Dr Appointment

Turns out, I didn't actually have to get blood drawn today. I have to go to a lab for that. Which is a "duh" on my part. I think I knew that, but it left my brain. The doctor's office gave me the necessary paperwork, and then I have to go to the lab for the blood withdrawal and then the lab sends the results to the dr's office. So, I guess I'll go to the lab tomorrow. Poop. I had psyched myself up for it today.

Anyway, the rest of the dr appointment was pretty uneventful, and consisted of the following:

• Weigh in. I was 1 lbs heavier than last time. I don't even consider that a gain, especially since I hadn't even peed yet when she weighed me. I have a few weeks left in my first trimester, but the dr, and the stack of books I have, say that 0-5 lbs is an average weight gain for the first 13 weeks. And some women even lose weight because of fatigue or vomiting. Ultimately, the dr said that women usually gain an average of 20-35 lbs in the course of the pregnancy, and she said that because I'm so small, I will probably not gain more than 20 lbs (but it's entirely possible I will gain more than that, at which point I will resemble a beach ball).
• Pee in a cup. SOP at the OB office. They always need some urine for analysis. I guess they like to look at pee.
• Blood pressure. 104 over 70. Excellent.
• Pulse. 64. Also excellent.
• String of questions. Just like the last time I visited, they asked me a lot of questions. This time around, questions were more focused around genetic predispositions towards diseases like diabetes and cancer. At this point in the appointment, Jerry actually got to participate since they asked him questions about his medical and genetic history as well (although, for the above diseases, it's really more important if I have any history of those things, which I don't).
• Another pelvic exam. Some latex gloves, some lube, some poking around and she said the baby felt exactly on track for 9 and 1/2 weeks along. Hopefully, in the next few visits, they will begin using Doppler so we can hear the baby's heartbeat. Until then, I have to take her word that the grape-sized embryo is in there.
• Office time with the dr. Time for her to tell Jerry and I stuff, and time for us to ask questions. I'm really without questions, to be honest. Like any dedicated reader, I have been surfing the web and reading several books, so I feel pretty well-informed so far. And, I have two close friends who have had babies in the past year, and I have a colleague at work who is currently 7 months preggo, and she and I spent an hour and a half talking today. Plus, I have no real anxiety at this point, so there are no frantic questions (unless the dr can solve the troublesome issues surrounding my leave from work -- more on that later).

Last comment on the dr: In the post where I mentioned how the dr told me not to run, many of you advised me to switch doctors, which was thoughtful advice, but let me make a few clarifications. I go to a group practice where there are 6 doctors. I make appointments to meet with each one at least once because any one of them could be the one on-call when I go into labor, so any one of them could deliver the baby. So, while the doctor who told me not run was the same doctor I saw today (and aside from the whole "I don't like running" spiel from her, she's very, very nice), she's not the one I'll see every time and she may not be the one who delivers.

Additionally, I'm not the sort of person who needs a "relationship" with a doctor. I'm quite practical about this sort of stuff, and frankly, I just want competent pre-natal care, and someone to deliver that baby. In a hospital. Where there are drugs.

Plus, this doctor's office is right next door to a Chipotle! Fantastic location (and can that truly be a coincidence? seems like the marketing people at Chipotle did their research on that one). So, after my appointment today, we went and got some 1,200 calorie burritos. With chips and salsa. Ole!