Gummy Bear

Bryan and I met with my new OB/GYN this morning for our first prenatal visit.  Normally, I am very nervous at this appointment, because my inner pessimist has convinced me that the pregnancy is not viable. But I have been feeling so wretchedly awful that I was fairly confident that the pregnancy was developing well.

So, the good news is:

• the pregnancy is in my uterus (aka not ectopic)
• there is only one (1) fetus
• the fetus is exactly the right size for a pregnancy 8 weeks old
• the fetus has pulsing cardiac cells
• the fetus looks like a gummy bear.

Because I recently crossed the line to advanced maternal age, Bryan and I will need to make decisions about a host of genetic testing options.  We have a booklet to go through later this week.  I also get to have a first trimester gestational diabetes screening . I'll do that tomorrow or Sunday.

My OB gave me the standard lecture on food and medications to avoid.  Sadly, he didn't seem to notice my protestations that I don't eat fish, ever.  So the part where he detailed all the types of fish I could and couldn't eat went on for a while.  Ditto with the cheeses made with raw milk.  He seems like a bit of a goofball, but very endearing.

I was disappointed that that I still can't have ibuprofen while pregnant.  There has been some research that ibuprofen is safe in the first two trimesters,  but my doctor is a little more old school.  But upon hearing about my knee problem, he did give me a script for Tylenol 3.  I'm glad he did, it really did help.

And finally, here is a picture of the little bean: