Today’s U/S

It went well. I was measuring at 8w6d which is what “I” think I am. However, they were charting me at 9w2 days today because they counted from HCG trigger and I am counting from IUI/ovulation. Heartbeat good. Size good. Before the u/s Dr. N said I was going to be surprised by how much the baby has grown. I replied that I would be surprised and happy if there was still a heartbeat. He told me I would need to start being more positive. I replied that I was feeling good enough to actually bring the VCR tape back and didn’t drag along moral support so I was making progress. We both laughed. He spent quite a bit of time showing me the head, the arm and leg nubs, the spinal cord, and the umbilical cord. I got to hear the heart beat. That was very cool. He showed me the blood flow to the baby and to the umbilical cord. He showed me the yolk sac and the amniotic fluid and explained how it would grow to be the same size as the uterus. He said it was too early to see the placenta. He also spent a lot of time showing me the blood clot. He showed me how it was old blood with no new blood flow and said that it is likely that I will spot some more with pink/red blood, but to NOT worry because it was not going to cause a m/c. He reassured me that my chances of m/c at this point were “very, very, very, very minuscule” (yes, his word). Lastly, he did one more look around to make sure there wasn’t a twin or another baby someplace it shouldn’t have been. All looked clear. I told him that was reassuring, but since there weren’t that many follicles to begin with it wasn’t very likely.

After the exam, I told him that I was too tired to even email him a few questions I had. He laughed and said he found that hard to believe. And we went through my questions. I try to almost never actually ask questions during an exam because I am afraid I will forget the questions or his answers or both, but these were easy ones. He says Benadryl is best for nasal congestion and runny nose (which is what I think has been contributing to my nausea/vomiting). Since that puts me to sleep, I asked about a non-drowsy one. He said that most people would not recommend Sudafed and it has a warning on the box (and we laughed about how almost EVERYTHING has a pregnancy warning including cough drops), but said that he personally thinks Sudafed is fine and that his wife (who is an OBGYN) used it for all of her pregnancies. He wouldn’t recommend seeing a chiropractor while I am pregnant. We talked about me joining the local preggo gym (which he shares an office with) and told me to stop by if I did when he is there which is Thursday afternoons.

All in all, it was a good visit.

It was with very mixed emotions that I was released to my OB. I really like my RE. A lot. We went down memory lane and I have been with him for almost a full year now. I can almost cry just thinking about it, but as he said, he has done his job. And, he is right. I thought about begging and asking for “just one more u/s” and I am sure he would have done it, but I guess it is time to move on. It would probably be easier but I have never met my OB before. He is a stranger. Dr. N is not. Heck, Dr. N has seen more of my “lower half” than anyone ever. Not to mention all of his views of my “insides” with the polyp and fibroid removals. And, Dr. G is a stranger. I guess he won’t be by the end of the year, huh? My RE clinic is small and I know all of the office staff, nurses, and both the doctors. My OB’s office is large. I think there are 4 or 5 OBGYNs in the practice. I waited on the phone for 15 minutes just to make my appointment today. It will be okay and I will adjust. Maybe I will even like Dr. G. But, it just won’t be the same. It just won’t be the same.

First OB appointment is 2 weeks from today so I guess I get to ease into that monthly monitoring thing. However, I am not going to get my hopes up too high because I probably am not even going to get any kind of an u/s let alone a vaginal one. If I really hate Dr. G, I can always find another OB, right? Dr. N recommended Dr. G off of the list of OBGYNs available in my HMO and said he was really good and that I would be in good hands. And, he did say I could always still email or call him or come in just for reassurance (and we both silently added if I was feeling really neurotic).