Big Day

Disclaimer: This post is all about pregnancy (not just mine). Feel free to skip.



My appointment Friday got rescheduled to yesterday, and I'm glad it did, because I got to see Dr. Cool, who is the practice lead and just a really, really cool lady. The appointment went fine from start to finish. Urine check was fine, blood pressure was great, and I had lost one pound since last month. (This is important to me because I am only supposed to gain 15 through the entire pregnancy, having started overweight.)

Dr. Cool came in and first took my questions. I asked about travel, because my work travel schedule is about to pick up -- after a year of going literally nowhere, I have 6 trips scheduled in the next three months. She basically said that travel was hard on a pregnant person, and that I would have to be my own conscience on it. We talked about it and I feel comfortable telling them at work when I've had enough. I'll do what I can. This isn't a career job for me (I am a contractor, not a direct employee) and I'm not planning to go back next year. I'd like to work as long as possible, for the money, but if I end up having to go early, so be it.

Then we talked about exercise because I am planning to take a yoga class starting next month. She said that would be great, and also to keep walking. Then she made fun of my sandals and told me that I need to be wearing "ugly shoes" (ie, walking shoes with lots of support around the heels) every day. That is going to be tough for me, since in the summer I wear sandals all the time. But I'll try to do better.

Next we went over the results of the nuchal fold screening. My risk factors came back very, very low. So low that it almost seems crazy to even consider the slight risks that come along with the amnio, but I still need to do some research to be certain.

And finally, she got me to lay back, and she squirted a big pile of doppler gel on my belly and stuck that probe in it, and the heartbeat was audible immediately. I mean, immediately. It was like magic. I was just amazed. I haven't tried my own doppler at home in about 10 days, but maybe I will again now. I think I need to use a lot more gel. (And yes, thanks to the readers who had written to suggest that.) Now I just need to find where to buy some. Can you use KY?

I was pretty stunned by how well this all went. I think for the first time since this pregnancy started, I felt like a normal person instead of someone who was just pretending to be one. Maybe I did such a good job pretending that I made it happen. (Ha ha.) I don't know if that means the other shoe is about to drop, but I'll take this feeling of wonder for now.

I am 14 weeks today. I go back in 2 weeks for my quad screen bloodwork, and will schedule my Level II ultrasound for a month or so from now.

* * *

Late last night, the husband of one of my dearest friends called to say that the C-section had gone great, and the result was a healthy baby girl. This was a long-awaited IVF pregnancy, that happened thanks to Dr. T (my RE). I was so happy to get the news that I could hardly sleep.

Welcome, baby Julia. We are so glad you're here.