This is a "normal appointment"?

Since Adam was supposed to have school (he ended up having a snow day!), I thought it would be fun for mom to come with and we could make a "date afternoon" out of it. We went to Noodles & Co. for lunch (I had read that if you brought in 3 boxes of mac & cheese that they would give you a free bowl of their new mac & cheese). Then went to the appointment. Afterward, we went to DSW (I needed new brown shoes... the ones I had were from high school, and needless to say, had seen better days), and Michael's.

So, more about the appointment... We didn't wait too long to get in. The nurse that took us back (I don't remember her name), took my weight (down a couple pounds), and asked if I had any questions for Liz (the midwife). I said that I had a cold and wanted to know what I could take, and that I wanted to hear the heartbeat again (for reassurance that the baby is still alive & well!). She said, well, of course, that's routine. (Who knew?!)

Liz took a little while getting in, but she sat down with us for a while and talked. She said I could take Sudafed, Robitussin, Claritin, or Afrin (I think she mentioned some others, but that's what I remembered). I was supposed to ask her about two or three other things, but forgot (Adam reminded me when I got home).

Then she had me get up on the table, and she took out the Doppler. Mom was very eager to hear the heartbeat. It didn't take her too long to find this time, but baby kept moving, so it was hard to keep for long. When we heard it though, mom started crying (isn't the pregnant one supposed to be the emotional wreck?). She was so happy! The heart rate was 155-156 bmp, which of course convinced mom (again) that it is a girl. Then she asked Liz if she could take any guesses to the gender of the baby. But Liz said that if the heart rate were in the 170's, she would agree that it is probably a girl, but at this point, she's not convinced. (I guess we'll find out for sure in two weeks at our next ultrasound at Perinatal!)

Then she checked to make sure that the baby and I were growing at the right rate. She measured my uterus: 15 cm = 15 weeks. (Who knew that too?! With Danni, they just measured her!) One thing I later mentioned to mom, was that I thought it was kind of strange that they had paper, disposable tape measures, that they just threw away after use. It makes sense to me, but I guess I just figured they used like a sewing one and washed it or something. Or maybe kept the same one for each patient, each time. (They did that with the elastic, velcro bands they used for the NST's I had with Danni.)

I guess I still have a lot to learn, even the second time around. I'm enjoying the "normal" parts of a pregnancy, that I never experienced before!