(A little late, but whatever)
At my 24 week OB appointment Dr.Gass said everything is looking great! He likes my weight gain so far, and my blood pressure is nice and low. I am showing a little anemic (normal in pregnancy) so I have to take an iron supplement now. But I have not really been eating much meat so I suspected it would happen. I am measuring right on schedule, which means my uterus is right where it should be for 24 weeks.
For those of you who don't know and are wondering what these appointments are like, every appointment they "measure" your uterus. This is done by having you lay on the table with your belly exposed while the doctor feels (pushes semi forcefully) your stomach. They can feel where the top of the uterus is, and they measure from that spot to just above your pubic hairline with a measuring tape.
They also use a Doppler to listen to the baby's heartbeat at every appointment. Griffin's heartbeat was in the 140s this time. Perfectly healthy, yay!
We asked Dr.Gass about epidurals this time. I had been told that they are made with narcotics and I am pretty allergic to narcotics so it worried me. I wanted to know my options so if I feel like I need an epidural during labor I dont have a huge surprise added in! Ha! He explained that epidurals are not made with narcotics, but some other drugs sometimes given during labor like demerol do have them in them. I plan on researching this a little more, but it made me feel a lot better about it. He said he thought it would be pretty rare for me to be allergic to it, but we could do an allergy test if I was worried. I dont think that will be necessary, for now I feel comfortable saying if I feel like I want the epidural I will take it.
We also asked Dr.Gass about the delivery policy, like if he couldnt make it who would deliver the baby. He delivers all his patients baby's unless he is on his annual vacation. We are in the summer, so there is a possibility that we could run into that issue. He is setting his plans soon and then we will see. If he has plans to be gone, we will meet with the other doctors in his practice before to share our wishes etc. I am just hoping its not an issue, but whatever.
My next visit is in 4 weeks, then I start the every two week appointments. You know what that means? We are getting close! That is just crazy to me. I feel super excited and ready to meet our little man, but I feel like there is still a lot to do to prepare for him. And I am almost sad to see this unique time come to an end. Did anyone else feel like this about pregnancy?
Be sure to do the important research well, the earlier the better. You just never know when your child might decide to show up! Or your doctor might decide it's coming the next morning (my case). It's my guess if your doctor can't be there to deliver, Dr. Drexel will do it. Dr. Gass was my back-up if Dr. Drexel couldn't be there. That's my doctor and one of the best guys in the world. I love him to death! He's got a little warped sense of humor...but of course, I don't want a stuffy doctor by any means. But he's a very sweet guy and a very cute little man (not that that's really relevant here). They are very similar in their overall views with things, so you would be in good hands.
ReplyDeleteOh and I didn't feel that way when I hit the last month. The last 2 weeks were so uncomfortable I was ready to get back into my old body. :)
ReplyDeletei totally felt sad to not be pregnant anymore!! i feel like ill probably be that lady who has way too many kids because time keeps moving on and i keep having my babies (and keep not be pregs anymore) and then they keep growing up. I know this is dramatic, but i feel like ellie is already not a baby. ha.
ReplyDeletein other news! ben works all day saturday! whats the sitch with justin? (yes, i did just abbreviate situation).
p.p.s. tell doctor gas hello for me! :) (is that weird? yes, probably).
What does your doctor think about you wanting to do the Bradley method?? I'm always so interested in all this. Future preparation, Lord willing. :)
ReplyDeleteApril- Thanks for giving me the feedback about Dr.Drexel, it makes me feel way better!
ReplyDeleteAlex- He is totally on board with it. The only thing he cautioned me about when we told him was that sometimes Bradley people take the opinion that OB's are the enemy, which I have found to be true to a large extent. But he said as long as we realize he is on our side and wants this baby to come as healthy and naturally as possible, then we is pro- being prepared! And I feel you, I used to soak up other peoples pregnancy stuff before I got to this stage- and it helped me feel much more prepared.