Week 39: Doctor's Visit

Today I had another Doctor's visit and my first internal exam! :) Oh, to clarify, I am IN my 39th week, so I have 38 weeks down... I always feel like it's probably confusing how I post. When I started, I was ambitious with each week and now I feel a bit silly about that- hehe.

I did all the normal stuff- urine sample, blood pressure (good), then stripped from the waist down. I had a male doctor today (in the practice there are 2 females and 4 male doctors), but I'm good with all of the guys. I have an overall preference for female doctors- particularly with OBY/GNs- because they usually know better what things feel like, but with this practice I have found EVERYONE to be really fantastic! Great bedside manners, very gentle, pretty go-with-the-flow people :) And the guy who I met with today is from California (yay! hehe) and he also is very active with the blood cord donation council at Fairfax Hospital- which I think is pretty cool.

Anyways, because it was a male doctor, the female nurse stayed in during the internal exam (as did my husband). To start with, we listed to the heart (good), he measured my uterus and then felt around to guess about how big he thinks Baby H is. His guess what that she is around 7-7.5 pounds NOW and so maybe 8 pounds by next week/delivery. I actually was not scared by this- I think I'm so big I was almost hoping she WOULDN'T be 6 pounds because that basically would be I'm that much heavier- lol. Just kidding :) But, I am rather pleased by her weight as it doesn't seem TOO big and certainly not small. We'll see how she is when she is born.

So, he then started the intern, which was really just him feeling around with his fingers. I didn't find it that uncomfortable and he said 'ok, a bunch of pressure,' but I really didn't feel too much. Of course, I usually don't have problems with my yearly exams, so maybe that makes a difference. Anyways, he felt in and... I'm starting to thin and I'm not dilated at all!

I'm actually not as disappointed by this as I thought I'd be. I think if it was that way last week, when I was getting so many harder contractions and back pain and all that stuff, I would have been disappointed, but I haven't been feeling that way this week. So, I haven't been feeling like I would have anything 'going on' down there. I think it's weird that I felt so much stuff pretty much for the few weeks BEFORE this week, but ah well. :) (don't get me wrong, I'm sore and tired and all that, but the back aches and really hard pre-contractions or whatever kinda' slowed down)

So, I'm still just waiting! My mom is planning to fly out Feb 12 which should still work fine. If nothing is going on by my due date of Feb 16, they are going to wait until the week of Feb 22 or even Mar 1-3 to induce me. So, no matter what- I will have a baby soon! :)

Side note- as you can sort of see in my photo... I now have stretch marks on my belly :( I went until about week 36 I think with a clear belly (ok, 1-2 marks after week 28) and then it just exploded! So, I now have stretch marks on my tights/butt (those I got early on), my breasts (not too bad, whew!) and my belly (grrr). And this week my belly button went from really shallow to..... ok- I don't think it's an 'outie,' but it's not an innie. It's just kinda' not there anymore... lol

Week 37: Doctor's Visit

I have now moved on to weekly doctor's visits! This past one was pretty much the same old, same old, with the addition of the Group B Strep Test. I had heard about that test and some people find it unpleasant, but I didn't have any discomfort. I had to take off my pants and she just swabbed by v*gina and an*s - pretty easy and not invasive at all.

I was back to being with one of the two females doctors in the group and I decided that while she is nice, she just is not quite as talkative as the others. And I really wanted to just hear more. Even though I don't really have questions and there is not much to say that I haven't really read; I kinda' just want to hear everything from her as the doctor. So, I left and was actually a bit depressed :( Not nice...

I guess what I really wanted to hear was some sort of guess about the size of the baby, when I might go into labor - that sort of thing. I understand them not wanting to say anything, but I won't hold them to it- honest! hehe Everyone around me is saying that I'm pretty big and they think since I dropped about 2 weeks ago that I will go into labor early, although I'm not counting on that either. I just think it would be almost comforting to hear something; even if it's wrong.

