2nd Doctor's Appointment

Today we had our 2nd doctor's appointment. I was a little worried it would be cancelled because there was major storm damage in Wheaton & I wasn't sure if the office had power. Luckily they did, so we were good to go! Although we were about 15 min late due to all the down traffic lights...

The appointment was with Dr. Larry, who happens to be the son of the doctor who delivered my sister, Lauren. Funny. I think I mentioned it before, but we are required to see each of the 6 doctors in the practice at some point during our pregnancy. So today we met with the first "boy doctor". I am definitely not thrilled about some guy being all up in my business, and even though people say I'll get used to it, I don't think I will. Gross.

Moving on.

I wasn't sure what was on the agenda for this appointment, as things are still early. I was given a huge packet of info at our 1st appointment about all the different genetic testing they can do, so I thought they might bring that up again. Rich & I had talked about it, and we decided against doing any of the tests. If there is something majorly wrong, they will know at our big ultrasound appointment around 20 weeks. But really, no test result would make us change our mind about having this baby. We don't have a family history of anything and don't have any of the risk factors. Plus, not all of the tests are 100% positive anyway. So when the doctor asked today, we told him thanks but no thanks.

The nurse took all my vitals- another urine test, blood pressure, & weight. I lost 2 lbs, but they said that's not an issue at this point. I wasn't surprised given my total lack of appetite lately. Then she had me lay down so that she could listen to the baby's heart beat. She used a "doppler ultrasound" which looks like this:

It's a little portable, hand held device. She put some gel on my stomach and got to work. And...nothing. I tried to read her face & see if she was anxious or worried. I couldn't read her. I asked her if anything was wrong, and said that it was still early. Still, I was worried. I silently prayed over and over, "Lord please let there be a heartbeat. Let there be a strong heartbeat. Help them find it." She gave up after a few minutes, and the doctor came in. He was really friendly, and said that the doppler is a lot less sensitive than the big ultrasound machines and not to worry at all.

**Hey nurse- it would be been really great of you to share that info with the nervous 1st time pregnant lady you are poking in the gut. Whatever.

The doctor did not seem worried at all, and brought us into a different room to do the ultrasound. Thankfully, he found the heartbeat right away. He said it was strong & about 160+ bpm. I was so relieved! We were not expecting to have an ultrasound, and it was a special treat to get to see the baby! It actually had distinguishable arms & legs! WOW! The baby is about 2.5 inches long now- simply amazing. I don't think I'll ever get over how incredible this whole process is...

After we confirmed the heartbeat, the nurse came back in and took some blood (kind of a lot of blood actually). Our next appointment will be on August 7th at 1pm with our regular doctor! YAY!

Our first doctor appointment

Today was our first doctor's appointment for Little Baby Stiles! Rich & I were both a little anxious & somewhat unsure of what to expect. We were so thankful that they were able to get us in before Rich leaves for Graduate school (on SUNDAY!), and we are hopeful that we will be able to be present at each appointment going forward.

A little info on our doctor. Her name is Dr. Fesenmyer, and she is a part of DuPage Obstetrics & Gynecology. I know I mentioned it before, but I have seen her for many years and feel very comfortable with her. She is compassionate and friendly, and gives you her honest opinions. There are 5 other doctors in the group, so we will have to see each of them at some point over the next several months. But ideally, we hope to see Dr. Fesenmyer most & ultimately have her deliver our baby. Speaking of delivery, that will take place at Central DuPage Hospital.

Anyway, the appointment went well. They did another pregnancy test- still positive! All my levels were normal, and my blood pressure was normal as well. I had a complete physical, and everything looks good.  Probably the coolest part of the visit was the sweet gift bag I got. It was filled with tons of essentials.

The gift bag!

Lots of info sheets on cord blood, pediatricians, medications, etc.

"Trimester by Trimester" journal

Tons of different prenatal vitamins to try

CDH's "Pregnancy Guide"

As of now, our due date is January 18, 2013, meaning I am 8 weeks along. However, I am scheduled to have an ultra sound on Friday to confirm how far along I am. There is a chance that I could be a month further along than I think I am. So, we shall see! Dr. Fesenmyer was so sweet to order to ASAP so that Rich can still be there. We'll definitely be able to see the heartbeat (Lord willing), and we might possibly be able to hear the heartbeat, depending on how far along I am.

