First "Official" Dr Visit

I just had my first "official" dr's apt this morning. And by official, I mean that I actually got to go in and meet with my dr and my nurse and not an ultrasonographer or a phlebotomist. It went really well.

First the medical assistant took my blood pressure (120/80) and weight (200... ouch!) and quickly verified my medical history before taking me to the exam room.

Then Vicki, one of my dr's nurses came in and went over a whole bunch of stuff, mostly things I already knew but a few I didn't, and took a more detailed account of my entire medical history from birth. She left a few notes for the dr to go over with me and then gave me a gown and told me to disrobe.

Shortly thereafter, Dr. Hebert came in and chatted a bit about the notes that my nurse had made, discussed medications that I could take to help with my symptoms and wrote me prescriptions for Zofran (for nausea - nondrowsy version), Promethazine (for nausea - drowsy version to help me sleep!), and Pepcid (to stop the heartburn from getting continually worse throughout pregnancy). After that, it was on to a physical examination. It was quick but the normal check of lungs, heart, breasts and abdomen.

Then we got to the fun part - the ultrasound! I was so excited to get one today because I wasn't sure that I would. She stuck the wand on my abdomen and the picture instantly popped up. She told Jon he wasn't allowed to peek (presumably because she wanted to find a heartbeat before showing us) but after just a second she told Jon to stand behind me and moved the monitor in my direction. There was the baby, clear as can be, hanging out at the bottom of the gestational sac. I could see the head and the body and the little arms. The legs weren't as easily distinguishable but I'm sure they were there too. The baby's arm actually lifted up a few times during the ultrasound as if it was waving at us! It was so cute. The best part though was hearing the heartbeat. This was the first time I was actually able to hear it as the last ultrasound was internal and the heartbeat was measured without sound. Our litle bean had a heartbeat of 171 beats per minute! "Normal" range is between 130 and 160 but higher didn't seem to be a problem for my dr. She declared us both healthy, printed some pictures and was done.

I of course couldn't get away yet... not without the lovely pelvic exam. But it was quick and easy and I was out the door. Not to go home though... there was still lab work to do. But at least the lab is right next door to the dr's office! I was lucky enough to get someone who got a nice big vein in one stick this time. She drew out 5 vials of blood (or all the blood in my arm it felt) to do a CBC, Thyroid test, Hep B test and whatever else they do as a matter of routine these days. I also had to give a urine sample before I could get out the door.

Wow, typing that out, it was a jammed packed appointment! My next one is with the Genetic Counselor on Monday to do the integrated screening to check for genetic disorders and then three weeks after that I'll go back to my OB. I swear my calendar is going to be filled with dr's appointments as time goes on.