Last week, on Friday, CDF had her monthly check up and came back with a report of good health.
Category: Doctor Visits
First Doctor Appointment
Yesterday we had the first doctor appointment for this pregnancy. They did some preliminary work, including bloodwork and an ultrasound.
We got to see the baby wiggling and moving around. According to the measurements, CDF is 9 weeks along. They said the baby is on the small side for 9 weeks, but that seems to be normal for us.
Sugar Tests…
We had a combined check-up and glucose test last Friday (7/11). To start everything off, CDF had to drink half a bottle of the orange sugary liquid (very sugary). It gave her a headache after a little, but other than that she was fine.
The check-up was routine. CDF has gained 2 pounds since the last visit (up to 19lbs total now) and her belly, while on the small side, is growing like it should. I think we saw Dr. Lewison (thin, short and straight blond hair). As before she was very laid back and appeared to be satisfied with how the pregnancy was going.
CDF did very well when they drew blood — to complete the sugar test — and I think the nurse did a good job too.
Today they called with the results of the test… 🙁 CDF’s blood sugar was elevated (she failed the test) and she has to go back on Wednesday for the long test (3 hours) to determine if she has Gestational Diabetes. That will mean watching her sugar intake and a lot of finger pricks a day (four) to check the sugar level.
It’s a GIRL!
We had another sonogram on Friday (May 9) and it was the day we were going to find out if our baby was a boy or a girl… at least we hoped the tech would be able to see what it was. We did have a question about what would happen if the u-cord was in the wrong place, could it confuse the tech?
Anyway, the exam took a while while the tech took measurements and pictures of the baby’s limbs and head and spine. It was somewhat disconcerting to watch her focus the ultrasound beam on features *inside* the baby’s body… almost like having x-ray vision (well actually it’s probably the same effect).
Finally the tech asked if we were ready to find out. No need to ask that. 🙂 A minute more and then, it’s a girl! It’s still only an 85% chance that she is a girl, but if nothing else it’s better than the 50% chance up until now. 😉
I have no doubt that MD is going to be a beautiful little terror. Just like her mother was (and is).
Back Pains
So the at the latest visit (May 2), the nurse was going through the initial check up and my wife mentioned having lower back pain. Somehow this made them suspect an infection (the kidneys?) and they needed another cup sample, uh, the last one wasn’t full enough. So we ended up sitting around for a while while she drank cups of water(!). Eventually they got their sample and decided she did have a UTI. The doctor proscribed antibiotics that she’ll need to take twice a day.
The Baby’s Heartbeat
We had another appointment on April 4th. We didn’t know what to expect, it was supposed to be another routine check up.
When we got there we were told it would be a half hour wait since the doctor was still at the hospital. My time was limited so I started to get a little antsy (as much as I ever do ;). But we actually got shown back much sooner that I expected.
After being shuffled between a couple different rooms, we still were waiting for the Dr. to arrive. Finally a nurse came in and said that she was here.
I can’t remember the name of the Dr., but she was short, slim, and had short blonde hair. She was very nice, if a little distant. She answered my wife’s questions, and then said we were going to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. That was a pleasant surprise.
It took the Dr. a few minutes long than she expected to find the heartbeat, and she had about given up, when she finally found it. The baby’s heart was making a quick whooshing sound… about the speed you would expect your heart to be going after a good run (or a scare).
And that was then end of the appointment. We were out of their after only an hour and a half, so I wasn’t late getting back to work after all.
Second Doctor Visit
This past Friday (3/7/03) we went in for the second doctor appointment. We were going to see the nurse-practitioner and then have a follow up ultrasound.
The nurse said CDF looked good and healthy. She gave us a few tips on what to do about nausea (avoid milk), but there’s no need to worry about a little nausea, not unless it lasts for six hours. CDF has been relating that bit of information as three hours, to keep her family from getting nervous — she says they’ll insist she will dehydrate long before that.
The baby has grown visibly. During the ultrasound, we were able to make out the head, body and limb-buds! It was actually a bonus that we got another ultrasound picture. Normally they wait until 20 weeks before taking any more pictures.
The First Doctor Appointment
The appointment was at 8:15am and we got there about then. We were the first people there actually. But we didn’t get called back until 8:45, after most of the others had already been called. The excuse was paperwork.
We started out with the ultrasound tech. I didn’t realize that they even did ultrasounds this early. It was fascinating to see the gray speck on the monitor that the tech said was our baby. Even better was when we saw the tiny heart beat — a little round flicker going at 156 BPM. Finally, after doing a lot of measurements and taking pictures, we got the infamous ultrasound picture to take home and show everybody*.
Next person we saw was a nurse who went over our medical history and gave us information. It’s a good thing a lot of it was written down, since I can’t remember a single helpful thing she said — at least right now.
Lastly CDF had some blood work done. She did very well.
* Apparently not everyone has heard the jokes about parents and their ultrasound pictures. I don’t remember where I heard them, but let me just say: No, you CAN’T tell if the baby resembles me yet.