Yesterday I had my first visit with my NEW OBGYN!!! Her name is Dr. Karen Schell, and I LOVE her! My old OBGYN was great as well, but she recently moved to Panama City Beach! Boo! She was so fabulous, though, I almost considered driving to PCB once a year for my "girlie appointment". BUT...when you're having a baby, a doctor 9 hours away just ISN'T gonna cut it! ;) Anyway, my replacement is fantastic and I really think I'm going to like her. BONUS: She is a recent first time mother (her son is 15 months old). AND....another BONUS....his name is CHARLIE! Which is probably our (mine and Hays') favorite name EVER!!!! (Side note, we will not be naming Baby Browning Charlie.....Charlie Browning is a cruel name to grow up with!) When I told Hays' sister, Whitney, that my old OBGYN moved away she immediately suggested Dr. Schell- they went to medical school together! I asked a couple of other people too (Dr. Kara O'Brian Wells, who also graduated med school with Whitney) and they all suggested I go to her as well. I couldn't be happier! Here is the lovely Dr. Schell:
Overall, I was very impressed with the entire facility. It's actually right next to Dr. Bain's old office (small world), but I actually think I like it better because the facility is smaller and everything is in the same area (the exam rooms, lab, ultrasound room) so that made it easier for me as a first timer. AND they have complimentary valet parking so there's no fighting the parking garage! :) This will definitely become more important later in pregnany (when I am as big as a house)!
I didn't really know what to expect going into the appointment, but I came prepared with a little notebook of questions to ask and some dates I knew they would need. I was called back for my appointment RIGHT ON TIME (good sign). The nurse weighed me (oh joy!) and took my blood pressure (which was normal) and asked me about 400 questions about my medical history and that of my family. She then took me through all kinds of fun information about my pregnancy including a book that has literally everything I ever wanted to know about the next 34 weeks! It was great! Actually every single question I had written down was answered by this book. It had suggested food to eat, food to avoid, medicines that I'm allowed to take, the appointment schedule for the duration of my pregnancy, explanations for what is happening to my body and the baby's body every week of my pregnancy, and tons of other information! I am really excited about the "pregnancy bible" as the nurse called it. Between this and What to Expect When You're Expecting, I think I'm set (for now)!
So during this visit Dr. Schell came in and introduced herself and explained what would happen during today's appointment. She wanted to do a pelvic exam, an ultrasound, and some bloodwork. The pelvic exam and bloodwork I expected, but I had NO idea she would want to do an ultrasound during my first appointment. She said they like to do it as early as possible to determine the age of the baby. Judging from my cycles alone she figured I was about 6.5 weeks along. She tried to do an ultrasound with the "floating equipment" that they use in all the exam rooms, but the baby was too small to really see clearly. So, she sent me into the ultrasound tech for another ultrasound. On that equipment, the baby was still really, really small but able to be seen a little better. After doing some measuring, the ultrasound tech expects the baby to be about 5 weeks 5 days old. So, about a week less than what Dr. Schell had thought (I blame my silly cycle!).
Can I just say how TOTALLY AMAZING ultrasounds are....it's such a surreal feeling to think that what you are seeing on the screen is actually LIVING inside you! Crazy! Basically all that could be seen on the ultrasound was the "fetal pole" which in normal people terms means BABY! The coolest part to me was that you could SEE THE HEARTBEAT, it was lighting up brighter every second or so (actually more often than that because the heartrate was 95bpm)! This was apparently a little low (it's supposed to be at 100, I think), so Dr. Schell wants me to come back next week to have it checked again. She said she wasn't "concerned", but just wanted "to be cautious". Which I totally appreciate! Here are the ultrasound pictures (sorry for the quality- they are pictures of pictures).
The baby is actually about the size of a grain of rice this week! How cool is that that it already has a heart in something the size of a grain of rice?!?! WOW- all I can say is pregnancy is a mircle and God is SO awesome!
Here's a picture of me at week 6 (I thought I was 6 weeks LAST week, but turns out that was only 5)!!!
Overall, I was very impressed with the entire facility. It's actually right next to Dr. Bain's old office (small world), but I actually think I like it better because the facility is smaller and everything is in the same area (the exam rooms, lab, ultrasound room) so that made it easier for me as a first timer. AND they have complimentary valet parking so there's no fighting the parking garage! :) This will definitely become more important later in pregnany (when I am as big as a house)!I didn't really know what to expect going into the appointment, but I came prepared with a little notebook of questions to ask and some dates I knew they would need. I was called back for my appointment RIGHT ON TIME (good sign). The nurse weighed me (oh joy!) and took my blood pressure (which was normal) and asked me about 400 questions about my medical history and that of my family. She then took me through all kinds of fun information about my pregnancy including a book that has literally everything I ever wanted to know about the next 34 weeks! It was great! Actually every single question I had written down was answered by this book. It had suggested food to eat, food to avoid, medicines that I'm allowed to take, the appointment schedule for the duration of my pregnancy, explanations for what is happening to my body and the baby's body every week of my pregnancy, and tons of other information! I am really excited about the "pregnancy bible" as the nurse called it. Between this and What to Expect When You're Expecting, I think I'm set (for now)!
So during this visit Dr. Schell came in and introduced herself and explained what would happen during today's appointment. She wanted to do a pelvic exam, an ultrasound, and some bloodwork. The pelvic exam and bloodwork I expected, but I had NO idea she would want to do an ultrasound during my first appointment. She said they like to do it as early as possible to determine the age of the baby. Judging from my cycles alone she figured I was about 6.5 weeks along. She tried to do an ultrasound with the "floating equipment" that they use in all the exam rooms, but the baby was too small to really see clearly. So, she sent me into the ultrasound tech for another ultrasound. On that equipment, the baby was still really, really small but able to be seen a little better. After doing some measuring, the ultrasound tech expects the baby to be about 5 weeks 5 days old. So, about a week less than what Dr. Schell had thought (I blame my silly cycle!).
Can I just say how TOTALLY AMAZING ultrasounds are....it's such a surreal feeling to think that what you are seeing on the screen is actually LIVING inside you! Crazy! Basically all that could be seen on the ultrasound was the "fetal pole" which in normal people terms means BABY! The coolest part to me was that you could SEE THE HEARTBEAT, it was lighting up brighter every second or so (actually more often than that because the heartrate was 95bpm)! This was apparently a little low (it's supposed to be at 100, I think), so Dr. Schell wants me to come back next week to have it checked again. She said she wasn't "concerned", but just wanted "to be cautious". Which I totally appreciate! Here are the ultrasound pictures (sorry for the quality- they are pictures of pictures).The baby is actually about the size of a grain of rice this week! How cool is that that it already has a heart in something the size of a grain of rice?!?! WOW- all I can say is pregnancy is a mircle and God is SO awesome!
Here's a picture of me at week 6 (I thought I was 6 weeks LAST week, but turns out that was only 5)!!!
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