10 weeks, 4 days: First Prenatal Dr Visit

What's happening with the baby:

The baby is now officially a fetus! It looks like a medium shrimp, measuring 1.25 to 1.68 inches from crown to rump, weighing a little less than 2/10 of an ounce. Most physical malformations, when they occur, have occurred by the end of this week, so the most critical part of the baby's development has passed. Other developmental processes, such as those affecting behavior and intelligence will continue throughout pregnancy. Eyes are covered by skin that will eventually split to form eyelids.



We had our first prenatal visit today! We show up 15 minutes early and they ask if I have my paperwork. I give them a quizzical look and say no, I didn't receive anything. They seem annoyed but hand me a stack of papers to fill out. Basically I fill out my medical history on 4 different forms, providing the exact same information on every form. They seriously couldn't transfer this info from my regular doctor, or at least consolidate to one form?!?



So we go back to the exam room (after 45 minutes of waiting past our scheduled appointment) and the nurse takes my blood pressure then has me lay down so she can check for the heartbeat with the Doppler. She warned us that there was no guarantee that we would be able to hear it, but she would try.



So on goes the goopy clear stuff, just like on TV, and she starts searching around my belly. Then she finds it!! It sounds like a train...chugga, chugga, chugga. The look on Christopher's face is unforgettable.

Him: Wow! That's so cool!

Me: That's just creepy.



I mean really, there is a heartbeat, that isn't mine, beating in my stomach!!! That is just a little bit alien. It was really amazing, but I still don't think I'm used to having a human being inside of me!



After that, they give me a paper robe to do an internal exam. Christopher looks at the tray of stuff with a bewildered look and I say, 'oh that's normal. They put that stuff inside of me.' He about fell out of his chair. Needless to say he kept his head buried in a magazine for the entire exam! I figure he needs some preparation for the actual birth, so a simple pelvic exam shouldn't be a big deal.