appointment update

i realized yesterday that i hadn't updated my blog on my doctor visits. and since everyone reading is oh so interested, i'll get to that now. i had an appointment scheduled to see a specialist and have another (number 3) anatomy scan at the hospital on spetember 30th. well, i decided that hospital was not the place for me, so i skipped that appointment. annnd- i switched doctors and hospitals. i made an appointment for october 7th (yesterday).
in case you missed my post about my first doctor visit- it did not go well. the hospital was crowded, the doctors seemed rushed, and i had to see a resident who seemed pretty much clueless. it was all a big mess of confusing. i left the hospital that day freaking out because they told me i needed an ultrasound to evaluate "poor fetal girth" and that my uterus was crooked. first, Eden has always been exactly where she should be for size. i thought it was a little weird that she would all of the sudden be too small- although it is possible. i also thought it was extremely weird that my uterus was now crooked... since it never has been before. can a uterus just do that? i was pretty sure Eden was laying sideways, and thus the mistakes in measurements. but, hey- i'm no resident. sooo- i left feeling very unhappy about my experience at that hospital.

my new appointment was at a smaller hospital. they don't have the awesome technology and medical capabilities of the bigger hospital, but hopefully i won't be needing some superb NICU or maternal-fetal medicine team. i'd like a normal delivery, at a normal hospital, with normal doctors. i didn't even bother to tell the receptionist i was "high-risk" when i made my appointment. i happily accepted the first available appointment; which happened to be in an OB office (not a hospital) with a physician's assistant. 

i decided not to spell out anything on my sign-in sheet about having a stillborn. usually i make a little note out to the side, in hopes they don't say anything insensitive. but, i figured- they have my record. it's their job to read it. so, i wrote that i had 4 pregnancies, and 3 vaginal deliveries. that's all they asked, and that's all i told. i did chuckle a little bit when i wrote that my last period was september 23, 2009 and offered no explanation. well, it was. what else can i say? i've been pregnant for the last 12 1/2 months.

i had to bring Lillie with me, since we are still in the process of hiring a babysitter. so, she kept me entertained while i waited. "what's in that cup mommy? why did you pee in that cup mommy? mommy, that's nasty! why?!? why did you pee in the cup?!?" hehehe...

i started to get a little aggravated after i had waited for what seemed like forever. finally, the physician's assistant came in. she apologized saying "i'm sorry it took me so long. i've been trying to read through your file before i came in. i had to figure out why you hadn't had a period in so long- and your old doctor faxed a huge file." she held it up... it looked like the obstetrical history of that duggar lady with the 19kids. lol! she said "i have never seen an OB file this big, especially for a 23 year-old." yep- that's me... i have quite the history in this uterus...

i was glad she took the time to get all of my history. the last hospital just wanted my prenatal sheet for Eden. they didn't really care what happened with my other pregnancies. i was also very impressed that she actually read it. she asked me a few questions about my history- surgeries, illnesses, allergies, etc... and when she got to the part about my pregnancies, she already knew most of it. she wrote all the info for Lynzie and Lillie, while i confirmed and answered a few extra questions. she wrote Carli's information, and wrote "fetal demise" out from it. ugh- i hate that phrase. then, she crossed it out, and wrote "hydrops". i didn't even have to mention what happened with Carli, because she already read the file. i never had to say "hydrops". yay for the physician's assistant! she should so teach other people how to actually do their jobs.

so, then we got to the fun part. she listened to my heart and lungs, and then put the stethoscope on my belly. Eden quickly kicked at it, which was kinda funny. then we did the fundal height measurement. remember- my last one indicated "poor fetal girth"... so, i watched closely as this lady measured. and, Eden kicked at the tape measure too. lol! she smiled and said Eden was a perfectly healthy size. right in the middle of where she should be. my crooked uterus was not mentioned. (because it's not crooked!!) finally, we listened to Eden's heart. it sounded normal. and- Eden kicked at the doppler too. :) everything about the appointment was soooooo normal. it was great.

my record from west virginia showed the perinatal specialist recommending normal prenatal care after 22 weeks (because i was in the clear for hydrops after that point) but my regular doctor recommended that i be watched closely and have ultrasounds every 2 weeks. so, the physician's assistant wants me to come back on october 18th to talk with their OB, and see how she wants to proceed with my pregnancy. i might have to go see another specialist for a second opinion. i might have another ultrasound. i might get to continue like a normal pregnant lady... we will see.