Ah well. Same old, same old. It's the waiting game now...

Week 35: Doctors Appointment

I had another doctor's appointment today; I am 34 weeks down (in my 35 week, hehe) and have another appointment in 2 weeks, then start every week until Baby H is born!!!

Unfortunately, my husband was not able to come with me this time. This is the first appointment he hasn't been able to make :( Ah, well.

For the most part, it was the same old, same old: Blood pressure (good), check heartbeat (good 130 a minute I think), measure uterus, and check where baby is. Baby H is head down now and she pointed out where her backside was (to the left, which baby H seems to like).

She asked if we got a Ped doctor yet - I said yes, although I haven't actually filled the paperwork; we have a visit on Jan 18 where we get a tour of the office and ask questions. Note: What questions should you ask? They had a pretty good webpage and I guess I am going more to get a feel of their office and doctors...

She asked if we did a birth class; I said no, what did she think? She is very ok (as was the other doctor last time who asked this) with this -she said that she finds it more helpful for the dad's who don't read as much stuff as us moms :) To which, I brought up that we were NOT planning to have my husband in the room during delivery. She did ask about that - basically, she said that her and her husband (of course her husband is also a doctor) really found it very important to have him there. She said that my husband can be in the room, but doesn't have to see anything- just hear what's going on and hold the baby once it comes out. She was also concerned about me having a support partner there; I said that my mom and sister were going to try to time it right to be there, although I do know there is a pretty good chance that no one will be there (my mom is in CA and my sister is in Washington State - I'm in Virginia). Anyways, I'm not that concerned about having people I know be there for support - I think that may actually make me more tense, really... I brought it up with my husband again and said that he wouldn't be able to hang out in the hall, but would have to be in the downstairs waiting room and he was still ok with that. I'm ok with that too; It may be nice to have him there so that he could hear Baby H's first cry, however if I'm in pain, I know that he will be VERY worried and that could possibly be rather disruptive to the labor process...

Oh; I was actually the first person to say that I didn't want him there - I don't think the whole process is that 'pretty' and, again, if I'm in pain I know that my husband will be very concerned. :) This is how we are doing it; I know that other people wouldn't change it for anything! If we decide that we would like it differently, we'll keep that in mind next time :)

What else...? Oh - I have gained a bunch of weight this pregnancy and am very swollen; My doctor walks in and exclaims "You are all cheeks!" She went on to say that she was that way in her pregnancy (her baby is 18 months) and that one of her first deliveries when she joined the practice was on this women who ended up needing a c-section because she wasn't progressing. She went in to do that and she said the women was rather large... 6 weeks later, she was to see that women again for the post-delivery check-up and she walked into the room and thought that she had the wrong room, so apologized and walked out. She asked the nurses if they changed the rooms and they said, no. She walked back in and the women was like "yep, this is how I REALLY look." hehe My doctor said that it was like going from Oprah to Halle Berry! :)

Hopefully, I'll be like that. Ok - I'm been pretty mute on this, but I have gained 65 pounds so far this pregnancy. I still have 5-6 weeks to go! I averaged about 10 pounds a month; I changed my diet and stuff, but nothing really changed... :( Ah well. I know I have to work hard after I give birth and I CERTAINLY plan to breastfeed to help with this! hehehe

Weeks 23-31

Soooo.... I haven't written for about the last 2 1/2 months. I know, I know - I'm a bad blogger. I hate to say this, but I only blog while at work and work has been busy! :) I work at a university and so we run in ups and downs during the year. Thankfully, the students are now on winter break which means I have a bit more time to relax - THANK GOODNESS! My pregnancy was timed good like that ;) Bad for my boss because I'll be out this spring during what is usually our MOST busy time, but I'm glad to have this 'breather' as I go into my 3rd Trimester.

