Our first visit to the gyno after you find out that you’re pregnant can be somewhat daunting. I mean, no one really spells it out for you, you just walk into the whole situation blindly thinking “Holy shit, this is really happening”.
When my husband and I walked into our first appointment. We didn’t know what to expect, we sat in the waiting room for what seemed like an hour, anxiously waiting to see officially how far along we were! We spent a lot of time looking around at all of the other expectant mothers around us wondering what their back stories were & wondered where all of their partners/husbands were, since most of them came alone. My husband and I were the only ones that were in there as a couple. It turns out, if you have a healthy pregnancy going to these appointments can be pretty quick and really boring, So that’s why lots of people don’t bring their significant others to all of the appointments. We had no idea what to expect so for the first few appointments, we always went together. When my last name finally was called, I immediately stood up and didn’t know whether or not my husband should come with me or not. The nurse looked at me and shook her head, so I went in alone. The first thing the nurse did was ask me to pee in a cup, then proceeded to ask 5,000 questions about everything from my medical history, to if I had been experiencing any pain, she then took my height & weight and sent me off back to the waiting room to meet my husband.
When I got back to the waiting room my husband looked at me and asked “so is that it? are we done?” … I shook my head; we were far from done. A few moments later, the nurse called the both of us in next, she walked us to an exam room and told me to undress and put on a gown. From that moment on my husbands’ face looked ghastly, he literally looked like he could fall over from just looking around the room. We were in one of those an OB exam rooms where they have the bed with the feet stirrups and which he had never seen before. There were all kinds of probes, and prods around the room to do vaginal sonograms and there was one sitting right next to the bed with a condom and lube on it. He kept asking me, what is that for, what are they going to do with that thing. The more he began to panic the more I started to panic. He kept looking around the room saying look at that thing, babe seriously look at this, look at that, it was like we were in some sort of gyno museum and he was let loose with his thoughts. But.. Hey! I was right there with him! I had no idea what half the things in that room did or what anything was really used was for! I just kept staring at all the diagrams of vaginas and uterus’s all around the room. I kept assuring him by saying never done this before, but I’m pretty sure they use it as a tool to look at something!
When the doctor walked in she began by introducing herself and gave me a physical and a breast exam, she asked when my last pap was and when was the first day of my last cycle. After an array of questions, she asked the both of us if we were ready to see our baby! My husband and I looked at each other with such surprise not realizing that we would get to see our baby already! She explained that when babies are really small, you can’t see them with a regular sonogram, so that is why they use vaginal sonograms to see how your baby looks and if he/she is implanted well. As I looked at the screen, the minute I saw our little blob (that’s what he looked like at the time) my eyes started to well up… I was overcome with amazement… there was a little human was inside me and I was speechless. Tears were falling from my eyes and I couldn’t control it. The doctor said “isn’t it beautiful? you guys made a little miracle”. As the appointment went on She explained where the baby’s head was and where the body was and gave us plenty of pictures. After the sonogram, she asked us if we had any questions and both my husband and I looked like we were deer in the headlights. We were just shocked, surprised, excited … overwhelmed, nervous I mean just name an emotion, we probably were feeling it. After the doctor left a nurse came in to give us a bunch of information and told me I had to get a bunch of blood tests, so than we both left feeling anxious and excited.
That evening, as we let everything that happened at the doctor’s appointment settle in, we had SO many questions. We didn’t ask any questions when we were at the doctor because we had no idea what to ask, or where to even begin! We both had no idea what the heck going on or what we were doing.
To avoid the major amount of confusion of what goes on at your first appointment after you find out you are pregnant see for a breakdown below of what to expect at your first appointment! There is also a list of suggested questions you should ask at your first appointment to make sure the doctor doesn’t skip over anything. Make the most out of your first appointment, and enjoy every second! You just made a little miracle!
What to expect at your first prenatal appointment
Congratulations your pregnant! Woohoo! At this point, if you don’t know what to do next, refer to one o my previous blog posts: 10 things you should do when you find out you are pregnant. Once you have selected a delivery doctor, and call to make an appointment. Most doctors will schedule to see you when you are about 6-8 weeks pregnant. So if you have just found out you’re pregnant, don’t be alarmed if they don’t want to see you just yet, its pretty standard to see you between weeks 6-8 of your pregnancy.
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QUESTIONS QUESTIONS QUESTIONS
Everyone will ask you a ton of questions from the doctor to the nurses. Its best to come prepared so that you are not caught off guard. Some questions that they will ask you are: – When was the first day of your last menstrual cycle? Are you experiencing any cramping or bleeding? Is this your first pregnancy? Are you taking any medications? What are they and at what doses? They will also ask you what hospital you would prefer having your baby at, as well as get details of your family medical history.
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I.C.U.P.
At the beginning of every appointment person checking you in will give you a cup so they can take a urine sample. This is pretty standard, they check to make sure you don’t have a UTI since pregnant people are prone to them, as well as your HGG levels. So try to save your pee before you go to each appointment so you can make sure you can muster up a sample.
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Lets get physical
Once you get in the office, the nurse or doctor will perform a physical, which is pretty standard in order to make sure you are healthy! They will take your height, weight, give you a breast and cervical exam, and if you have not had a pap smear they will also do one as well.
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Blood Tests
If you are squeamish around needles its time to get over that fear for the next 9 months. At almost every visit, you will be required to get blood tests for different things. At your first appointment, they will do blood work to identify your blood type, check for anemia and test to see if you are immune to syphilis, hepatitis and rubella.
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Once you see your doctor he/she will ask you questions about how your pregnancy is going and will give you a vaginal sonogram so you can see you little baby! At the close of your appointment the doctor will also go over common questions asked for a first time pregnancy, and at that time don’t be shy to ask as many questions as you can. This appointment is the longest appointment of all the ones you go to through your pregnancy so, just be prepared that it will may take a while!
Questions to consider asking your doctor:
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What happens if I experience bleeding or cramping?
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What changes do I have to make to my eating habits?
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Is having sex safe during pregnancy?
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What number should I call in case of an emergency?
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What is considered an emergency in which I need to contact you?
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What are my travel limitations?
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Do I have any exercise restrictions?
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Which prenatal vitamins do you recommend?
When Nathan and I left the doctors office after our first appointment we were full of questions, so make sure you have a notebook handy with questions you may have throughout your pregnancy, so that you can refer to it when you see your doctor. I hope this helps as you enter your first step toward mama-hood!