for Christmas and have begun to put up our Christmas tree (we have a fake, but very real looking, one)! This is one of my favorite times of year and it puts me in such a great mood to see all of our decorations, listen to holiday themed music and see Sean’s excitement experiencing it all! With each passing year he seems to get more and more into the Christmas season! He helped us put the tree together yesterday and was Bob’s assistant hanging the lights on the tree. He is old enough now to help carefully unwrap the ornaments and hang them on the tree and he seems to get so much joy from doing so! We had to laugh last night when we got started on the ornaments though, as Sean likes to hang them all on the very edge of the branches and kept trying to hang them all within a very small area on the tree and multiple on the same branches! Too cute! So we have been working with him on hanging them further back on the branches, especially the heavier ones, and spreading them out all around the tree more! 🙂 Another fun thing, is that we each have a “Santa” like hat and Sean insists that we all wear them, at least part of the time, when we are decorating the tree! 🙂 Very fun!

Well, I am very happy to be 9 weeks 3 days pregnant today and am getting so excited to tell Sean sometime in the next few weeks that he is going to be a big brother! 🙂 Thank you for your continued support, positive thoughts, sticky vibes and prayers!!! 🙂 I hope you and yours have a great week!

P.S. – For those who watch Dancing with the Stars…. I was very torn last night between Mel B. & Max and Helio & Julianne, but in the end decided to cast my votes for Helio & Julianne! So it should make for an interesting finally tonight! 🙂 As much as I want Helio or Mel B. to win, with Marie Osmand’s fan base, I will not be shocked if she takes the trophy. Even though I don’t think Marie is one of the best dancers, she is a great performer! I think Mel B. is an awesome dancer, but that Helio has both the technique and the charm/charisma when he preforms. Mel B. has the charm/charisma sometimes, but not as consistently. That said, I would love to see a woman win this year. So you can see why I was conflicted… 😉