As you have noticed, I also have been twittering only off and on. I try to tweet anything I notice that I would want to write about later and... there really wasn't much to write about in between around week 23-27! It was interesting because there just wasn't all that much to say! I was continuing to get big, but nothing really different in feeling from before. Or rather...

... I gained lots of weight
... My feet started to swell a bit (although it went down when I flew to CA; maybe because I was closer to sea level?)
... The baby kicks got stronger and I got to get to know her pattern

... Otherwise, nothing else too much!

Now, after week 28 (when I came back from CA), things DID start to change again - right on cue for going into the 3rd Trimester. I can't recall everything week by week (my mental recall has gone downhill as I got more pregnant! Not good for me, as most things are in my head...), but here is what is going on now:

*Feet/ankles swelling
*MUCH more movement - it freaks me out when she doesn't move so much... this Sunday she seemed quiet and often when I'm busy at work I wasn't noticing it, but all this week (Mon-Wed) she has been very active and consistently every hour there is a period of movement. It's getting to be less 'kicks' and more 'movements.' It changed over at the start of this week to the movements and part of the reason I felt I didn't feel her this weekend was that I was more feeling her on my internal organs and not really seeing the pops from movement outside. Now, I get more of both.
NOTE: The movement is probably the most interesting thing at this point because it's what I notice the most and is so obvious... The other physical stuff with me is just stronger feelings of what I was getting before :)
*Back aches - I've been having this since early 2nd trimester, although starting around Week 25-26 or so my butt stopped hurting - yay! It also seems to bother me less, but I may just be getting used to it; it's GREAT if DH F rubs my back a bit
*Sex - not really comfortable in many positions now - poor DH! We usually have sex at least once a week, but went recently a whole 2 weeks (I think) without it! I think it's going to be less here on out because I just feel big and it's hard to get in a good position...
*Pregnancy Brain: I'm VERY distracted at work and in general and feel sometimes like I probably don't talk properly and trail off and can't focus so well. Again, I'm so lucky that the semester is over and I'm also SUPER lucky my boss is awesome and understanding with everything.

Hmmm, if I think of anything else, I will write.

So, I now see my doctor every two weeks, which I'm very glad because I just start getting anxious about things. Although now that I feel baby H more often, I am more relaxed. Oh! The other day I was just upset for an entire day (no reason - just cranky) and she totally responded by kicking the heck out of me all day! Kinda' funny.
Anyways, I'm glad to see the doctor every two weeks because it's just nice to hear the heartbeat. I don't get any more ultrasounds - the last I had was at 20 weeks (to which I think I started a blog about and didn't finish - I'll have to look back at that) and it's sad that I don't get any more unless they want to check something. I mean, I feel her, but seeing is always something COMPLETELY different. Ah well. So, when I go, I just get the basic measuring of my uterus, weight check, urine check, blood pressure check, questions...?

BUT - the last appointment I had (Dec 10 at 30 weeks), they gave me a goodies bag of stuff!!!! Yay! I love goodies! It was free samples of some magazines and formula and then the hospital pre-registration and stuff. PLUS, I found out that while my doctors usually deliver at iNOVA Fairfax, if they don't have anyone else they are already 'working on' (my words, not theirs), I could deliver at iNOVA Fair Oaks!!! Everyone says that Fairfax is better for most things, but Fair Oaks is like 10 min away from my home, compared with at least 30 min to Fairfax! :)

Finally - I get TONS of spam about blood cord banking; which seems to be fine if you have a family history of illness. For the most part, I have been viewing them as spam. But, my doctor brought it up last time and (I don't know WHY I didn't think of this) YOU CAN DONATE your baby's cord! Your hospital must be a participants in the campaign, but I am a big believer in donations, when possible! More more information, go to:
http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Donate_Cord_Blood_Share_Life/index.html
I'm sure there are other links out there, or ask your doctor or hospital.

Week 21: Doctors Apt

Today I had my monthly doctors exam... I getting into the swing of things with these. I go once a month, they weigh me, check my pee, check my blood pressure, say hi, listen to the heartbeat (it always seems to take a few minutes to find this!), ask if I have questions and done! All in all, it takes only about 20 minutes maybe. Pretty quick!