Please join us in praying for a strong & healthy baby! We know that our little one is in the Lord's hands, but we really do appreciate any prayers offered up on our behalf! Thanks, dear ones!

Finally found a ginger-y treat that helps keep the nausea away!

Let's celebrate!

I've been known to be slightly dramatic at times. After we started trying, I promised myself I wouldn't go crazy analyzing every single potential pregnancy symptom. So when I started getting extremely tired during the day, I chalked it up to having 2 little boys living with us. When I started having sensitivity to smells, I wrote it off as being part of Spring arriving & having the house more open. {Warning: TMI coming- Dad, you might want to skip this part} But when my breasts starting hurting ALL THE TIME, I knew something might be up.

Before going to bed last night, I drank a big glass of water. I wanted to be "prepared" to take a pregnancy test when I woke up. Rich was getting ready for work, so I did my thing in the bathroom. I set the pregnancy test down on the counter, and went to grab some sweatpants. I wasn't even gone a minute, and the test already showed.....

WE'RE PREGNANT!!!

Rich & I only told a couple of close friends today. Let's be honest, I can't keep secrets so I knew I had to at least tell someone before our big reveal. Rich would probably have been fine keeping quiet. 

It's still pretty early- I am probably only about 5-6 weeks along at this point. We have our first doctors appointment on June 6th with the ob/gyn I have seen since I was 17. She is wonderful, and I feel SO comfortable with her.

We are thankful that both of our Moms have big birthdays coming up in the next couple of weeks. I'm already working out plans for the moment we tell them they will be Grandparents. I can hardly wait for that moment! Hopefully we'll be able to get it on video so that we can post it on here later.

We're both so excited & thankful for this tremendous blessing in our lives. I cannot wait to meet our little one!

Green Light

I have read a lot about scheduling a pre-conception appointment to discuss a wide variety of questions, such as:

Am I at risk for any problems?

Is my weight okay?

Do you recommend genetic testing?

Are there any health problems I should take care of before getting pregnant?

Can you recommend any prenatal vitamins?

{A more comprehensive list of potential questions can be found at The Bump}

I personally didn't feel the need to schedule a separate appointment, especially since my current doctor is about 1.5 hrs away. I had my yearly appointment with my gynecologist on Wednesday, and I called ahead to make sure I didn't NEED to schedule two appointments to discuss preconception. We were good to go!

Boring detail: I am currently on my parent's insurance since I am not yet 26, but I plan to switch to my own policy in January during open enrollment. My current ob/gyn is seriously the sweetest woman, and I am a little sad that I won't be able to have her as my doctor. But since, hypothetically, I'll be switching insurance while pregnant, one of the big questions I wanted answered was: are there any doctors in my area that my current doctor recommends? My doctor offered to review the doctors covered by my future insurance policy, and let me know which she recommends. Again, such a sweet lady!

March 1st marked 3 months until "go time", and my doctor & I discussed taking a vitamin that included at least 400 mcg of Folic Acid. I have been taking Women's One-A-Day multivitamin, and have about a month's supply left. Once I finish those off, I think I'll switch to an actual prenatal vitamin. Although, I admit I need to do a better job of remembering to take them every day! I need to do a little more research to see if there is actually a difference between the two. I also learned that you can get free prenatal vitamins with a prescription from Meijer! Pretty sweet, huh?

Other things discussed at my appointment: I stopped birth control back in July, so that's one thing off my to-do list. Rich & I have no reason to anticipate any problems getting pregnant, as there is no family history of infertility. Obviously, we are trusting in the Lord through this process, so we'll have to wait and see what He has in store for us. But we decided against doing any genetic testing or other things like that. In my opinion, that seems a little extreme- but again, we don't have a family history of any serious conditions.

So, all that said, I left my appointment feeling very encouraged having been given the green light to get pregnant! I cannot wait to be a Mom & have a Little Baby Stiles!