post-appointment follow-up

so the appointment went well.  unfortunately, we didn't get to hear the heartbeat, which was a major disappointment.  the doctor just felt it was too early, and even with a trans-vaginal ultrasound, she thought she might have trouble finding it and she didn't want to upset us by not finding it.  so she just did a quick internal exam and checked out my cervix (healthy) and measured my uterus (8 weeks).  after the internal exam, she had me get dressed and had matt and i meet her in her office to go over the pregnancy and any questions we had. 

she told me about stuff not to eat - high-mercury fish, raw shellfish, raw meats, etc.  i asked about deli meats and she said meat from the deli is a no-no, but prepackaged stuff is fine.  good to know, cuz now and then i really crave a good turkey sandwich.  she also said that an occasional glass of beer or wine is fine.  i doubt i'll imbibe, but it's nice to know i can do so guilt-free.  i also asked about bagged salads, since that's all matt and i eat, and she said that's a-ok, too. 

she gave me a script for bloodwork, including an hiv test and a screen for toxoplasmosis, since we have a cat.  she also gave us information about the sequential screening to test for disabilities.  she encouraged us to discuss it together and decide what we want to do.  we talked about it a little bit in the car on the way home and matt says he doesn't think he'd want to know because he'd be a big ball of stress about the baby if the screen is positive.  i pointed out that if we know ahead of time, we can start looking into available resources and lining up help.  we need to discuss it some more, but i am leaning towards getting the screening done. 

she also told me that i can't travel far after 36 weeks, so mid-december.  i told her that our families live in hershey, which is about 2 hours away, and we usually go home for the holidays.  her answer?  "tell them the turnpike goes both ways - they're going to have to come to you!"  that's gonna be interesting.  matt's already anticipating major bitching from his family.  i have said for years that i would love to host christmas at our house a few weekends early.  perhaps this is the year we start that tradition.  i mean, you can't argue with doctor's orders, right?  don't worry, somebody will. 

she told us that in their practice there are 5 doctors who do deliveries.  throughout the course of the pregnancy, i will see each doctor at least once so that i won't have a complete stranger at delivery.  i'm really happy with that.  we can take birthing classes through the hospital or through the office.  she said that through the office, we'd also get a tour of the hospital and everything.  so we'll probably just do that.

my next appointment is scheduled for july 2nd, at 12 weeks.  at that point, we'll be able to see and hear baby.  it feels so far away!  i hope this next month goes a little faster than this last one, because the last one was absolute torture!