I am in a group practice for my OBY/GN - I choose them initially because they are close to my house and the nearest hospital... of course, then I find that they only deliver at one that about 30 min away (no traffic), but I decided to stay with them. (they deliver at the further one because they prefer the staff and their epidural people... I have heard that if anything is 'wrong' with me or baby they would have to transfer me to this hospital anyways, so that's fine)

Because it's a group practice, they want me to meet with all of the doctors before I give birth. The doctors rotate who is 'on call' at the hospital so that someone is always there for delivery. Good idea, I think! :) I prefer female doctors usually because they better know what things feel like, but I'm not opposed to male doctors (I just find that they aren't as gentle or warm up instruments before sticking them in you; and they don't stick in quite as well as females). So, today I met the first of several male doctors. And I LOVED him!!!

He was pretty funny, very laid back and easy to talk with. All of the doctors in the practice (and nurses) have been this way and so I'm glad the men (so far) is like this too. I'm pretty laid back and enjoy people explaining things to me in rather... flippant ways, I suppose! ;) Everything seemed normal to him - my blood pressure was good, the heartbeat of baby Z (her nickname starts with a Z!) was good (between 145-50s), ... good! I asked 3 questions this time: (I'm paraphrasing his answers)

1. I have gained about 11 pounds (176 lbs) since last month. This is pretty high, is there anything you recommend?
- Yes and no. I wouldn't worry too much about this - mainly the more you gain, the larger baby will be and big babies can mean c-section as opposed to vaginal delivery. But, one month at 11 lbs is nothing to really worry about. Perhaps if next month you come back and gained another 10 pounds, we may want to talk about what you are eating :) Try to avoid the cookies and cakes and stuff with sugar. Fruit juices (apple juice, orange juice) has LOTS of sugar, so watch that. I think that because you are aware of this, you won't gain that much through next visit.

2. What's your opinion about the H1N1 shots?
- You MUST get the shot. About 6% of the pregnant women who get H1N1 die - much higher than the normal population. While the CDC and our office is kinda' eh about most years and the flu shot, this year we are VERY insistent that pregnant women should get both the flu shot and the H1N1 shot - and your husband too. They are starting to distribute the H1N1 vaccine, but we don't know to whom yet or how many. Call around and find SOMEONE to give you the shot!!!!!

3. I have been getting these dark... bubbles of skin on my nipples? ...???
- That's just your ducts starting to (shot, what did he say?) grow/fill up (?). Very normal :)

So, that was my fun appointment this morning. This week I did start to track my food intake - I had stopped for this past month- and hopefully that will help me be more aware of what I eat and control things :) I'm also planning to try to swim AT LEAST once a week - I don't get a chance during the week to do much, but weekends are good for this sort of thing. Oh - at the start of my pregnancy I was around 148-50 pounds (I have actually gained about 10 pounds this past year!) and I'm now at 176. You can mostly tell in my face I think, although my husband thinks I still look good... he says I'm trying to catch up with his belly size ;)

Wish me luck!

Week 12: Dr's apt & 1st Trimester Screening

So, this past week I had both my second doctor's appointment and my 1st Trimester Screening. I have Care First (Blue Cross) which doesn't allow for procedures like the 1st Trimester Screening to be covered in my doctor's office, so I went to the Genetics & IVF Institute to get that screening done on Friday.

But, my regular doctor's appointment was on Wednesday and everything went pretty quickly. I had a mid-morning appointment which meant that I waited about a half hour to get in. Then, I did my urine sample, blood pressure (good) and waited in the room for my doctor. She came in and it was pretty quick where she just listen to the heartbeat - in the 160s/minute, good - and then just asked if I had questions. I really do think that they figure there is so much for people to read out there that they don't need to really tell us a lot of stuff... Or they figure we will ask. Which makes me think that really, in the end, not too many things will hurt you! At least in moderation.

