The Journey of Parenthood…

14 Week OBGYN Visit

Man! Not getting an early ultrasound makes these heartbeat appointments so much more exciting. Last time around since I got to see Kye so early on, the heartbeat stuff wasn’t really that awesome. I mean I SAW my kid…hearing it isn’t half as fun. But this time, I was pumped to get to hear it!

Zach missed one appointment throughout my whole pregnancy with Kye (it was the one where the dr I had to see, since Stacy was gone, was a HUGE jerk about my weight gain…remember?). Today he had to miss the appointment and I’m hoping it’s also the only one he’ll miss. It did work out well because Mom was able to come and she never got to come to any last time! It was nice that she was able to hear her 2nd grand-baby too 🙂

I love having early morning appointments b/c we get in and out pretty quick and Kye behaves well (it helps that they have a tv in the waiting room!). They weighed me and it said I had gained 2 lbs since my last appt. Mine at home only says 1 so I’ll stick with my home scale 😉 The girl said I had “excellent” blood pressure…I know NOTHING about those numbers but I’m glad they are good!

Mom got to meet Stacy and that was nice, when we left she said she could tell why I love her so much (I’m telling you she ROCKS). First thing we listened to the heartbeat. I’m not going to lie, this was the first time I’ve EVER been nervous about hearing it. After Robyn’s whole experience, I was a little scared. I mean I knew that I’d be hearing it, but there was still a little fear of “omg what if there isn’t a heartbeat?” Thankfully there was!

Stacy even thought of the idea of having me take a little video so Zach can see it (you can watch it here). It was jumping quite a bit but she said overall it was in the 150s. She also said that it means NOTHING and not to go thinking it means girl or boy…she said towards the end of the pregnancy that method of guessing sometimes works but that this early on it won’t. At 16 weeks Kye’s heartbeat was 148, so it’s close to the same. The “heartbeat method” says that if the heart rate is under 140 it’s a boy (not true for Kye!) or over 140 it’s a girl. So I could easily think girl…but I’m not going to. 🙂

I didn’t have many questions this time, but here are the ones I asked:

1. headache help: I’m literally living in a constant migraine state. It’s horrible. I asked Stacy if there was anything else I can do and she said that I can take whatever the bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol says is the dosage. It says I can take 2 every 4-6 hours not to exceed 8 in 24 hours. She also said Motrin is safe up until 26 weeks pregnant. Of course I don’t want to take any medicine if I don’t have to, but it’s impossible to live like this so I may have to up my Tylenol intake. She also said to catch it early on and maybe drink some caffeine as that will sometimes help. And that a lot of the reason behind headaches is food. I need to limit my sweets (which I’ve rarely been eating anyway) and carbs and try to have a protein snack by my bed. If I wake up in the night to pee (which I don’t…but I may start here soon!) then I can eat the snack and it should help my blood levels stay up so I’ll, hopefully, stop waking up with a headache. We’ll see!

2. seafood: It’s my major craving and I’ve googled about it but wanted to ask her for a legit rule on how much I can eat. She said one 6 oz can of tuna a week. That’s tough! But that crab, lobster, and shrimp are all fine. So that’s good news 😉 Anyone wanna take me to Red Lobster?

3. hospital stay: Last time around I left the hospital right at 24 hours. I HATE hospitals. After giving birth I didn’t even shower until I got home. Not that I regret going home…but it was 9 pm when we left and that was kinda dumb. She said if I have a normal vaginal delivery again then they let me stay in for 48 hours. This time around, I’ll probably do it b/c it’s easier for people to visit in the hospital and that way I can go home on a good schedule for Kye and for Blitzen. We’ll see if I can last that long though…and this time I’ll HAVE to shower…

4. rules for Kye at hospital: Kye is totally allowed to come right into the labor and delivery room right after I give birth and he’s the only child under 12 allowed in, even once I move to a postpartum room. I LOVE that Stacy is a mom and that we have kids the same age and (even though she can’t deliver me b/c of it…) that she’s been pregnant at the same time as me too. I asked her what she plans to do with her son and she said he’ll come right in the room after birth to meet his sibling. She said most people typically would have someone keep Kye while I’m in labor then call them when I’m pushing and have him come up there so he can be the first one to meet the baby. I totally want that to happen and just have to cross my fingers that this baby is delivered at a great time of day like Kye was (7 pm was PERFECT!). I also need to find someone to watch Kye b/c I want both of our parents to be able to be in the waiting room like they were last time around ya know?

I asked her if there was anything else I needed to know…kinda a dumb question to ask someone who knows just about everything about having a baby huh? She did say my next appt is when they will offer me that test that can tell us if some stuff is wrong with the baby (down syndrome etc) and we won’t get it again. If our baby is special needs then it’s special needs…I don’t need a test to tell me that (or to tell me that the baby does have something wrong and it really doesn’t – which is what typically happens with those things!) We caught up some (both of our sons are great swimmers thanks to Tiny Bubbles!) and then we left. Is it bad that I enjoy my dr visits for the girl talk? haha. I hated Zach missed it but am PUMPED that the ultrasound is July 6th! The day after we get back from our family trip to St Augustine. I can’t wait to see Blitzen!!! I need to look into the 4D ultrasound again too, I know it’s expensive but I loved getting a chance to see Kye and don’t want to miss that experience with this baby.

Kye did pretty good at the appointment (he behaves better with Daddy there I think than Gramma but that’s expected!) and he liked hearing the heartbeat. When I put him down for nap and he said his prayers he said “thanks for heartbeat.” I couldn’t agree more!

Emily Parker
Latest posts by Emily Parker (see all)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *