First High Risk OB Appointment

I am a sexist. I admit this and I was proven wrong. When I found out my new High Risk OB was a male I had a mini freak out. But a man can't get pregnant or have their own children, he could never possibly relate to me and my pregnancy experience. I want a woman! I wasn't expecting much. A lot of paper work and history and...well that was about it. The appointment was 25 minutes from my house, but I work in a small town 25 minutes from my house in the opposite direction so it was quiet the trek. Living in the city I don't usually travel for doctors appointments. In fact, my CF clinic is about 10 blocks from my house and walkable if I wasn't so lazy! Talk about spoiled. I survived the 50 minutes drive and here is how the appointment went.

The hospital was HUGE and beautiful and we got a little lost on the premise thanks to me and my non existent sense of direction. I was nervous although I wasn't sure why and had no idea what to expect. It started like any other appointment with weight and blood pressure. My weight was up 3 pounds!!!! Woohoo! So excited that I am getting some fat for this baby. I don't even feel like I am working for this weight. I am eating uber healthy (obscene amounts of leafy greens, veggies, fruits...) and trying to avoid any unhealthy fats/processed foods although I do need a little junk once in awhile. I am eating more, but not anything different from my usual besides trying to make even healthier choices than before because my little peanut does not need to be developed with preservatives and high fructose corn syrup. Anyways, I digress.

So I am in the room and instantly see my favorite thing ever since being pregnant- an ultrasound machine!!! OMG now I am excited and wish the doctor would get his male (that I wish was female) butt in here. So in comes this man with a great smile and an awesome personality. I instantly like him and I could sense my husband did too! He went over my history and I have to say he was super impressed with the work I put into my health. I think we forget how much work CF is and it is so nice to have someone commend you for all the hard work you do. He works with a lot of asthmatics and it was actually really helpful since I have an asthma/inflammation/allergy component. He was asking me about what I do to control my environment in which I do pretty much nothing. He explained that there was so much I could do to help out the inflammation by changing my environment  Everything from wrapping my mattress and pillows in allergy/dust free products to having a minimalist bedroom. I actually really want to take some of his advice. He was also freaking out that when I do my home peak flow I usually hit 400-450. I guess that is good!

Anyways a quick overview of the appointment and why I love him. He hates the word high risk and said I am normal with a few potential challenges. They are going to watch baby closely to make sure the birth weight is good. They are going to watch my health closely to watch out for diabetes, preterm labor, and my lungs. He said that other than those challenges I am really just a regular pregnant woman. He said that I know my body and should have a zero tolerance uncertainty rate. Meaning no matter how silly it seems to CALL if anything seems abnormal or worrisome or for questions. He made me promise. He said that if things run smoothly and I get to delivery healthy that I should have any type of birth I want. He wrote in my chart to not be scared of any decision birth wise just because I am high risk. He said I could have an OB, a midwife, whatever as long as at the time of delivery everything looks good. He also talked to my husband in very thick American accented Spanish which my husband thought was cool and I know it was one factor that won him over.

We then got to my favorite part, we got to look at our little baby!! When he turned on the machine I got so nervous. What if the baby stopped growing, what if the baby wasn't even there, what if the baby was missing something vital like his/her head. Yes, I had these thoughts race through my mind in the 3 second it took to turn on the machine. The second my baby showed up on the screen I saw the heart beating away which melted away any fears. I knew my baby was alive and well. I then went into shock at how enormous this baby was. Last time little peanut was a little tiny thing with a head and a body, but now peanut was a baby with visible limbs and hands! Right after we saw the baby, he/she decided to jump twice! Ha, so cute! I think the baby went to sleep after because there wasn't much movement after that. The little baby had one hand straight up in the air as if to wave to us. I have to admit that the first ultrasound was much more clear because we could see a better outline of the face. I think because it was an internal ultrasound the first time and this time it was a regular ultrasound and so it was a little more blurry, but still obviously our sweet baby. The doc pointed out the body and then pointed to the skinny legs as he called them. This made me laugh because the baby may already take over me with skinny legs. The baby measured 2 days ahead of schedule which made mama proud that little peanut is doing well and growing just as he/she should! It was surreal to see this little life and think that the little baby is wiggling around in my body and I can't feel it. I feel like I love this little peanut so much and think about my little baby all the time! We got a video of the ultrasound on my husbands phone and I can't stop watching it. I want to meet this little person so bad and get to know his/her personality. I cannot wait until June to meet my sweet little June bug!