Anyways, it took her a bit of searching to find the heartbeat, but that really didn't freak me out. I mean, I always get a bit nervous before these things, but I don't feel like anything is WRONG, so I guess that doesn't worry me. :) She may have thought it was a bit higher because my belly is kinda' sticking out, but really it's still pretty low.

So, I asked about my weight - ie, I have gain about 8 pounds already - and she said no problem - it's probably a lot of water weights and gas. :) I said I got a bit dizzy last weekend and she said to drink more water and it's probably because I'm starting to produce more blood. I also brought up how I trust her opinion and for the most part I'm healthy, so if I have questions and it's really normal - just tell me it's normal and not to worry about. She said that most things in pregnancy are kinda' like that! lol. And finally, I brought up how I have bad ankles, shoulders and knees (tendinitis and almost no cartilage in my knees) and how when I gain weight my knees usually hurt - can I take Alieve, Motrin, etc. Nope - I can only take Tylenol, which doesn't help. :( She said that a brace may be helpful, but also that sometimes pregnancy makes women get more lubrication in their joints, so I may be fine. Cool - I hope that's me (if you saw on twitter, my knees are hurting today, but I think that's because we have an atmospheric front coming in tomorrow - yes, I usually feel those... I have a bit of arthritis too)!

After that, I got 2 vials of blood taken out so that they can test for EVERYTHING (including HIV and blood type). I love the nurse - I barley felt the needle! :)

So, that appointment is all good and my next appointment is Sept 2nd. :) I really did think that they would do an ultrasound each time - they don't unless you ask - which is kinda' sad, but I understand. I don't think I'll request the ultrasound, but I hope I get one next time :)

So, my second appointment was Friday for the First Trimester Screening. This screening is an option in Virgina, however something that is recommended. They are testing for Down syndrome, Trisomy 18 and/or 13. English? Well, we know that Down Syndrome is not a fatal mutation, but *can* result in the child having any range of mental retardation. They can't tell how much the child may be affected (or in the end if the child WILL have it), but they give a range of probability. Likewise, Trisomy 18 and 13 are cases when a child has extra chromosomes (18 or 13) in their DNA which more often than not, results in them not surviving past the first few hours or days of birth. This screening does an initial test for these defects:
"The First Trimester Screen (FTS) begins with an ultrasound examination measuring the tiny fluid filled sack at the back of the fetal neck, called the nuchal translucency. An increased measurement may indicate a chromosomal disorder, a congenital heart defect or other birth defect, but can also be seen in normal fetuses. A maternal blood test that measures pregnancy hormones (B-hCG and PAPP-A) is combined with the ultrasound measurement and maternal age to calculate a specific risk for Down syndrome and for Trisomy 18 or 13." from Genetics & IVF Institute webpage

They also look in the ultra sound for the development of the nose... I never heard about that! :)
So, looking at the ultrasound, everything looks ok for now. Before the ultrasound, they took a little bit of blood - I was surprised because it wasn't a vital, she just withdrew some into the needle... I thought they would take more. Of course, because I took blood on Wed, she had to use my other arm and I knew it wasn't going to be good because she choose an outside vein... Nurses NEVER choose outside veins. You can see it better, but it never gives blood as well as those on the inside. She put in the needle and then is like, "Oh, that was a mistake" and started to move the needle around a bit. So, starting Saturday, I got a bruise. :) Actually - I was surprised - I'm a big wuss when it comes to needles (I don't cry, but I don't really like it), but I didn't really feel much for either shot. Does your pain level get higher while pregnant? I hope so :)

It was very cool to see the ultrasound (isn't it always?) and this was the first time that it looked more like a baby. The last ultrasound, we saw a blob and the heart beating (still VERY cool). This time, we got the close up and it really looks much more like a 'baby.' :) Also, he/she is moving!!!! Not as much as I thought, but kinda' these jumps every now and then. (seriously, it looked like it was being shocked with defribulatiors...) Then, it turned around and stuff - so neat!!! Our little guy/girl is jumping around! hehehehe!

