Dr. Awesome (warning this will be long)

Well - today I had the first MFM appointment!

First we went to get a u/s:

SCH - not visualized :) :) :) I don't say gone yet..... but not there!

Sprout should be 8 +5 according to all the many old u/s and is measuring a bit ahead at 9+3. Yippee. Grow grow grow. The hubby and tech actually saw moving little arm buds. I turned to look and sprout stopped. She went back to see if Sprout would move for me later - but he was all set. Cozy and comfy and not moving when I was looking.

I am not too surprised Sprout is measuring big. I am not eating a lot - and have lost 3 pounds - but healthy food gives me heartburn. Spicy nachos and I am fine - granola bar equals hours of horrid indigestion. Although I am not giving in - even though all I really want is meats and cheeses and HOT DOGS (which I am not a normal fan of) - sprout is eating it's veggies! I just deal with the indigestion knowing the salad was better than eating a hot dog. I joke with the hubby that Sprout just already likes his cooking. I can eat anything he makes - spicy nachos w/ roasted jalepanos - spicy asian style soup - boiled dinners .... no problem - but I eat an apple and the indigestion is horrible :) Oh Sprout...

Now I met with the MFMs nurse - really it was a mass information gathering. Very nice though.

Then the vitals with a med tech. She INSISTED the automated cuff is very accurate and new and 99.9 % blah blah blah. I said - O.K. we will see about that! Reading: 157/100. I actually laughed. She seemed annoyed I thought it was funny and I just looked at her and said - "well that is certainly NOT my BP". She took it manually - 140/80. High for others - normal for me - I am sure it would have been down to 130/70 if it was retested after me sitting for a bit.

Then a kindly woman came in and asked me to participate in a study on prematurity. They are looking to see if bio markers are present, and at which point do they show up, in cases of prematurity due to pre-e, pprom and ptl. All it is is having an extra two tubes of blood drawn twice during normal blood draws and once again at 34 weeks (I was like - sure, if I make it that far). Then they want a small piece of the placenta - sure- knock yourself out. When I was having the blood drawn the phlebotomist asked if I got paid for the study - I told her no, that is against IRB policies since it isn't any inconvenience to me at all. She, and her co-worker, were both like oh - no cash no blood I say! Really?!? I mean, what is 9 tubes compared to 7 - is that extra 20 mLs gonna really be missed. If women don't participate in this stuff - we will never learn the answers. Gosh.

Then doctor time. I summed this up nicely on the pre-eclampsia forum so I am just going to do a little copy and paste here since I am fall over tired!

Then I met with my new best friend (aka - my MFM). He remembered me from the hospitilization with Vincent. He talked to us for about 40 minutes. He doesn't want to adjust my BP meds yet (although he agrees they probably don't work well for me since those are the same as my unmedicated pressures). He wants to see if I experience the fabled second trimester dip - which he says is more indicative of PE re=occurance than anything else we will do. Adjustments will be made at my next appt. if necessary. He is really hoping for a dip. yep - me too. He told me to demand they take my BP manually the way it SHOULD be taken and NOT allow the automatic cuff used at all (he doesn't want those readings linked to my medical record).

He is checking my vitamin D level. He says this is a hot topic in pre-eclampsia research. Obviously it is not proven to help - but like he said - we are talking about a vitamin not some toxic drug - can't hurt. It helps pre-e is his research area :)

I have a pee jug for my 24 hour urine to do at my convenience (hmmm - there's a convenient tine to store pee in your fridge?). 9 tubes of blood were drawn.

I mentioned how the early dopplers have good predictive value at around 12 weeks (thanks for wonderful info on PFF). He said we can definitely do that - but he doesn't want me to put too much stock into anything (negative or positive). Really it is all going to be a waiting game. Waiting for it to strike - or waiting for it not to. He did tell me to expect bed rest at some point :sigh: - hubby is looking for a second part time job as we speak - but we do what we have to do! As much time as I am off my feet - the lower the pressure will be.

I had kinda forgot that they discovered I had anti-ro antibodies in my underlying conditions work up which is associated with neonate cardiac heart block. Starting at 17 weeks I will have a weekly fetal echo (one at my in the top ranked hospital every two weeks, and one at the in the top ranked childrens hospital right next door every two weeks - staggered so I get one a week). That was a bit overwhelming to here that the anti-ro made me high-risk on it's own .... another worry in the stew if you will

We are going to make plans on NSTs, BPPs and how often I visit as we go. I go back in 4 weeks and he told me that will be the longest break between my visits. He is my only doc now.

I have mild asthma too - he wants me to check my peak flow (basically lung capacity) every morning and call with any deviations. He said we may rely on my rescue inhaler a lot even if I feel good - to make sure sprout gets enough oxygen.

Hubby and I liked that he was very matter of fact. he wasn't discouraging nor overly reassuring. Basically, he is going to give it his all and expects me to do the same and just take it day by day. If we see signs of PE- I will be put on bedrest or hospitilized pretty much right away (he doesn't mind keeping me in the hospital for a while if need be).We will watch me very closely and treat aggressively. Basically all I can ask for.

Days feel so long now- I hope for a boring long 30 weeks remaining :) My first real mini-goal is 22 + 5 - the most pregnant I have been in the past was 22+4 Then 24 weeks... then 28. My secret ultimate goal 34-36 (i really hope I make it there).

The past six weeks I have known I was pregnant felt like an eternity. I have had 4 u/s already. It will be nice to have the rest of the first trimester trying to relax and dare I say - have a normal pregnancy.