10 Weeks & Counting: First OB Appointment!

We had our first appointment with the regular OB on Monday.  And I have to say, it was kind of anti-climactic...  Not because of anything bad, but after 3 months worth of visits to the RE clinic and all the ups and downs therein, this seemed so routine, so normal.  It was actually kind of boring.  I'm being over-dramatic.  Anyway, here's how it went down:

• Arrived at clinic about 5 minutes early for a 1:00 appointment; waited for about a half an hour before being taken back (I kind of expected that - it was a Monday so there were lots of add-on patients and the waiting room was packed).  But at least it gave me time to drink enough water for the pee test!
• One of the NPs (not Kathy) took us back and did my height/weight.  As compared to my annual exam back in January, my weight is up about 2.5 pounds.  Not bad!  Then she took us to a consult room to go over some paperwork and medical history stuff (mostly an update on things since my referral to the RE).
• After that, I went to make my urine deposit for the lab and when I came back, an exam room was free, so we moved in there.  The NP (Mary) did my blood pressure (sitting up and laying down on my left side) and asked about symptoms/complaints.  She left to make copies of my records from the RE clinic while I got changed.
• My doctor (Dr. E) came in and introduced herself.  I'd never actually met her since I'd been seeing Kathy ever since my previous doctor left the practice to move out of state in 2006.  Dr. E was very pleasant and went over Mary's notes, adding some of her own.  I told her a bit more about my OHSS experience and symptoms to date.  She asked more about my family history (I have a strong history of diabetes on my mom's side).
• Then she did my exam (heart, lungs, boobs, etc).  When she pulled back my gown to palpate my abdomen she exclaimed "Oh yeah, you've definitely got a bloat wave going on from your OHSS!"  My what???  I had to laugh though.  Apparently that's their slang term for the residual pooch from OHSS following IVF.  I think pre-bump sounds cuter, but whatever.  I did recall the doctor from one of my taps calling attention to it as well and having the resident/med student come look at it for instructional purposes.  Ha!
• Then it was time for my internal.  I had just had a pap in January, so I wasn't due for another one yet.  But she took swabs and whatnot for screening, etc.  And she mentioned that I was a little red and "yeasty" looking (*gag* hate that word!).  She asked if I'd had any itching.  I have, but I just assumed it was all related to the irritation from the Endometrin.  She said it might be a yeast infection so she took a swab for that too.  Lovely.
• Once the exam was over, I got dressed.  There wasn't going to be another ultrasound (boo!) since I'd already had 4 at the RE.  That was kind of disappointing, but she said they might have a hard time justifying it with our insurance after I'd already had so many.  I asked if it was necessary to check on the subchorionic hematoma (secretly hoping it was).  But according to the report from the RE, it was really tiny (less than 0.5 cm) and I hadn't had any spotting so it was not really a concern.  So no new pictures of Flash.  Sigh.
• Then we went back to the consult room where she spent another 30-45 minutes with us going over a TON of information.  She had a checklist and encouraged me to take notes.  Some of it was stuff I already knew from the Early Pregnancy Fact Sheet that the RE had given me.  Some of it was new.  The biggest thing we talked about was screening.  She went through the 4 options: 1) amnio, 2) CVS, 3) 1st trimester screen, 4) none of the above.  I'll save my thoughts and decision on that for another post.
• After we were finished with the doctor, I stopped off at the lab to have more blood drawn.  I've always been a slow bleeder (when I donate blood, they always threaten to cut me off because it takes me so long).  She got one tube filled and that vein decided it was done for the day.  So I had to get stabbed again, the second time in my hand.  But it wasn't bad, the phlebotomist was very good.
• Lastly, on our way out, one of the financial reps pulled us aside to talk about billing policies, forms to complete, and insurance stuff.  It was kind of a lot of information (especially after Dr. E's spiel) but essentially, we have really good insurance benefits and for that, I am SUPER thankful.  I realize that not everyone is in as good a position.

So that's pretty much it.  Like I said, nothing bad (aside from the possible yeast situation - gross) just not as fun and exciting as I had hoped.  But definitely a good appointment overall.  I was originally going to write about several other things in this post (screening thoughts, symptoms, being in a research study) but this is getting rather long and I'm at work, so I think I will cut it off for now and write on the other topics later.  Until next time...