2nd Doctor's Visit

At my second visit, I was 8.5 weeks.  I was excited to think that I might get to hear the heartbeat through a doppler, and I wanted to hear the doctor say things were progressing well.  Boy was I disappointed!  She didn't even examine me.  I didn't pee in a cup, change into a gown...nothing!  She asked me if I was having symptoms, told me my blood tests came back good, and that was it!  At this early stage, a girl just wants to hear the doctor say everything looks good.  But, we scheduled an ultra screening for 12 weeks, so I'm excited that we'll get to SEE the baby at that point!

1st Doctor's Visit

I couldn't WAIT to get to my first doctor's visit!  Even though three test sticks and indigestion were telling me I am pregnant, I still wanted confirmation from a doctor.  Unfortunately, the two days before had been kind of rough for me.  Let's just say, that morning I was in the bathroom three times between 5:00-5:30 AM, and I wasn't pukin'.  I was seriously worried about dehydration at that point.  Andy had to put a chair in the bathroom for me to sit on while I got ready for the appointment.

I was so happy to have Andy there with me at the appointment.  I had to rush to the bathroom once while waiting to get called back.  When I was called, the nurse said, "The first thing I'm going to need from you is a clean urine sample."

Me:  "I don't think I'm going to be able to give you that."

(before she let me explain why I would say such a thing) Nurse:  "Well, we can't put you in a room until we verify the pregnancy and we can't do that without a urine sample."

Me:  "Could you hold on for just in minute and let me explain?  I have been in the bathroom for two days straight and haven't HAD any urine in the past few hours."

Nurse:  "Well, all we need is a couple of drops to get a positive result, and we can't go forward without it."

Me:  "You can't do a blood test?"

Nurse:  "You need a doctor's authorization for that."

Andy:  "Can you just work with her here?  She's sick!"

Nurse:  "I'm sorry, this is how we do it here.  All we need is a couple of drops."

Me:  "Well, I'll see what I can do then."

I couldn't even fill the bottom of the cup, but it was enough to get the positive, which made me VERY happy!  As we rounded the corner for a weight and blood pressure check, the second nurse we encountered said, "So, you're sick as a dog, huh?"  I guess our reputation had proceeded us.

The rest of the appointment went much smoother.  It was the first time I've seen a male doctor, but we both liked him a lot.  He was funny and didn't make me feel weird at all.  When he examined me he said, "Well, you're just out of the gate, girl!"  He said I was 4.5 weeks.  He told me he had seen a lot of women that week with a virus and that was probably what was probably what I had.  He told me to take Immodium.

It felt so good to be taken back to the room that only pregnant women get to go to when they talk to the nurse about options for tests, what to eat and not eat, etc.  I told the nurse, "I've been waiting a long time to have this conversation with you."  She gave me lots of things to read.  I realized that I've done plenty of reading on parenting styles, but I hadn't expected to have to think about pregnancy, birth/delivery, or breast-feeding!  I've got lots to learn!