April 8, 2010 - 1st Dr.'s Appointment

Today Andrew and I traveled to Iowa City to meet with our new OB/Gyn, Dr. Elson. I don't think I've been to the UIHC in about 15 or so years so it was a new experience for me. We did all the preliminary stuff with the nurse and then got to meet the doctor. She was absolutely wonderful! I felt so comfortable around her and she answered all of my questions. She did a physical examination (which was NOT the fun part) and we got to hear Thumper's heartbeat again. She said he was in the 160s. She said that as long as the baby didn't get too big, I should be ok to do a natural birth, which is what I want. (Actually, what part of me wants...the other part of me was like, "What? You mean you aren't going to just knock me out and wake me when it's over?") Dr. Elson's last piece of advice was for me to get an H1N1 shot because it was "making a resurgence." I'm not sure if that was true or not...or if they just had a surplus of vaccine that they were trying to get rid of. Either way, I got an H1N1 shot - which hurt...a LOT...for DAYS.
And if that wasn't enough, I had to go do lab work. They took 4 BIG VILES of blood to run tests on. I don't think I've ever had that much blood taken at once!

So, that was our first visit. I'm very happy with the doctor we chose and am happy to be having the baby at the UIHC. Our next step is to go in for the prenatal screening on April 23rd. I'm excited for that because we'll get another ultrasound!