They called me back and put me on the scale to get my weight (136). I would have swore it read 137, but the nurse wrote 136. I liked her figures better! We went back into a little room and went over everything that was going to be happening at the appointment (urine sample, blood work, and pelvic) and then confirmed current medications I'm taking as well as my medical history. She took my blood pressure, which was normal 120/80.
Once I provided them with the urine sample, I went and sat in another little waiting room. I hate the term waiting room because you know exactly what you're going to be doing there... waiting. Ugh...
About five minutes later they called me in to take my blood. They took so much of it that I thought they were going to drain me dry! I've never had to give so much blood before for testing! The good news is I'm getting to be a champ at giving blood! I didn't get sick, light headed, dizzy or anything AND I even sat up in the chair instead of laying down! I must have had my big girl panties on yesterday!
Then, I went back to the waiting room again. The phlebotomist told me that they didn't have a room available for me, so it would be a little while. I overheard another young lady tell her husband that the doctor I was there to see had to run off to labor and delivery. So I knew I was going to be in there for a while... waiting.
I waited for about 10-15 mins and this nurse called my name. She said she was taking me back to ultrasound. I told her that I didn't have an ultrasound scheduled for today. She said that Dr. Shirk had to run to L&D and wanted her to an ultrasound while I waited to check the baby's heartbeat. I told her that my husband would be so disappointed because he wanted to be present for all the ultrasounds. I asked if she could print pictures. She said of course could.
So, then she told me to have a seat and lay down. I asked her if I needed to go change first. She stated that she was going to try to do an abdominal ultrasound first before the transvaginal one because we may not need the TV. I said okay.
She put that warmed gel goop on my belly and put that reader on my belly. All of a sudden I just froze! There was a little human being on the big screen! I couldn't believe it but I was scared to death. I didn't want to ask, but the baby wasn't moving and I couldn't see the flicker of the heartbeat the way I did in the last ultrasound. I was scared to ask, but I finally did..."Where's the heartbeat? I don't see it. Is the baby okay?" She said, "Yes, it's right here!" Then she enlarged the screen and showed the heart beating. All of a sudden that baby went spastic! It was kicking and punching and jumping all over the place. Then I let out a squeel of joy and it jumped even more! I said, "Oh my God, did I scare it?" The tech laughed at me and said, "No, it just can't control itself at all." From that point on, the baby was continuously punching and kicking. It was amazing! The baby's heartbeat was measuring 167 bpm, which was fantastic!
I could see the little arms, legs, face, everything. I was so excited, but at the same time, I was upset because I really wanted Joe to be there. He was being cheated of this.
She printed off the pictures and sent me back out to the waiting room... to wait.... I sat there the whole time just staring at the pictures. I couldn't believe how much had changed in four weeks! The baby actually looks like a baby now, not just some ball of goop with an eyeball!
They called me back into the exam room. The doctor showed up in no time at all. He said, "Well great news, you're pregnant!" I thought, well, shoot, I already knew that! He said that he wanted to have the ultrasound done to check the heartbeat. The last time I was in there and had the ultrasound done we saw the heartbeat, which lowers the risk of miscarrage to 4%. As far along as I am now and with the heartbeat as strong as it is, my chances of miscarrying at this point is only 1%. You couldn't have slapped the smile off my face if you tried!
We went through the normal pelvic exam. He said everything looked great & the baby's stats are great. He informed me about breastfeeding. One thing I didn't know was the human body doesn't produce milk until three days after the baby is born. So I immediately asked him, well how will the baby eat? He said that newborns will live off of baby fat for that time. That's the reason most newborns lose weight at first. It's completely normal. Once the mother starts producing milk, the baby will put the weight back on. That was interesting. He said that preemies would have to be supplemented with formula right away because they don't have enough baby fat, but any baby over 7lbs is fine without eatting for 3 days. They put the baby on the breast right away to teach it to latch on and that's what helps the mother's body to start producing the milk.
He told me that the shape of my pelvis is great for vaginal birth. There shouldn't be a need for a c-section unless the baby is too big, not positioned right, or any other complications that would make a vaginal birth impossible.
So for now, everything is great! Joe's doing well, I'm doing well, and Pea Pod's doing well! Our next doctor's appointment will be in two weeks. We go at 8:15am on March 14th to do some early screening for Down Syndrome, and a few other diseases. Joe said he would be there for that appointment. They'll have to do the ultrasound to measure the fluid at the base of the baby's neck. The doctor seems to think we won't have any problems since there isn't a history of it in either one of the families.
So, here's what you've been waiting for: An updated picture of Pea Pod! He/She was 10w2d old in this picture. I think Pea Pod looks like a little clown. Check out the mouth... doesn't it look like a clown painted the mouth on? Ha ha ha ha
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