So, when that all was done, we went into another room while the doctor (or whoever) looked at the ultrasound. Then, a councilor came in (I think her name was Mary) - SUPER nice women - and went over what everything is and how things look so far (good). It was very good because she really stressed how these are PROBABILITIES - there is always a chance for something to happen, but these test give us an idea of how at risk we are. If we are deemed to be high risk, we have the change to take further tests including the one where they take out the DNA. I *think* that test is pretty much 100% positive in those cases... My regular doctor said that if we find that the kid has Trisomy 18 and/or 13, she recommends terminating the pregnancy because the baby won't survive much after birth. They don't recommend terminating for Down Syndrome. I agree with that - everything I read says that you can't tell how bad Down Syndrome can be and it's not something life threatening. But, I understand that it would change your life COMPLETELY and so don't judge anyone who would. And my doctor didn't seem to either, which was very good...

So, now I am waiting for the genetics center to call with the probabilities for our baby. I'm positive with the ultrasound results and hope that everything will continue to go well! Wish us luck!!!!!!!

Week 12: Dizziness!

Apparently, I'm pretty right on time for this! This weekend, I went shopping for a pair of maternity jeans and some longer shirts (I hate buying clothes that I will only wear for 6 months; well, again when I have another kid, but still- I'm trying to buy 'flexible' tops) and after trying on the clothes, I got so dizzy and felt like I was going to pass out! I had to sit down on the floor of the shop while F finished paying for the clothes. I then had to sit down and ate and had water for a bit before feeling better. I thought it was because we ate kinda' late on Saturday, but then I got a bit dizzy on Sunday as well! No where near as bad, but still kinda' dizzy! And this morning, I'm feeling kinda' dizzy, but that could be just because I'm tired :)

So, I opened my emails this morning and got in at least 2 of the daily pregnancy updates that this week could see the start of dizziness! This is kinda' the first week where I have been on track for my symptoms matching the emails :) This is what they say:

What to Expect.com
Week 12 of Pregnancy: Dizzy Spells

During pregnancy, progesterone increases the flow of blood to your baby, resulting in lower blood pressure and reduced blood flow to your brain — giving you that dizzy feeling all over.

Here's a quick tip: If you feel dizzy or faint, lie down or sit with your head lowered between your knees, take deep breaths, and loosen any tight clothing (like that button on your jeans you struggled to close in the first place). As soon as you feel a little better, get something to eat and drink.

And guess who's to blame? Yup — it's your old friend progesterone again, which causes your blood vessels to relax and widen around 12 weeks pregnant, increasing the flow of blood to your baby (again, good for baby), but slowing the return of blood to you (as always, not so good for mom). Less blood flow to you means lower blood pressure and reduced blood flow to your brain. All of these can contribute to that light-headed, dizzy feeling — especially when you get up too quickly — which is why slow and steady wins the race against dizziness.

Another cause of dizziness during pregnancy is low blood-sugar levels, which can occur if you're not eating regularly (so don't try to run…or even walk…on empty). And looking ahead to later in pregnancy, dizziness in the third trimester can be caused by the pressure the growing uterus places on your major blood vessels, especially when you're lying on your back.

Babies Online.com

While your morning sickness and tiredness may be even less frequent, you may be getting lightheaded or have headaches again. This is from the increase in blood volume. Remember the safety precautions regarding dizziness? Well, those can apply here as well. Be sure to talk about any symptoms or illness you may experience with your healthcare provider. It is important for you to communicate any concerns, worries, or questions you may have.

