We had our first OB appointment on December 2. Of course I knew nothing about what to expect, because according to the internet, the first visit is completely dependent on the physician practice and their policies. I did know that it was going to be a long appointment and that I would have to answer lots of questions about family history, etc. The appointment was at 9 a.m. & of course I got there at 8:40. I already had all of my papers downloaded from the internet and filled out like a good patient.
Well, we waited and waited and waited. Took a selfie (see above). The waiting room was packed! There were lots of pregnant women and lots of women with young babies – it was exciting! In fact, as we were waiting, in walks some one we know from the hospital whose wife also had an appointment at the same time. So, we finally got to tell some one, even thought it wasn’t exactly the way we had hoped.
Finally, at about 10, we were called back to meet with the nurse. She interviewed us about our family histories and gave us lots of information about birthing classes and an overview of the Women’s Center where we will have the baby. It looks absolutely wonderful! She also told us the estimated due date – July 18th – which is what I had already calculated. It seems like so far away right now, but it really isn’t! While we were in this room, the nurse told us that we were probably getting an ultrasound – this was totally unexpected and we both got so excited! Our first ultrasound! After meeting with the nurse, we were sent back out to the waiting room until another nurse was ready for us. We also took another selfie. It was a big day!
After I had my blood pressure checked and got weighed (bp was perfect & no weight gained so far – woo hoo! – ha ha), we were sent to yet another waiting room where we waited for an exam room. We poured over all the literature we had been given. I feel like I have already read so much, but I keep reading and learning new things. It is a bit overwhelming. FINALLY, finally, we got to go into the exam room to wait on the doctor. While we waited, we took a few more pictures – I’m telling you, it was a big day!
Finally my doctor came in. Her name is Dr. D and I have been going to her since we moved to Tuscaloosa. She is awesome! Very young and friendly and has a great bedside manner. She went over a lot of different things about nutrition and food preparation, exercise and expected weight gain (she said 23-35 lbs; because of my back, I’m going to shoot for the lower end). Then she told us that if we could wait a little longer (we had already been there over 3 hrs at this point), then we could have an ultrasound!!! Of course we said yes!! So we were taken back into a dark little room and a nurse put gel on my belly and we got to see this:
The baby!!! A little crackerjack! Of course you can’t tell anything about the shape, but on the screen, you could see the heart flickering (modern medicine is so AMAZING) – and then we got to hear the heartbeat!!! It sounded like a horse galloping – it was so fast! I just had to laugh – it was so adorable! I mean, have you even seen a cuter little cloud of baby than what you see in the picture above? Even though we can’t make sense of the shape, the heartbeat was such a confirmation. The heart was beating at 158 bpm (excellent) and also the baby was measuring perfectly for the estimated due date! The ultrasound nurse told us that when you can see/hear the heartbeat, the miscarriage rate drops very low. So this is good!
Overall, it was a great visit. I was so glad Brent was with me – I told him that he didn’t have to come because I didn’t think I was having an ultrasound – when I asked what I should expect, no one mentioned that! We left elated and just on cloud nine. We were both dying to tell some one, and since we had already talked about telling Talitha (it was her birthday!), we decided that she needed to be the next to know. So we sent her the picture above. I also sent it to Kourtney. When I went back to work, I kept pulling the picture out and looking at it – it is so hard to believe that this is real, but it is! This is really happening! I’m praying for time to speed up AND slow down at the same time! I just want to be out of the first trimester, when the risk of miscarriage drops way down and we can tell people! But for right now, I LOVE BEING PREGNANT!
Week 7 Symptoms: Some tiredness, irritability/moodiness. Unfortunately they found out I had a urinary tract infection at the doctor’s office, so now I am on antibiotics for that. No major cravings this week! The meat craving is pretty much gone. Food aversions include turkey and sweets. Although I haven’t gained any weight yet, I am looking and feeling soooooo bloated. Some of that is the pregnancy, but I’m sure some of it is the dramatic increase in carbs lately, especially over Thanksgiving! Also having some back pain on the right side. I think I hurt my back a little bit when I was home for Thanksgiving. I really haven’t had any nausea to speak of, only occasionally very mild nausea when my belly is empty and/or I take the vitamins on an empty stomach.
Week 7 highlights: The baby hiked with us to Abram Falls and then we looked at hiking baby carriers at the Nantahala store in Gatlinburg & told the salesperson we were expecting! We also told Marla, our trainer, so that she could modify our workout accordingly (“our” = me & the crackerjack). Dr. D said that I need to be exercising at a level where I can talk through the whole workout. I’m not going to lie, after being at work all day, the LAST THING in the world that I want to do is go to the gym. But I know I need to. The goal is to exercise 30 minutes per day. So far, I’m not doing all that great except on the days where we go to Marla’s. We also found out this week that I am Rh- (my blood type is O-). This means that I’m probably going to have to get Rhogam to prevent my body from building antibodies against the baby’s blood. It really depends on what Brent’s blood type is (to predict what type the baby’s is), so we are waiting to find out. After reading up on this, I must say it again: modern medicine is AMAZING. Although some think that Rhogam is overutilized, I will gladly do anything to make sure the baby is as healthy as possible.
Also, at the very end of this week, Brent told his coworkers! Actually, I accidentally told them! They were watching a video on Brent’s phone when I sent a text message that said “I’m 8 weeks tomorrow!” This was part of a conversation we were having – well, of course they saw it. So Brent called them in and told them. There is another guy in his office that announced that he & his wife were expecting this week – they are only a few days ahead of us!
Oh, yeah -- one other GREAT piece of news we found out is this – I can have Mexican!!!!! We read that queso is bad b/c true queso blancho is unpasteurized. So we haven’t been because who wants to eat Mexican without queso?! Anyway, Dr. D said that most queso around here is American cheese! And even if not, as long as it is heated to steaming, the bacteria will be killed. Guess where we are going this weekend?! And I will definitely be hitting up No Way Jose’s the next time I’m in Gburg!
Week 7 picture (notice the bloat! Those pants have always been a bit snug!):
So, overall, it was a great week! I am LOVING being pregnant more and more every single day. Looking forward to our next appointment, Jan 7!
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