Silver Lining

Since I know you are all on pins and needles waiting for an update... ;)

I am happy to report that my appointment yesterday went well. It was overall an interesting experience.

The office itself is really nothing to talk about. It is kind of a hole-in-the-wall; with mismatched, thrown together furniture, a couple of old Norman Rockwell prints in cheap frames on the walls, outdated magazines. But someone takes the time to take care of two pretty ivy plants and a small holly plant; which really add some charm. The office staff and nurse are all extremely nice. I did have to laugh at the sound of one of the girls typing up a patient chart on a real, live typewriter! I haven't heard one of those in years. They still record their appointments in a paper chart; no fancy computer programs here.

It is definitely not what I am used to, but it works for them. The nurse was extremely nice, almost to the point of being annoying because she wouldn't just make a decision.
Nurse: "I need to take some blood, do you want me to take from the right or the left?"
Me: "whichever you prefer. I think most people like the veins on the left".
Nurse: "Well which side do you want then?"
Me: "Oh I don't care, what ever is best for you."
Nurse: "well let's see, ooh, you have a lovely vein on the right. So right or left?"
[insert confused look from me]
Nurse: "Do you want to lie down or sit up?"
Me: "Which ever is best for you."
Nurse: "Well I can do it hanging from the ceiling, so it doesn't matter"
Me: "Now that I would like to see! No, seriously, as long as I don't have to look at it I don't care."
Nurse: "Ok, so sitting up or lying down?"

and on and on and on.... but she is very nice.

The doctor is an older gentleman. He's been practicing for 31 years. This worries me some, in that typically the older docs are more likely to, as my friend so eloquently put it, "cut you from Timbuktu", but hopefully if that is the case, then I still have time to change doctors before the big event. His age did make it frustrating for me though, because he has no idea what Neonatal Lupus is and made me explain things a couple of times before he acted like he *maybe* got it. He ordered an ANA Lysine panel on me (blood work to check for Lupus) in additional to the normal blood work and told me I may have a consult with a Rheumatologist. Then he said "I actually don't think there is anything we can do about the Lupus during a pregnancy". Oh mercy!

Physically he seems like a strong man; I noticed some old man muscle hiding under his scrubs. His face sort of reminds me of an elf - wide in the forehead and very narrow chin, hidden under a way-too-bushy white goatee. But his eyes are kind and twinkly behind his little wire rimmed glasses and in his office yesterday he seemed very personable.

In the exam room however, he is a bit different. Now, I don't exactly expect stellar conversation when someone is inspecting my nether-regions, but, you know, a little "ok, now I'm going to ___" or "you might feel a cold sensation" or something of the like would have made the situation a bit less uncomfortable. At least it was over relatively quickly. To check for the heartbeat, he did a super quick ultrasound. And though I am thankful that I got to see the baby, I sure do wish he had taken the time to let me look a little bit longer. It was like an addiction - I didn't want him to stop looking and I was getting internally furious because he wouldn't quit moving and let me just see the baby move around. Everything looked good as far as I could tell. There is only one in there (as far as I could tell), thank goodness! The baby is measuring slightly larger with a due date of April 1st instead of my chart date of April 6th.

And just for a comparison of my old ob, when I was pg with the Kiddo, every time I had an ultrasound, my ob would be very sweet and wipe off as much of the blue goo as he could before having me sit up. It was a nice touch, especially because the office had warmed blue goo (which you couldn't really feel to clean it off) - instead of the cold shock of the straight out of the bottle stuff. Yesterday, not only did the doc use cold blue goo (which is fine I guess, but the room was ice cold already so it was a bit over the top for my temperature sensitive self) but he squirted about half the bottle on me and then left me there to clean myself up as the goo ran down my sides and into every crevice it could manage. Taking off the goo covered gown was a bit of a feat, and by the time I got dressed and ready to go I felt like jumping in the nearest decorative fountain for a quick rinse. ick, ick, ick!

But - overall the experience was pleasant and thankfully now I am on somebody's charts and when the time comes it will be easier to switch if I need to. My next appointment is in 4 weeks, and he said we will do a full ultrasound. I will only be 17 weeks by then, but hopefully we can find out the sex of the baby.

And I have to say, even if you have seen one before, there is nothing, nothing like seeing a baby moving around inside you. I can't even describe the feeling. There is no word in the English language that defines that emotion. It is the most wonderful thing in the world.

Four weeks is going to go by so slowly...

Until,
D :)