Doctor's Appointment - 15weeks, 5 days

Sorry for the delay. I had a lot of work to do when I got back to the office today, so I decided to wait until I came home tonight to update. I had an appointment at 11:30 a.m. today.

Remarkably, they got me in quickly today. The nurse weighed me (I gained 2 pounds since last time), took my blood pressure (100/50), and had me wait on the doctor. Dr. D came in and asked how I was doing. Before she listened to the baby she started with questions. This time I had some.

1. Now that I'm getting some energy back, I've been considering going back to the gym. Since I haven't been in 4 months, what is ok to do? She ok'd cardio including running (although she said it will become uncomfortable), walking on the treadmill, stationary bike, eliptical, stair master, and swimming. She said lifting weights is ok, although she suggested using lighter weights and doing more reps. She even said I could do ab work if it doesn't involve me laying flat on my back.
2. Speaking of flat on my back...I've never slept on my back, but now since it's hard to lay on my stomach, I start on my side, but wake up on my back. How bad is this? She said it's ok, but to try to stay off my back. She suggested propping a pillow behind my hip, so I wouldn't be able to easily roll back over. She also said when my belly gets larger, it's more difficult to roll anywhere.
3. I've been getting lots of headaches again. Any suggestions other than Tylenol? Not really. I try to eat more often, but all she wants to do is Tylenol possibly mixed in with some caffine. If they get really bad, we can discuss further. She said most headache complaints come in weeks 14-18, so it's pretty normal.
4. How long is it safe to travel? I may have a work trip by plane in August and I know I have car trips in October... I can travel (any mode) up to week 35. During car trips stop frequently to walk around and stretch. Pregnancy makes you more prone to blood clots. May also have to stop because of all the extra weight on the bladder.
5. Do you think I'll feel the baby before next appointment? She has no idea. She felt both of hers around 16 weeks, but does this for a living. I may feel it and not realize it. Also, if my placenta is attached to the front wall of my uterus, it would provide extra cushion and might take longer.
6. I've read and talked to lots of people that routinely have an ultrasound at around 20 weeks. Is she planning on doing one then? Yes. We can do one at the next appointment! Yeah!
7. As an alternative, we were considering a 3D place in Cincinnati. Her thoughts? Mixed feelings. Yes, it's cool to see the baby and the technology is awesome. But, as a doctor she's not especially comfortable with people using medical technology for entertainment purposes. "You can't just go to a booth on the street and get a chest x-ray." She's also not sure if she's comfortable with what they do if they see something abnormal. If they let us go like it's all fine, than she'd have to call us a couple days later, "You know that ultrasound you did in Cincinnati? Well, why don't you come in so we can talk..."

After questions, she listened to the heartbeat. It was easy to find and she said it sounded good. She didn't calculate a heartrate for me, but seemed to think it sounded fine.

Then the nurse came in and took blood for the Alpha fetalprotein (AFP) test. It was optional, but it screens for Down's syndrome and Spina Bifida. I guess there can be some false positives that would require further testing, but we decided to go ahead. I'm assuming all will come back fine. If not, we'll discuss this test in more detail.

So that was the appointment. Afterwards, Eric and I decided to cancel our appointment at the 3D place. Eric said he was a little unsure all along. Also, now my doctor is doing an ultrasound that will be covered under insurance and she should be able to tell the sex (assuming baby is cooperative). Now we'll stick to the plan that if the baby cooperates we'll find out the sex, if not...we'll wait until he/she is born. Another reason it was fairly easy for me to give up the 3D deal is the timing. We scheduled it for 7/17. While that was good in that it was only 2 weeks away, it was also the weekend Eric's mom is coming to visit. (We're booked every other weekend after 18 weeks in July, and didn't really want to wait until August). Now I think it definately would have been cool for us to take a grandparent along to the appointment, and I'm sure she would have loved it, but I kept thinking about my Mom. This is her first grandbaby and I know it's hard for her to be so far away anyway. I really think it would have hurt her feelings a little bit if the other grandma got to be there for an ultrasound. Not that my Mom would ever say anything like that or actually get angry, but I don't want to even unintentially hurt her. Now it will be Dr. D, Eric, and I at the appointment and we can share the news with all the grandparents, however, we want.

The next appointment is July 29th at 2:10 p.m. It should be a good one. Just a warning, that post may be late, as I think we'll make personal phone calls to make the announcement, before letting the reading public know.