First Appointment

Well... I had my first appointment yesterday! Everything is fine, but the appointment itself was a huge disappointment. Basically, I just sat in the room with the nurse practitioner while she copied information from the questionnaire I had completed into my chart. She gave me some packets of information, and then told me a whole bunch of stuff I already knew. I kept waiting for her to say, "Alright, let's get your ultrasound started," but it didn't happen! When I asked her about it, she looked really confused, and said something to the effect of, "Oh, hunny, it's way too soon to see anything on the ultrasound... We won't do that until you're further along." Anyway, I know that's not true-- you can definitely see a sac and an embryo at this point (case in point: click here and check out all the 6/7 week pics!). But whatever-- I wouldn't have even expected the ultrasound if they hadn't told me it was going to happen! The letter they sent me a few weeks ago says:

Your first visit: Congratulations on your pregnancy. The first obstetrical visit typically will be conducted by our nurse practitioner. The focus of this visit is reviewing information and the physical exam, which includes the initial fetal ultrasound, and ordering the necessary laboratory studies. Any questions you may have will also be addressed.

So, silly me, I was expecting an ultrasound, and was totally disappointed! The nurse practitioner said she didn't even know why the letter said that. Anyway, I should be able to see the baby at my next appointment on March 26th... only a few weeks away. I think I can make it!

Some good things did come out of the appointment, though. We scheduled my BIG ultrasound for Friday, May 25th. That one will take place at a special, high-tech radiology facility. At that point, I will be 18 weeks and 4 days pregnant, which means we should be able to find out if it's a boy or a girl (and yes, we want to find out). Hooray! I also learned that I will be giving birth at Mary Birch Women's Hospital, which is awesome!! It's one of the best places around, so I was thrilled. The nurse practitioner also gave me the listing of all the pregnancy and parenting classes that are offered through the hospital, and it was really exciting! We're definitely going to do a childbirth class together, and probably the "baby care basics" one, too. They even offer a bunch of post-partum classes that include childcare for newborns-- very cool!

So, all in all, it wasn't a bad appointment... just not what I expected! They ordered a bunch of bloodwork, which meant that I had to go to the lab after work today. They took 8 vials' worth of blood, and that was kind of a nightmare. I am totally not squeamish about needles or blood, but the lady in the lab really messed up my arm... I told her that I usually have much more success with my right, and that the veins in my left arm are a) hard to find and b) collapse easily, never giving enough blood. She didn't listen, insisting that she use my left arm because I already had a small bruise on my right arm from Tuesday's bloodwork (which, by the way, was done by a much more skillful lady!). Guess what? She could barely get enough blood to fill one of the vials. So she started jabbing the needle all around, and it hurt like crazy! My arm is still sore- I'm sure I'm going to have a spectacular bruise. Finally, she gave up and used my right arm, which started spurting blood right away and gave her no problems as she filled up the other seven vials. I was really annoyed (can you tell?). I can barely bend either one of my elbows right now, because they're all bandaged up. I think I need to ice my left arm. Yippee.

Anyway... enough of my whining! I will end this on a positive note by sharing some of the clothing my parents brought back from Maui. This baby is going to be ready for a Hawaiian vacation, that's for sure! :)