so yesterday was probably one of the most insane days of my life. as many of you know, my mother was very anti-doctor. i never saw a doctor unless i was dying. its honestly a miracle i even saw an eyedoctor. because of this, i haven’t had a check-up since i was 5. because after i became an adult, it was mostly a matter of being used to not going to a doctor unless it was dire (like the time i got tonsilitis) or i couldn’t afford it. thankfully i’ve never had any major illnesses except for that bout of tonsilitis when i was in my early 20s but i was pretty much sure i was the most unhealthy person on the planet.
so yesterday was my first prenatal checkup, and due to my lack of medical history and doctor visits, i had to get the who she-bang…
it started out ok, questions were asked, i answered the best i could.. i don’t know a lot of my parents medical background or my family medical background, except for major points like what my parents got when they were older and what they died from. they took my blood pressure which i expected to be off the charts but it was normal which made me feel a bit better.
then we went into… the room. ben went with me even though he said this was gonna be awkward, but i needed someone to redirect my attention away from the people staring at my girly bits.
the midwife spoke to me about medical history stuff, and a little about what they do and i talked to her about my nervousness about doctors and especially the stuff they would be doing. she took the time to explain everything which, while it made me feel better in a way, also made me feel worse because i found out my ultrasound tech was a guy and he would be doing a trans-vaginal ultrasound because they were not sure of the baby’s real age.
since my periods have always been erratic, even if they counted back from my last period, there was always the chance i ovulated at a later time meaning the baby could have been younger than we previously assumed, and the trans-vaginal ultrasound was the best way to determine that. i really did not want a male anything touching me or looking at me down there.. it makes me uncomfortable. but it was the only way and so i had to deal with it.
first i got a pelvic exam and a pap smear since i had never had one before. that was a very… awkward experience and also very weird feeling. they kept telling me to relax my muscles in there but to be honest they were relaxed as they get and i didn’t know how to tell her in a way that wasn’t crude that i’m just that small down there >_> for once i regret learning how to do kegels when i was a teenager…
after the pelvic exam came the ultrasound. not comfortable in the least, but mostly uncomfortable because by this point i am feeling like an alien abductee. but then we got to see our first glimpse of our little monster, and ben started to tear up, because it actually dawned on him i think, that we made a person. the ultrasound tech thankfully said that the baby was big enough that he would be able to get a better measurement from a regular ultrasound, so i didn’t have to be probed anymore. PHEW!
the regular ultrasound brought us our first baby picture of hellspawn:
its a little fuzzy because i’m a bit chunky and it decided to curl up where we couldn’t’ see much of it. the part that says “hi mom n dad!” is where the head is, and you can see a little of its ribcage and spine. we could see the baby’s heart beat and they told me that the baby’s body measures about 13 weeks and some days, but the baby’s head measures 14 weeks! we kinda expected that, because ben has a big head :p so i guess this is going to be one hell of a delivery… but since hellspawn was curled up a bit, its possible that measurements of the body might be a little off.
next appointment we’ll be able to hear the heart beat, and see our little monster a bit more, and possibly find out the sex!
after all the baby stuff, there was a bit more talk with the midwife and i really like her! she’s funny and seems very understanding. the student midwife assisting her went to the same high school as me and ben (but a long time before us) so that was pretty cool as well.
and then i had blood drawn for the first time ever.. which was NOT COOL. i hate needles… so ben sat there and poked me in the face with his finger and did stupid stuff to redirect my attention while this lady filled what felt like a million little vials of blood.
after all the doctor stuff, we went to the mall and we bought our first two baby items 
we got a onesie and a bib from spencer’s gifts. ben and i are definitely not your typical parents >_>
and so that was my eventful day…
I’m glad your appointment went so well. I imagine it can be scary to visit a doctor when it’s been so long, but you sound like you handled it like a champ. It’s amazing seeing the ultrasound. We’re about 2 weeks apart.
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Midwives are amazing people. You are in very good hands since your do anti doctors. I am the same way. A midwife treats pregnancy as apart of life, a doctor it is a “condition” that needs to be treated.
I love the bibs. Those are awesome.
Twitter: kissmykitty
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Oh my god, that bib. I am seriously LOLing. I love it! Leave it to Spencer’s to carry something like that.
On a more serious note, I’m sorry that you didn’t see a doctor regularly as a child. I’m not pro-doctor at every little cough or fever (I’m of the home comforts & tylenol/motrin approach for 2-3 days before dragging a sick kid to the doctor where he/she will most likely be diagnosed with a virus and sent home w/ instructions to continue doing what we’ve been doing), but it’s important to get regular check-ups and vaccinations (don’t shoot me!) while you’re growing. Plus, as you found out, it can make the first “invasive” doctors’ visit rather intimidating and anxiety-inducing.
I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum (speculum? *snicker*) – between gyno visits as a teen and two pregnancies, I really don’t care at this point. I felt a little shy/awkward around my new gyno, who’s a man, but to be honest I PREFER male gynos and OBs. In my experience, the women tend to be more judgmental and want to compare everything I say/present with their own experiences/bodies, and thus they tend to be more biased. Of course, not all women are that way – just a few I’ve encountered. 
I’ve had three trans-vaginal ultrasounds now – one with each pregnancy, and one last week to diagnose my “irregular” uterus. They’re not too bad, minus having to come in with a full bladder for the belly ultrasound portion.
And lastly, and MOST importantly, yay for a healthy baby, and healthy mama!
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Glad the app went well, I’ve had so many vaginal ultrasounds now they don’t seem to bother me. And yay look at the scan picture! Hello baby!
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