A visit every four weeks?

What is up with the need to visit the ob/gyn every four weeks? I’m only 11-12 weeks along, had an 8 week appointment, had an ultrasound today in which I saw the fetus was alive and well, and I’m supposed to go see the doctor on Friday. I called the office to cancel my appointment and encountered resistance.

“You must be seen every 4 weeks,” I was told.

“There is really nothing for him to do,” I said. “Is there something special he is looking for?”

With great effort, I was able to push it back about 10 days. I tried to make it later that week and she said no. “That’s July,” she said.

“Why does that matter?”

“We last saw you in May and we must see you in June.”

I wondered if it was just this doctor’s practice, so I googled it and saw that others also recommend a visit every 4 weeks until the 28th week, then every two weeks.

We pay a significant co-pay under our current plan and I’m trying to control costs. I’m not interested in paying 10-20% in order to have the doctor feel how big my uterus is and take my blood pressure. I was overseas during my last pregnancy and I didn’t see a doctor every four weeks. I saw one only at the big appointments – the screenings, the 20 week ultrasound and then for my third trimester appointments. That worked just fine.

I really want to cancel this next appointment and just let the fetus do what it needs to do for another month. Unless there is a blood test that is critical to do now, I don’t see the point of medical care.

Sequential screen, step 1

I had my first sequential screen today. It went better than my 8-week ultrasound in that the staff at this place was much nicer, which makes all the difference in the world. Whereas at the 8-week they prevented Mark and River from coming in until the end and wouldn’t even let me look at the screen until the sonographer had finished her work, here they had a second screen that was just for me to look it. I was able to watch the whole thing and she pointed out much of what she was doing. As a result, I feel a lot more connected to the fetus (apparently, it has now graduated from embryo to fetus) and the process.

“It looks human this time,” I said, as I saw the head and face (which looked like River, even in its fuzziness), the limbs, and the way it bounced up and down.

“It is human,” she said. “It’s only as big as your pinky, but already has everything.”

I saw the placenta and the umbilical cord, was reassured it was alive with a 170 beats per minute heartbeat, and saw close-ups of my ovaries. They were kind of gross-looking, like craters on the moon.

Looking at all the tissue, blood and cells made me marvel how this all works and how a little person, who will come into being at the end of this year, is starting out its life there. And how I started my life in a similar environment within my mother.

I hoped there was nothing wrong with the fetus. I wanted it to be perfect. I didn’t want to abort that little bouncing bag, nor did I want to give birth to a child with birth defects. I resented knowing that the results were going to come back with more caution for me, just because I hit this magic number of 3-5. I didn’t think they were taking note that I’m healthy, eat well, and just biked 200 kilometers. I must say I was relieved that the fetus seems to have survived the bike ride OK. And in fact, I’m relieved it’s alive at all. I still have trouble believing that a pregnancy can be this easy.

The results of the screening won’t be available for a couple of days, but based on the sonographer’s comments, I think things are fine. She said it looked “perfect” and was developing very well. She tried to look at the gender, but the legs were crossed. So no dice. I am a little more excited now that I see it as a more human-like form.

In other news, a friend of mine gave birth two weeks ago and had the same type of epidural as I did, where it blocks the contractions, but not the pushing. She was very lucky in that she only pushed 13 minutes to get a 9 pound, 6 ounce baby out. She said that part was very painful.

“I wonder if they give that type of epidural on purpose,” I said.

“Yes, they said they needed me to be able to feel when to push.”

She was using the same group of doctors I used last time. But I have friends who have delivered at that same hospital (with different doctors) and have had the nice experience where they don’t feel anything. That’s what I want next time and my current doctor says he can make it happen. He says we’ll set up a meeting with the anesthesiologist before the birth. I hope so because for me, that pain was positively traumatic. I would feel super blessed to have both an easy pregnancy and a (relatively) easy delivery. At least I can hope.

So much easier the second time around

Since I’ve been back from vacation, I’ve been hit with heavy fatigue again, usually in the afternoon and evening. This is a bit inconvenient as it makes me unable to accomplish much more than basic tasks or watching TV. Over the weekend, I struggled carrying River on the bicycle around town. The extra 35 pounds really made a difference. But overall, things are so much better with this pregnancy than the first one that I can’t complain.

First off, the fatigue disappeared during my vacation and bike trip. Thanks, body. Its appearance late in the day means I can still function normally at work. I haven’t needed a sick day yet.

I’m generally not paying much attention. I know when I’m due, but I forget what week I’m in and am never truly sure of it. I have no idea what is happening developmentally at the moment and don’t care too much.

Despite a pop that was apparent to me at 8 weeks, I’m still not showing to other people yet and I appreciate the freedom to take some more time, to get the testing done, and to break the news when it’s the right time, not necessarily when my belly forces me to. I’m thankful that my stomach has always been one of my slimmest parts. I can handle a little extension there and still look normal. Whereas, if a baby was to come out of my hips or a butt cheek, I’d have a lot less room for growth there. I’m still at the same weight as I was pre-pregnancy, which I feel great about.

In a sense, I’m grateful for the fatigue, because at least it’s a sign I’m pregnant. Otherwise, I’m just not feeling it much. I have the first of the triple screen tests tomorrow and I’m grateful that the sonogram will check for a heartbeat. I do need a little reassurance that it’s still living, still growing. Because it’s been very easy to forget about it this time around.