Monday, November 24, 2014

The First Appointment: 8 weeks, 6 days


Written Friday, September 12, 2014



The day finally came. I actually wasn’t as anxious as I was anticipating because again, I still feel like we are playing house over here. Thankfully, harvest has not started and it was raining so Andy was able to sneak away without raising any red flags. Having that seed business on the side really helps, because he just told his dad he was meeting with his partner for the afternoon, which is what he’s actually been doing most of this week anyway.

I don’t work on Fridays, but Andy got home at noon. He took a shower and we left our house at about 12:30 after deciding to grab lunch at Avanti’s before our 2:15 appointment. It actually worked out perfectly since I have a love/hate relationship with lunch and cooking lately.

We got to Avanti’s maybe at 1:10. Since it was the middle of the day on a Friday we had pretty fast service so were out of there at 1:45. The office is not far away so we were there with nearly 25 minutes to spare. I’ve been to this office before pre-pregnancy, so I didn’t really need to fill out any paperwork and didn’t have the “first visit” nerves that I might have had otherwise. Thankfully after checking in, they called me back right away anyway.

I don’t think the first nurse said her name, but if she did I wasn’t paying attention. She was a younger, cute, extremely friendly black woman who made me feel at ease right away. We went into the closet-sized weigh room that has a scale, chair for me, and a computer desk for the nurse. She asked some basic, quick questions about my cycle, where I plan to deliver, and had me sign a waiver for the HIV test and trans-vaginal ultrasound. I was really hoping to skip that part and go straight to the standard belly kind… Then she took my blood pressure (101/61 I believe – average for me) and my weight. Then she led me down the hall to the bathroom to leave a urine sample and sent Andy to the exam room.

The office is a little older so the room is what you expect it to be. It was plenty spacious, but not giant. There was a decent size desk and two chairs and another small cabinet section with a sink and some supplies. Obviously, there is also an exam chair with a small computer monitor next to it.

Dr. Emm came in pretty much immediately and asked me some questions about my symptoms. I said I pretty much feel the same, no morning sickness or nausea, but definitely feeling tired. Then we got started right away with the ultrasound. Thankfully, she was really great and the wand was pretty painless. Right away the little dude popped up on the screen right next to my head. You could see the little heart beating away. She took a few quick clicks, printed out some pictures, and we were done. She said I was measuring 8 weeks, 6 days (only a day behind what I expected so no one can say I don’t know my body well). The heartbeat was 176, which she described as perfect. She pretty much said everything looked as it should, to keep taking my prenatal vitamins, do moderate activity, not eat too much, and a general run-down on the series of appointments to come over the next 8 months. Then she was on her way. I really like her. She is cute and friendly, and always appears laid-back and non-judgmental. Andy agreed.

I stepped outside and waited in the back waiting area with Andy when they immediately called me in to get my blood drawn. I want to say this lady’s name was Tracy, but I’m pretty sure I’m wrong. She was very friendly, and the draw was pretty painless. She then told me it was good that I came to my appointment early, because Dr. Emm was just leaving to go to a delivery. Perfect! I now think back that Dr. was pretty prompt and efficient with time, but I never felt rushed like she was in a hurry. “Tracy”, like everyone else, congratulated me on the news and sent me on my way. We stopped by the check out desk to set up my next two appointments, and the woman was again very friendly. Although, I assume it’s kind of a necessity to be pleasant when you work in an OB/GYN office…

We were in and out of there in just over a half an hour (only 15 minutes after our scheduled start time)!

I did expect that the news would “sink in” more after seeing the babe today, but I can’t really say that it has. I definitely felt relief and reassurance when I could see the heartbeat and know that things were okay, but I think I’m still in disbelief that this is all happening. I figured today would make me want to shout out the news, but I’m still sitting pretty keeping this secret to ourselves. It’s so crazy to see other pregnancies with April due dates being announced.

I go back already in a week and a half to do a more thorough appointment. I guess this is where we will detail our entire family history. Things are going well!

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