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View Full Version : First prenatal today




gen_here
03-27-2006, 09:47 PM
I don't remember what thread I mentioned it in before, but I LOVE my doctor (she's a family practice physician... not an OB). She's at the main clinic 5 days a week, but every other Monday she goes to "my" clinic - a tiny little rural clinic where we know all the staff.

The nurse and I stood at the counter and hashed out my due date (online calculators from lmp said 10th, by ov I'm thinking 14th, their wheel said 12th). She complimented me on "putting a lot of thought" into the date and said that she'd share my notes with the doctor. She even had the lab show me the tests that they run with the urine specimen when I go in (which I loved! - I'm a total geek about this kind of stuff). She asked if I had done an HPT, and when I said, "No... I did 3" she waived the mandatory HPT (yay - I'm all about not spending money, even if it is "just" insurance money, when unnecessary). We even talked about which blood tests I could skip this time.

My doctor had a med student this time, so the student came in and got my basic info and asked if I had any questions (I did). I gave her my list... reason why no soft cheeses (she didn't know - "you ask good questions!"), toxoplasmosis (I could do a blood test), glucola alternative ("I don't think there is one... it's really important to do the test"), fetoscope rather than doppler after heartrate is first detected (Did you read something that makes you think doppler is unsafe? I don't know if they keep any of those "ancient" things around anymore), still fine to skip all the tests I did last time (should be okay... but why don't you want an ultrasound?) She really was quite sweet about everything - and I knew that she would be talking to my doctor about the answers later so I didn't say much.

Then... then my AWESOME doctor came in. Same list of questions: why no soft cheeses (if they're pasteurized, they should be fine in moderation), toxoplasmosis (since your cat is an indoor cat for the last 12 years, it shouldn't be a problem... but why don't you want to get a break from it =) ), glucola alternative ("I was just talking with our dietician about something like a handful of gummy worms?" - I mentioned jelly beans and she said, "Yeah - that was it!" I mentioned a friend's midwife who had her do a specific breakfast with pancakes, OJ, etc... and she said that she'll check with the dietician and I'll get the menu from my friend - and we'll TOTALLY do something different this time!!!), fetoscope (I know we have them up on the wall in my office at the main clinic, and *different nurse's name* is going to dig around here and see if they still have one. I know most people don't like them, but I think it's fun to use the thing... makes sure my ears are still working), tests/ultrasound skipping (I don't see any reason why we can't do things the same way as last time - it all worked out fine then!)

Do you see why I love her? We were joking about how much faster things were going to go this time now that I know what I'm doing. She laughed and said I better get to the hospital right away when labor starts. I said, "You still aren't doing homebirths, huh?" And she said, "No, not yet... I'm sorry." She's seriously the greatest. If my choices here are midwife/hospital birth or this doctor/hospital birth (those are the only legal choices right now), this doctor will be my choice every time we do this!




amygeekgrl
03-27-2006, 09:51 PM
sounds like a great appt and a great doctor. congrats! also, from the sounds of it, the grad student may have learned a thing or two from you today. :)

Mermaidmomma
03-27-2006, 10:27 PM
I'm glad your going through your pregnancy with a good ob in your corner! It makes a difference:)

boscopup
03-28-2006, 07:21 AM
Hooray! Sounds like a great appointment. I need to ask my OB about testing me for toxoplasmosis. My cats are indoor-only, BUT... they have eaten a raw diet (raw meat, bones, and organs) for the last 3 years or so, so they could technically still have gotten it, which means I'd probably have been exposed already. I'd just like to test and know for sure!

I still need to discuss glucola alternative with my doctor. Forgot to ask last time. So I can discuss it a week from Friday when we get my 8 week u/s (I do want the u/s's - there are only 2 of them anyway).

poetesss
03-28-2006, 09:15 AM
wow...what a great doctor. Just the fact that she actually took that time to sit through your questions and concerns and take you seriously is awesome.

gen_here
03-28-2006, 01:34 PM
wow...what a great doctor. Just the fact that she actually took that time to sit through your questions and concerns and take you seriously is awesome.

She did take a lot of time. My appointment was at 1:15, and we didn't leave the office until close to 3:30... and none of that time was sitting in the waiting room or reading magazines =)

boscopup
03-28-2006, 02:17 PM
:lol Yeah, my OB appt was 2 hours long, but the first hour was waiting in the main waiting room (!!!), and then I had almost a 30 minute wait in the exam room. But my OB did stick around and talk for a good 30 minutes or more, and he was truly wanting to discuss any questions I had. Plus we talked about my plans to hopefully see him and a midwife in tandem and then do an out-of-hospital birth (in another state) if I'm full term and low risk. He was actually fine with it, but just wasn't sure how insurance billing would work, as the insurance system is "stupid" (his words!). I have to wait until next appt. (week from Friday) to find out what the office manager says about how it could be billed. I'm hoping they can do it without making me pay a co-pay for every prenatal visit. Since my midwife would never be billing the insurance company, hopefully the OB can bill the "global package" like normal (that's what they do if another OB delivers you anyway... and we wonder why insurance premiums are so high?!? You can have two OBs bill a "global package" for one delivery!).

Anyway, I'm glad my DH ended up not coming to this prenatal, since I had so much waiting time. And really, the only thing we did at the appt was get my bp, do a urine sample (yep, I'm preg - :lol ), and talk about how the prenatals would go and any questions I had. Next appt. is the 8 week u/s where we'll move my due date from 11/14 to something around 11/23 or 11/24. :wink

eternalw
03-29-2006, 05:50 PM
sounds like a great appointment!
re: glucola?- my midwife always has me dring a 16oz organic grape juice (we use glendale farms i think) much yummier!

vera- are you on diaper divas?

boscopup
03-30-2006, 08:27 AM
vera- are you on diaper divas?

Yep! :thumb