So, I have my next appointment with my doctor this Wednesday and I'll be sure to mention that. I'm going to mention how tired I have been, but I don't think it's anything abnormal. I will bring up how I have had low iron in the past, but again - I don't feel like I'm low now (I can usually feel when I am - I get very tired and I crave red meat :))
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Anyone have any good questions to bring up at this time? Here is my list for now. It's not so much questions as just stuff to bring up...

1. General philosophy: Don't do anything stupid - what will be will be. But - I do read stuff and trust my doctor to tell me things I need to know

2. Background:
*I choose my new doctor because she is close to my house and tied to the hospital there, so I thought - great! I can use this hospital when I go into labor. But, she prefers to use Fairfax INOVA hospital (better anesthetic people she thinks) which is fine, except that without traffic it takes about 20 minutes to get there and I'm due in Feb which can mean ice, snow, rain and/or traffic which could possibly bump up the commute time to 1 hour or so. Why is that a worry? My mother gave birth to all three of us (her children) in under 3 hours (the first in 2 hours) and so I'm worried that I may be the same :) I read that there is nothing conclusive about this so I don't know how worried I should be - any advice?
* I am for the most part a very healthy human with very few problems. I have only had constipation once, I can get low iron and besides that, if I get a fever- there is something MAJOR wrong (ie, internal staff infection or something like that - lol). So, many things that may be 'normal' to other people can be new to me - if I ask about something, please just let me know if it's normal or not- I will only ask about things that are new to me. More than anything else, I just like to know if it's something that other people have and so no worries! :)
* Outside the above - I have some physical problems that I put in a different category and can already feel causing problems as I gain weight, specifically. I have tendinitis in my ankles and shoulders and most of my cartilage has been worn away from my knees due to the repetitive nature of swimming (I know, it's good, but when you train these problems are pretty common). I also have a bit of arthritis in my knee. Because of this, when I gain weight I feel it in my knees and legs - I used to take Naxprofin (hmm, I spelled that wrong), but now usually just take Motrin if they bother me - is this fine when it starts to bother me with the baby weight? :) Do you recommend any braces?

3. Weight gain: so, I gained about 5 pounds that first two months and have gained around 2/2.5 pounds this past month. I think it's mostly because I have been so tired, but this month I'm moving more and I'm not eating bad or really that much more (however, before I would gain about a pound if I ate more than 1,100 calories a day - I'm 5'7''!! According to charts, I should be able to eat at least 1,500) Also, I had gained about 10 pounds between last October and this May. I kinda' question if I have a slow hypothalamus gland, but I think my main question would just be if I should increase my exercise as I get more energy - does she think that will help keep things more on track? What do you think?

4. Dizziness: Got it a bit this past few days - just fyi more than anything else J

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Day after update: My doctor wasn't concerned about my weight at all and said it's probably mostly water weight and gas... whew! Also, she said that I should just drink more water to help if I get dizzy, which makes sense because I don't think I drink as much on the weekend. I get up later and so don't eat and drink until later. I have to start changing that :)

Also, no ultrasound :( just heartbeat. It was in the 160s/minute so looking good! Tomorrow we go for the first trimester screening and I'll get my ultrasound then. I hope that from here on out I do get an ultrasound every time I go to the doctor - anyone know?

First OB's Appointment

So, yesterday I had my first OB appointment. It was actually much quicker than I thought it would be. It was kinda' like a regular OBY/GN appointment, but with an ultrasound. The ultrasound, of course, we VERY cool and lots of fun to see. Because I'm so early (my due date got moved back 1-2 days, so I'm now 7 weeks, 6 days pregnant today), they did the internal ultrasound. Which means that instead of going over your belly, they lube up a dildo-looking thing and stick that in you to get the picture :) I heard about this before (thank goodness!), but it was still funny to see her lube that up, put a condom on it, and lube again before sticking it in me.

But, it was very cool to see the ultra-sound - my favorite was SEEING the heartbeat. That was so cool!!! We then heard it for about 5 seconds and went back to looking at the screen. Looking at it first, I thought the head was to the left, but it was the right. Now, I see it right away, but it's a bit disorientating at first.

