First OB Appointment

I was seen at Mid-Iowa for ultrasounds at 7 weeks and 9 weeks, but this week was my first appointment with my OB group.  I knew there would be a urine test, blood test, and we would get to have an ultrasound.  There is a visitor restriction right now, but Eric was able to come with me.  

We had the ultrasound first, and we were happy to see that everything is looking great!  Before the ultrasound tech began, she said, "We have your due date as March 23," which is not what Mid-Iowa told me.  At both of my appointments at Mid-Iowa, I asked about my due date and was told March 18 both times.  Apparently Mid-Iowa is not great about sending records to OB groups in a timely manner, so my chart had not transfered yet.  A nurse called them to confirm, and the ultrasound tech proceeded with the assumption that I am due March 18.

I am 13 weeks 4 days and the baby was measuring 13 weeks 1 day.  The baby's heart rate was 158, which is great.  And we heard it nice and strong!  We got to bring home one printed photo and were emailed 3 photos to keep.  It's amazing how formed the limbs and facial features are at this point.  We have a real little baby growing in there!  Sometimes it still doesn't seem real.

I had a few questions for the doctor (of course).  She said it's okay to take Immodium as needed, we should continue to take Covid precautions (wear masks in public and wash hands frequently) and she validated my hernia concern.  She said that as long as it isn't painful or doesn't become hard, it's best to let it resolve on its own again.  I'm not looking to have another surgery, so I'm happy with that plan.  We also discussed the genetic testing options that will be available at my next appointment and whether we would need to do that since this embryo was tested before transfer.  She said that we certainly wouldn't need to do the test, but we could if we wanted even more confirmation that everything is normal.  But the odds are great that the genetic testing of the embryo yielded accurate results.  

The one new thing we learned was that guidance on IVF pregnancies has changed a bit since Elsie was born (already)!  Starting at 36 weeks, I will have weekly non-stress tests to listen to the baby's heart and monitor his or her heart rate.  It just means that my appointments will be 20-30 minutes longer so we can listen to Baby's heart.  Which I'm fine with!  

My next two appointments will be in the early morning (7:00 am), so Eric will likely stay home with the kids while I go alone.  We will have an ultrasound downtown at the Perinatal Center for our anatomy scan (around 20 weeks) and again for a detailed ultrasound of the heart (around 24 weeks), so he will come with me for those appointments.  

My labs all came back normal, so it was a great appointment all around.  Moving on to the second trimester later this week!