First OB Visit!

I woke up this morning from a nightmare in which my sister was shot twice in the back and was clinging to me in terrible pain and every time I tried calling 911 my phone would ask if I wanted to add 911 to my contacts instead.

Anyway, the day has gone much better than that! I had my first OB visit. The first thing that was awesome is that we got to the clinic in five minutes instead of 90. I'm pretty happy to not have to go to Portland for stuff anymore!

We were ushered into a room, I answered questions about my medical history, they took a urine sample (with very strict instructions because the specimens have been contaminated lately, apparently, and they don't know why), did a pelvic and breast exam, gave me a flu shot (ow), took about eight vials of blood for routine first-trimester testing, and we got to see the baby again!



It's amazing how much these things can grow in just four days. Now it looks like a little pig, I think, or bear. The pictures aren't fantastic; we got better views on the screen. I think it's better for the doc to measure them down the back, so we have back view photos instead of side views. We got to hear the heartbeat too; getting a little faster every time we check!

The not-so-good news, though, is that my blood pressure is already a little high for their taste. The nurse tested me at the beginning of the appointment, switched arms, said hmm a lot, tested me again at the end, refilled the cuff a couple of times, and then had me schedule a quick blood-pressure-test appointment for next week. I bet you anything I'll be on blood pressure meds for this pregnancy. Bah.

I also got some nice reassurance from the doctor - she was asking about symptoms and I told her I really didn't have a ton, no nausea and not super tired in particular, and it was enough that I was sometimes worried that something was fishy, but she reminded me that I've been pumped full of hormones and none of my cycle was normal, so it makes sense that I won't have the same kind of symptoms. It kinda reinforced my wish that there was a pregnancy book out there for IVF patients, that included little reminders like that.

So after next week's blood pressure test, I have another appointment scheduled for 12/19, at which point I'll be totally off all artificial hormones! This kind of waiting is so much better than the IVF waiting. This is awesome.