Day 6 - Check up

Day 6 check up involved a pap smear, a sonohystogram, and a breast exam. All with A, because that's just how it is. She did really well, and they were able to get us in and out pretty quickly. I had just changed into the paper gown and was getting A set up with her movie when she pooped. And then the PA and nurse walked back in. Oh well. So I got up on the table and the PA started the exam. A was fine standing by her DVD player, until they turned off the lights for the sono part. Then the nurse brought her over to me and I held one of her hands. The other hand, though... Where she was standing was at the back of the sono machine, so there were all these wires. I'd ask for her other hand (thinking I could hold both) and she'd put her other hand in my hand and take the one I was just holding out of my hand. There was also a drawer that she had opened and was going through at the bottom of the bed. Oh well. Not much damage caused for an almost 2 year old.

I was talking to the PA about feeling bad about having to bring A along. And she said that people understand that you don't always have a place to leave her, and that it isn't ever your first choice to bring a young child with you to your doctor's appt. But I said, "Here especially at this waiting room, it is harder to bring a child to." She said that it was very "conscientious of me" but that it probably wasn't that big of deal. I just remembered back to when I was sitting in the waiting room and someone brought in their young children. I would think, "But they already have a child. Where is mine. Focus on me, because you already have a child, and I have nothing." Very raw emotions at that time, and I don't want to make anyone else have to feel that way in that waiting room.

Anyway, she said that everything that she could see (non-emptying bladder gets in the way sometimes) looked fine and we could proceed.

Day 2 - Bloodwork

Had to take A with me to get blood work done. I don't really think that it was Day 2, though. I didn't start real flow until the next day, so I'm thinking the next time when we do the real cycle I'll be on the right day. A did really well in the lab waiting room. We talked to another lady about cats and pregnancy and how they deal with a newborn. When I was called back I tried to get A to stand in the doorway, but she wanted to stand by me. Since there wasn't room there I had to hold her on my lap. The technician wasn't too friendly, which was frustrating, because that could have gone a long way to keeping A calm. So we sat and I sang "frosty the snowman" to her while the lady prepped my arm. A was watching out of the corner of her eye and I was at the part where I was saying, "There must have been some magic", but that is when the needle went in, so instead of her saying "magic" she said, "Momma?!?" in a very concerned voice. I sang the line again and she said "Momma?" again. Luckily it was only one vial and we were done pretty quickly. She seemed concerned about the bandage on my arm, but other than that, she was fine.

2nd Consult

I had the 2nd consult with Dr. A to let him know we are ready to start the ball rolling. He reviewed my chart and said that we would do the same protocol as the cycle that got us A. I had lost about 10 lbs and he was happy with that.

Not much else happened at this appt. He just told me when to call when I start my cycle. I call on Day 1 and then have blood work on Day 3 and a sonogram on Day 5.

First Appointment

I had my first appointment with the RE. He is the same one that got us pregnant with A. When I pulled into the parking lot I immediately felt nauseous. I knew I would have nerves, but the emotions and the history all came flooding back. Walking in to the office it all just really felt weird. Checking in, filling out forms. All the same as last time, but totally different. For one, R came with me the first time for the consult. Today he was home with A. I had a 2 hour blood test so I was fasting. I was sent back for the first blood draw, then sent back to wait.

I was called back for the consultation with Dr. A. I went over my plan with the nurse, which is to get on metformin for about 6 months, try to loose weight and get my PCOS more under control. So obviously I am starting this second journey along time before actually trying to get pregnant. When Dr. A came in he was just as kind and soft-spoken as I remembered. He looked through my chart and kept saying that he remembered this or that, even though I was a pretty unremarkable case. Two months on metformin, a few med changes, a (whatever it is called to clean my uterus because I had a cyst), trying on our own, injectables added, one IUI, a chemical pregnancy, a break to recover, another round of injectables, a second IUI and I was pregnant with A. I know I've forgotten a ton of details, and that is fine with me. I just think that he remembered all the medical things, not me per se. We talked briefly about A and I showed him a picture. He kept remarking that the first time we had the consultation was in September of 2006. 3 years ago. We both agreed that time flies.

He agreed with my plan, gave me a prescription. We talked about my weight. I was 216 at the first consult. I lost about 10-12 lbs on the metformin (wish it could have been more, but the stress and emotions of trying to get pregnant were just too much and it was too hard to restrain myself). He said I was 203 at my last appt with him at 11 weeks. By that time I was losing weight due to being nauseous. I got down to about 190 before I started gaining weight again. When I delivered A I was around 213. He asked what I weigh now (I never had to weigh in, which was a big source of nerves for me) and I told him sheepishly, "220". Ugh. That is terrible. I can't believe I weigh more now than I did when pregnant. I am just having such a hard time controlling myself. To my surprise he didn't bat an eyelash. He said that it wasn't too bad, considering I was just 4 lbs up from 3 years ago. His kindness was appreciated, but still. He gave me the prescription for metformin and that was it.

I next had my appt for the pelvic ultrasound. She had me empty my bladder beforehand, but her first comment when looking at the screen was about how full my bladder was. I asked if it was blocking her view, but she said she could see. We talked about my tricky bladder and how I don't empty all the way. Her comments on the ultrasound was that everything looked "normal". But I sort of took that to mean "normal for your PCOS conditions". But I had my second blood draw at 10:25 and I couldn't be late. Not that I expected her to give me much more information than that. Second blood draw, then an hour to wait for the third. I sat and watched Veronica Mars on my laptop. I went to my happy place! Did the third draw and was out of there in 2 1/2 hours. Not a bad time, considering previous waits of over 3 hours. The office seemed much slower this time around. Last time it seemed no matter what time I was there it was so busy. I was wondering if it was the economy, but then I heard someone telling someone else that Dr. A was only going to be in the office until 10. I'm interested to see what the next appointments bring as far as the wait. It will be much harder this time with A. Even though I had to work around a job last time, this time I have a little person to take care of. Since I still have a good 4-5 months before we really get into the thick of scheduling ultrasounds all the time, I'm trying not to worry about it right now.

And there ends my first visit. I will wait for the prescription for metformin to arrive and then begin taking it. They said that if there was anything that showed up in my blood work they'd let me know. And that's where we stand!

Step 1

Make appt with RE. Done.