My First Prenatal Appt!

The BIG DAY, the day I'd been waiting for since I got my first positive pregnancy test, came and went in a blur.  I have to admit I left feeling a little disappointed, as the appointment didn't quite live up to my expectations.  I don't know what I thought would happen...maybe that the baby would decide to come early right then and there?!  Haha!  No, that would not have been good.  Maybe it's because I thought it would be twins?  (Nope!  Just one babe in there!)  I think the biggest reason may have been the doctor and his complete lack of enthusiasm or any emotion really.  I did so much research to find the best obstetrician (my first ob-gyn!) and he had so many positive reviews and is highly experienced.  He's even the medical director at Providence St. Joseph where I'm going to have my baby and came highly recommended by the nurses there.  Now, he's probably a great doctor and extremely qualified and all that but he just wasn't that friendly!  I felt embarrassed to be excited at all and was too nervous to even ask him all my questions!  I felt like I was bothering him and he wanted to get in and out as fast as possible.  I guess that's a doctor for ya!

But the appointment actually went really great!  First, I went into his office with a nurse and she asked me some questions and explained all the different types of testing they recommend.  The first test they do is the Noninvasive Prenatal DNA test where they collect my blood and have it tested to find out lots of information about the baby (including the gender!) and whether or not other tests are going to be necessary.  I also have to give another blood sample for a mandatory state test to see if there are any signs of a problem.  Finally, I'm doing a Nuchal Translucency Ultrasound next week to check the length of baby's neck to see the risk for certain abnormalities, such as Trisomy 18 and Down Syndrome.  And then I have my next prenatal appt. on Dec. 15th, 3 days before we head down to PV for all the Christmas festivities with the Rawlings!  It's going to be an exciting couple of weeks!

So after I answered her questions, I went back to the waiting room with Mark and we waited for the doctor to see us.  I told him what I remembered about the testing but honestly all I could think about was whether baby would be a girl or boy!  I remembered reading that my doctor did the early DNA test which reveals the gender at 10 weeks but I wasn't sure if it would really happen!  I wasn't sure how soon I would know but I got so nervous!

Then the nurse called us in and weighed me.  121 pounds...still steadily gaining a pound a week over here!  The doctor came in almost right after and asked me a few questions very quickly.  The whole thing felt so quick!  He wanted to know if I had any questions and I felt so flustered.  I asked Mark for my notebook with questions but I only asked a few so as not to annoy him.  I asked him about my weight gain and he said it's normal to gain a pound a week after the first trimester but in the first trimester you usually only gain about 4 pounds.  He asked if I was sure about my starting weight and I felt under pressure so I said, "I may have been 112...I'm not sure the last time I weighed myself".  I actually did weigh 112 when I got my positive test but I was already 3 weeks by that point so I considered that pregnancy weight gain.  Anyway, he told me to cut out carbs.  Babies don't need carbs.  Just to eat protein, fruits (not the ones high in carbs though but he didn't tell me which ones) and veggies.  Great news for me, considering the only things that I can stomach these days are bread, rice and cereal!  Ha!  Don't even say the word salad to me or I'll gag.

After we sped through some of my questions, he got right down to business for my first ultrasound!  I laid down and he put the goop on my belly (I don't even remember him doing that or feeling it because I was so excited) and then said, "There's your baby" but I didn't see anything!  I think I said, "Where?" and he said, "It's really small right now," and zoomed in a couple times.  I still didn't see anything because I had never had an ultrasound in my life so I had nothing to compare it to!  What was the baby and what was just my uterus and blood or organs or whatever?  Ha!  Mark pointed it out  and the doctor said, "There's the little heart beating fast."  Again, where??  Mark pointed to the heart but all I could see was a little flickering dot.  Then the whole thing (the baby?) bounced up and he said, "See, it's already bouncing around in there."  I said, "It's so weird I can't feel it," even though I knew I wouldn't be able to feel it yet.  I don't know why I like to act dumb in the presence of authority?  He told me, "Oh no, you won't be able to feel it yet.  It's too small."  Then he took a picture for us and that was it!

Our first picture of our baby!  You can hardly even tell it's a baby!

He asked if I had any more questions and I bravely asked about exercising and sleeping on my back.  He said I shouldn't be jumping around too much and no sit-ups and I can sleep however I'm comfortable.  It's not until Week 30 you shouldn't sleep on your back...that's not what I read though so I probably will not be sleeping on my back once I hit the second trimester.

Then the nurse took my blood and told me she would call me with the results in 7-10 business days.  Because of the holiday this week, 10 business days will be December 4th!  We will know if baby is  a boy or girl before I'm 13 weeks!  So crazy!!!  We can have two surprises for everyone for Christmas!  I think we're going to make cupcakes with pink or blue frosting inside for my family.  That will be so exciting!!  Okay, next I'll be posting a Girl or Boy? guessing game post with gender wives' tales since we will know so soon!  I have to get that post done before I know the answer!