First Appointment

August 22nd was the big day: our first doctor's appointment!

So, at the doctor, they did an transvaginal ultrasound. This is common now for early pregnancy detection. It's a lot more reliable and can show a lot more detail than a traditional on-the-stomach ultrasound. Let me tell you, that is a big ball of fun. When it wasn't mildly uncomfortable, it was outright awkward. Especially the part where she moved it this certain way and pressed on my bladder somehow and made me pee everywhere. Awesomeness. I guess those ultrasound techs have seen it all. And I guess I need to get over my embarrassment of having random things coming out of me at all times.

It was pretty amazing seeing that little chicken nugget, though. Seeing the little flutter of the heartbeat. I literally could have laid there all morning and watched it. As it was, it was over much too quickly. While she was doing checks of my ovaries, etc, she was taking pictures and measurements. They played a small moment of the heartbeat over the speakers--which Nick thinks is just an mp3 that they use to play for everyone. So romantic, that Nick.

When the doctor came in, she let me know that they found two cysts, one on each ovary. One of them is smaller (about 2cm), and liquid-filled, which is common, and will probably dissolve on its own. The other is larger (3.5cm), and solid. She said it can be any sort of things, like hair and teeth--and all of a sudden, I could not get the conversation from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" out of my head! Here it is, if you don't remember:

Anyway, after laughing hysterically to myself (and trying to remember that the doctor just told me about cysts, so I should probably not laugh out loud), I asked what that means. She said they would keep an eye on it each time they do an ultrasound. If I end up having a C-section, they will take it out, but it would be "more hassle than it is worth" to take it out now. But she isn't worried about it, so I shouldn't be, either.

All-in-all, the 1st appointment went well. The doctor's office was super-busy. And I don't feel like they did anything special for me, considering this is my first baby and all. We talked a little bit about delivery options (she wanted to know which hospital I was thinking of), and when I mentioned that I wanted to go as natural as possible, she suggested getting a midwife. There are several doulas at our church that I am going to talk to. Surprisingly, places like Family Beginnings Center at Miami Valley Hospital are really rare--there aren't ANY natural birthing centers in hospitals anywhere nearby. It kind of shocked me, since we are living in nature-baby central California, but we're also living in lawsuit central, so a lot of those places don't exist.