The first appointment

So we went to the OB on October 4th, to have an ultrasound and find out how far along we were, and to start prenatal care with a great doctor. It wasn't much of a question in my mind that I wanted to have a hospital birth, a home birth is not of interest to me, mainly because I don't want to deal with the pain if I don't have to. Anyhow, we picked an OB, one that my sister had gone to in the past - Dr. Bryan Hodges. We went to the Woman's Clinic for our appointment, and were called back for the ultrasound. The tech asked me to expose my belly - and she poured the cold goop on it - and was unable to find my uterus, she searched for a little while and then said we should do a transvaginal ultrasound. So she left the room and I undressed. While Dylan and I were waiting for her to return, we started wondering, "what if we really aren't pregnant?" It was a strange feeling to think that we had been wrong, and weren't really pregnant. But, it turns out that my uterus is tipped way back, and wasn't big enough to see through my stomach - so we found out that we were in fact pregnant - that the baby has a heartbeat, and that we are about 6 weeks along. When we asked a due date- the tech used the software to tell us our expected due date is May 29, 2006. How funny - because that is our wedding anniversary. Wouldn't it be great if we had our first child on or near our 2nd wedding anniversary?

After the ultrasound, the tech gave us a picture of our baby - and we went back to wait for the doctor. It wasn't but a few minutes and they called us back. We met Dr. Hodge's nurse Jody - who is absolutely great. She is the only nurse that works with him, and will get to know us pretty well. She weighed me - 146lbs, and had me pee in a cup. She came in and explained a little about how things will work - monthly appts until 28 weeks, then every 2 weeks until 36 weeks, then every week until the birth. Took a background and explained about NO medication during the first trimester. Then we waited about 5 minutes and Dr. Hodges came in. Dylan and I had a list of questions, and that was great, because he asked us if we had any questions and we started firing away. From the beginning it was obvious that he was the doctor for us. We will deliver at St Lukes hospital, the room that we labor and deliver in will be the same room that the baby stays in. He will deliver the baby onto my chest and wait until the cord stops pulsing before he lets Dylan cut the cord. He encourages breast feeding within the first hour - and he said he has been told he practices more like a midwife than a doctor - and that is great, we like the feel of it!

Turns out, his godfather is my undergrad advisor - Dr. Centanni. We talked about that for awhile, and he gauranteed me that he wouldn't miss our delivery for anything in the world. He said the only reason he misses deliveries is if the mother has the baby in 3 minutes, before he gets to the hospital. He talked about his c-section rate - which is about 18%, pretty low for Boise doctors - and pretty low overall. So I am encouraged my our doctor.

We made our next appointment for Halloween morning, and went to get some blood drawn. I was AMAZED, but Dylan was able to watch as they inserted the needle and drew three vials of blood. Usually he gets sick feeling at just the discussion of needles - so it was great - I am assured of his ability to watch the birth of our child, and not get dizzy and pass out!

So far all is well, the morning sickness hasn't been bad - just a little nausea if I don't eat regularly - and I am drinking lots of water!

This is pregnancy at 6 weeks!