10w6days

today, i had my first OB appt. with my bright, shiny, new OB. i LOVED her. she put me at ease instantly and answered all my questions frankly. the highlights are these :

• she gave me what i feel is great advice regarding my birth choices for this pg (important since the complications i had with DDs birth have had a large impact). i've been arguing with myself about trying to have a natural VBAC and just going for the planned c-section. one thing i had not considered and that the dr. pointed out to me pretty emphatically is that i am at a greater risk for uterine rupture than a regular c-section patient. after DD's birth, the dr. who delivered her had had to perform a b-lynch suture and over sew several holes in my uterus before he could control my post-partum hemorrhage. it's been a couple years now since DD's birth, and i still have nightmares about it, and even more importantly, a lot of regrets. i want to avoid that this time. i'm giving up my dream of a natural birth and going the planned medical route in hopes that i am able to avoid the complications that made it difficult to focus on and bond with my DD when she was born.
• one benefit of being as old as the hills is that i will simultaneously get care from my OB and a perinatologist.
• even though i'm old as the hills, my doc is not pushing me to do the genetic screenings that are usually strongly suggested for a mom my age. i will not terminate, so doing those screenings would just give me a ton of stress. we will hope for the best, and deal with whatever may come.
• b/c of my history with severe pre-eclampsia and HELLP, my new OB will start running liver panels on me around mid pregnancy to keep an eye on possible liver damage/signs of pre-e.
• my doctor is sono happy! coming from the world of IF, i'm used to getting lots of sonos, and i was afraid i was going to have to wait until the anatomy scan to see this person again. nope! i got a quick sono today, and everything's looking really good. i got to see a little bouncing, waving person in there. and, i got to see that my horrible cough doesn't hurt him/her; it just provides an entertaining living environment ;-p

my next OB appt. is in 4 weeks. i will be waiting until i'm 14 weeks to announce my pg publicly, but i know most people are on to me with all the glances and open stares directed at my expanding tummy ;-p