My First OB Visit

Yesterday, I went for my first OB visit. I had to fill out this paperwork while I was waiting with my medical history, my husband's medical history, my pregnancy history (of which there is none), and other random things. This appointment was supposed to take 3-4 hours! I didn't know when we got there that it was going to be an orientation class, a group thing. It wasn't so bad, I just felt bad for my husband, since all he could really do was sit there and twiddle his thumbs while I listened to the RN talking about things to avoid, things to expect, when to call a doctor, and other information. It was good that he was there, because he can help keep me on track with things, but I know he was bored to death. A nutritionist came in for a presentation, and it was obvious she didn't like talking in front of groups, she went through things very quickly and seemed very nervous. We watched a slide presentation on cystic fibrosis, then we signed a form saying if we did or did not want to be tested. I signed yes, since that is something that needs to be detected earlier for better care. We filled out more paperwork, then some of us went to the lab for urine and blood testing, and the others stayed for one-on-one interviews with the RN to go over histories. I went to the lab first, got the cup for the urine test, took care of that, then gave NINE vials of blood, NINE!!! The last time I gave that much blood at one time, I was giving it to the Red Cross for a blood drive in high school. And that didn't turn out very well. But then we went back to the orientation room to wait for our interviews. We got into the room, she looked over our paperwork, told me that mine was the best out of the group as far as the details she liked to see, and asked a couple of questions about some of my answers. She scheduled an appointment with an OB/Gyn doctor and we were done within ten minutes with the interview part. All in all, it took nearly four hours from the time we arrived to check in to the time we left. What a way to spend the morning! We got home, and Bryan took a nap while I played a bit on the computer. I started to get tired, so when he left for his PT, I laid down for a nap myself. He woke me up when he got home, and I went upstairs for another nap. I needed to rest for all those red blood cells to rebuild! But that's how my first OB visit went. I might get an ultrasound at this next visit, I'm not sure. I'm hoping she'll listen for the baby's heartbeat. I'm about 10 weeks now, I'll be about 12 weeks when I see the doctor, so if they have a Doppler, they should be able to detect it.

My nausea's starting to show up again, whoo hoo... And my appetite seems to have decreased a bit. I'm not waking up in the middle of the night due to stomach pain, and hunger doesn't hit me until about an hour or so after waking up in the morning. I'm not sure what's up, maybe just that particular stage of pregnancy is over. I can't seem to eat enough to make the serving requirements on my food pyramid, even eating every two hours, and now that I'm not eating as often, it's going to be even harder. And I'm supposed to be drinking a half gallon to a gallon of water a day... yeah, that's not going to happen. I drink as much as I can handle, but I'm lucky to get down a quart in a day. I bloat very easily, and I have a dysfunctional gastroesophageal sphincter, which doesn't keep lots of fluids down very easily. Basically, the junction between my esophagus and my stomach doesn't work right, doesn't close correctly, and if I drink too much fluids at one time, it doesn't keep them in my stomach. The churning of my stomach as it digests sends it back up my throat, which doesn't feel or taste very good. I'll try to remember to address that at the doctor at my next visit. Anyway, I think that's all for now. I'll write more after my next doctor's visit.

TTFN!!!