Today Jason and I met with Dr. Lillian Morris of the Women's Healthcare Association of Santa Monica. We had about 20 minutes with her today, and she seemed like a fun, loving and caring doctor- I'm really excited to be working with her through the next 9 months as all of this progresses into a new life!
What we realized immediately when we arrived at the office is that the medical building that all of our appointments will be in is LITERALLY right next door to Jason's new jobsite! It could not be MORE convenient! And, with parking being $12 a pop, being able to PARK at Jason's Jobsite will also be convenient! When I initially found the clinic online, I liked the fact that it was in the vicinity of Jason's new jobsite, because I knew how hard it will be for him to peel away from work in the middle of the day to go to an appointment, so I figured having it be nearby would make it easier- i had no idea it was THIS near by! We can see the jobsite when we sit in our Doctor's personal office! Too funny!
The first thing that we did today was confirm the pregnancy with another urine test (no blood test this time- that will be on our next visit), and sure enough, the Doctor confirmed what we already knew...we ARE pregnant! 5 weeks and 2 days to be exact! Next, Ash got her blood pressure taken and weighed...the blood pressure was a little higher than usual (Typical "White Coat" syndrome) and her weight was a little higher than usual (typical Pregnant lady syndrome!)- nothing alarmingly off though. As Ash was in the vitals area, the nurse wanted to confirm that I was with my husband and asked "You're here with your Husband, Correct?" I confirmed and then she asked "And his name is David, right" "Umm...no, it's Jason" we both laughed, then looked int he hallway an there was Jason, with an inquisitive look on his face "Who? David? Umm...no, that must be the boyfriend, I'm the HUSBAND" the nurse was so embarrassed! But she was adorable, and just apologized nd giggled her way into the next office.
Next, we were put into an exam room to wait for Dr. Morris. We weren't sure what exactly would be done in our first visit- an ultrasound, just a consultation etc...When we sat in the room we saw the huge ultrasound machine, and saw that on the screen it said "Laub, Ashleigh" so we figured we were going to get a vision of the little bean today! Very exciting! Jason took a few photos of me sitting on the table and of the machine (Weirdo) until Dr. Morris arrived. She took us into her office so she could ask us a few important medical history questions. She got the lowdown on my family history (Cancer cases, other hereditary abnormalities etc)...one thing she asked BOTH Of us that was odd was she asked if we were either Jewish or French Canadian (At first we were shocked she would ask if we were French Canadian...Jason had on a CANADA shirt from his recent trip, and we thought maybe she was just inquiring!)- but really, a disease called Tay Sachs runs in those cultures, so she was just ruling that out. So after all of that was taken care of, the Dr. looked at us and said "Ok, let's see who's in there" I thought that that was such a cute way to put it! It showed me that this doctor has some personality and is excited like we are about the new life forming inside me.
When we got into the exam room, the Dr. did warn us that since we are just at the beginning of the 5 week stage, there may not be much to see, but she at least wanted to check it all out to make sure we were were we SHOULD be and that everything looked ok inside. I won't go into details about this next part, but it was kind of comical....I get most of my medical knowledge from television (Grey's Anatomy anyone?) so I always thought Ultrasounds were done by putting the gel on the belly, and then having the wand run over the OUTSIDE of the stomach to see inside...apparently THAT kind of thing goes on farther down the line in pregnancy...so Jason and I kind of giggled when we saw the Dr. pull out a condom and some lubrication and put it on a wand...when I saw her grab the condoms, my first thought was "Umm...did she forget why we're here? OBVIOUSLY we weren't using those to get into this situation, and we're certainly not going to be using them now!" but she of course, had ANOTHER reason to use it!
So, as she had initially thought, we are too early in the pregnancy for an untrained eye to actually SEE anything on the ultrasound screen. She assured us that at our next visit (10/19) we'll be able to see the baby's heart beat...we're not sure if that means we'll get to see just the fluttering of a heart or if we can actually hear it.
Every week, we receive an email from babycenter.com which gives us an update on the progress of our pregnancy, and what is happening to the baby that week- it has been amazing to learn how quickly the little baby is growing inside....9 months seems like a long time to carry a little body inside...but when you think about it, that little body is being created from a few cells and in 9 months time becomes an entire PERSON it's mind blowing. The body is capable of doing some amazing things- creating life is one of them!
The main thing we got out of our first doctor's visit is that everything is A-Ok. The doctor said that the fetus is sitting right where it should be at this stage and that everything looks fine. She said she was happy with what she saw, so therefore WE are happy with what she saw.
We're anxiously awaiting our next appointment so that we can get to know this little person even more!
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