We also saw the 4-D image, which wasn't that interesting as it didn't look quite so like anything ;) I was surprised that she did the 4-D; I always thought that was by request. I read another blog where she was deciding if she should do it because she always thought they looked like aliens and whatnot. But, my doctor did it right away! Hmmmm.
Anyways, they didn't take blood, but between weeks 10-12, I will probably go for another ulta-sound (outside her office because my insurance doesn't cover it inside the office) where they will test the size of the sac (?) behind the neck and take blood to determine any problems like Down Syndrome. They also determine if there are any other problems - the other two which would cause for reason to terminate the pregnancy. This is because those run a high chance of the baby not surviving more than a few hours after being born and so it recomended by doctors to terminate if these problems are found at this point. They don't recomend termination if Down Syndrome is found, since you can't tell how much the child will be affected by this.

I did some googling, and found that apparently almost 90% of people who find that their child will have Down Syndrome do terminate the pregnancy. I thought that was interesting because, obviously, the syndrome presents challenges, but there is so much unknown about how the child will grow up with it at this point. Of course, there is very little chance that the person would be completely independent and they usually don't have children.
Anyways, my stats:

Blood pressure - good (I can't remember what it was... 76/118?)
Baby heart rate - 168 beats per minute
Baby size - 1.3 cm (0.5 inches)

Yay! :) So, I will call about the second screening and blood test and hopefully all that is fine. Apparently, with that exam, there is a 5-10% of a false positive and a 75-90% chance they will actually catch anything wrong. If they think something is wrong, there is a second test that you can take which involves a needle that goes through your belly into the sack to pull out DNA stuff.

First Doctor's Appointment - 8 weeks

Tomorrow I *finally* get to my first doctor's appointment. I know, I know - there is a chance of miscarriage between 1-8 weeks, but I still think that for 1st time moms they should bring you in to at least confirm the pregnancy at 6 weeks. Of course, my mom was saying that before pregnancy tests, they waited until you missed 2 periods anyways to be sure you were pregnant. Ah, the state of women's health in the world. You would think that overall there would be more knowledge in this field...

Anyways: "Here's what you can expect your doctor or midwife to do on your first visit:" from http://www.babycenter.com/0_your-first-prenatal-visit_9344.bc

Take your health history
Do a genetic and birth defect history
Explain your options for prenatal genetic testing
Check you out and run some tests (a thorough physical, including a pelvic exam. She'll do a Pap smear. Next, she'll order routine blood tests to identify your blood type and Rh status, and a blood count to check for anemia. She'll also have the lab test your blood for syphilis, hepatitis B, and immunity to rubella (German measles). will ask for a urine sample to test for urinary tract infections and other conditions.

Counsel you and let you know what's coming

So, all of that seems pretty normal. F has decided to come with me, which is probably good - in particular if we do an ultrasound. I think he would like that. Plus, he can drive :) I'm going to work in the morning, but leaving at 12pm to pick F up and get to the doctors by 12:50. I am glad for the appointment because I've just been reading stuff and it'll be good to see exactly where they think I am. I can't really think of any questions - I mean, everything seems normal (besides my weight) and people have been doing this for years and years with much less knowledge so I figure they will tell me everything I may need to know or point out things. Right?

When I was just looking up this info on Baby Center, they had a video of a women being given an epidermal. I kinda' thought I would get that... watching the video, I'm not so sure. Of course, I don't like needles anyways, but it doesn't look fun. (or course, the whole thing doesn't look too 'fun,' but why add more? ;)) We'll see. The main thing I had always noticed was that people who did it naturally kinda' panicked during the pregnancy because their body felt out of control, while people with the epidermal seemed a bit more mellow. Then again, I can have births like my mom where we were born in 2 hours, 45 min, and 3 hours - respective to each kid. (I was 45 min - the doctor didn't have time to put on his gloves before I was born!