So I found out this weekend that I am pregnant. I took a home test and then went to the doctors office to confirm it. I didn’t actually talk to a doctor at the time, I just took the test and left.
This morning I called to make my first pre-natal appointment, the earliest one was Sept 26th. It seemed a little far off, but this is my first pregnancy, so I don’t know what the normal timeline for this kind of thing is. When I told my husband the date he was upset. He is convinced that it should be much sooner, and that I need to call them back and try to get a sooner appointment. I, personally, don’t see what difference it makes so early in my pregnancy.
Is this kind of wait normal, or should I call them and try to change it?
That kind of wait is perfectly normal. There’s really nothing at all to be done until then - your body knows what it’s doing. The pregnancy will continue, or it won’t. Chances are really good that it will, and you’ll start to feel symptoms, some of them cool and some of them lousy, but this early on there’s nothing the doctor can do to ease any of the lousy ones. There’s a small chance you won’t stay pregnant, and if that happens, there’s nothing they can do, either. Most doctors and midwives would actually prefer to wait until 2 months or so past conception to see you - then you’re past the early common miscarriage time and they can tackle the real job of coaching you through the pregnancy.
Is this the first for you and your husband? It’s totally normal for him to feel anxious, and to feel like the world has shifted and the doctor should be more involved right away. But really, there’s nothing anyone can help you with at this point, except maybe to answer questions that can wait a few weeks anyway.
Speaking of - start writing down questions. Big ones, little ones, write 'em all down so you don’t forget to ask your doctor about them when you do see him. You’re going to be surprised at how spacey you get when you’re pregnant!
Are you the kind of person who wants to know everything there is to know about being pregnant? If so, What To Expect When You’re Expecting is still one of my favorite pregnancy books. But be warned - some women find it *too *informative; it contains some information on very rare complications that some people find frightening more than reassuring.
Take folic acid supplements, or any prenatal vitamin, and start ASAP, as they’re only useful during the first six weeks of pregnancy.
IANAD, and I’ve never been pregnant, but basic googling shows that the most common recommendation for a first prenatal checkup is after you’d be missing your second period, or around the eighth week of pregnancy. (Bear in mind that the usual count of weeks is from your last period, not from when you probably conceived, so it counts the two weeks (on average) before you actually got pregnant as your first two weeks of ‘pregnancy.’)
A lot of OB/GYNs don’t have you come in until around 12 weeks, under the assumption that WhyNot mentioned, namely that before that point there’s really not much you can do one way or another.
I don’t know, though; I think a lot of women would really benefit from some basic prenatal information at an earlier point than that. As GilaB said, this can be a really critical time to make sure to take folic acid supplements, for one thing.
That’s a *really *good point, and I missed it because I always assume women of childbearing years are on a multi w/ folic anyway. Stupid of me, I know. :smack:
Yup, this. A friend of mine just had her first ultrasound at 7.5 weeks of pregnancy, or about 5.5 weeks since conception. She was surprised they wanted to see her so soon, but she was excited to see the little blurry bugger swimming around!
But yeah, basically it’s just take vitamins, eat healthy, quit smoking if you can, and avoid soft cheeses. Apparently in the 7th week there’s a big growth spurt, and she got REALLY tired.
It’s pretty fascinating stuff, even for us onlookers - congratulations!
Congratulations! And don’t worry…WhyNot is correct, in my experience…there is nothing much the doctor can do or needs to be doing for you right now. In fact, most of what the doc does throughout the pregnancy is just monitor you to make sure the pregnancy is progressing normally (watches your blood pressure, measures your belly to be sure the baby is growing as it should, etc.) At this stage, there’s nothing really to look at.
GilaB is right, too…if you are not taking prenatal vitamins with folic acid already, start right away! You can get them over the counter at any pharmacy.
Unless you throw them up (I did, even when NOT pregnant and undergoing fertility treatment I’d spew prenatal vitamins right back up) in which case start eating a balanced diet high in folic acid. (Like breakfast cereal that has been fortified. Or spinach.) (I get an upset stomach with regular vitamins, it wasn’t a surprise when the prenatals made me sick).
And, yeah, its the strangest thing to call your OB/GYN with “the stick has a plus!!!” only to be told “we don’t need to see you for eight weeks.”
That is what I thought. It is his first child too, and he does tend to worry more then is necessary. For what it’s worth, I have been taking a prenatal vitamin since we first started trying to conceive, so I am covered with the folic acid. I have noticed that it is a lot harder to take now that I am actually pregnant. It’s something about the smell and taste, it makes me gag.
Try taking it at night. I don’t have kids, but one of my friends had a problem with puking her prenatal vitamins. Taking them before bed fixed the problem.
I had an ultrasound right away (five weeks) with my first one. They didn’t do that with the second. Different doctors, but other than that I’m not sure why.
My sister had trouble with her prenatal vitamins, too. Switching brands worked.
Besides taking folic acid, which you do, and the avoiding artisan soft cheeses (listerine bacteria!) there are two other things you can do:
-stop changing the cat’s litterbos (toxoplasmosis)
-stop working in the garden with your bare hands, as that might also get you toxoplasmosis from cat poop.
It is a good idea to start reading up. Check out the pregnancy threads here on the sdmb for book recommendations.
One thing I first heard from on the Dope, and liked very much during my pregnancy, is the free weekly e-mail newsletter from www.babycenter.com.
They were bad when we were trying to conceive, but the were worse when I actually was pregnant. The doctor put me on just a folic acid pill that were easier to stomach than the multivitiams - it was something other than the folic that was making me hurl.
But, as you stress about all of this - do remember that pregnant women got on covered wagons and went across the prairies - giving birth to children that were healthy more often than not. Yeah, taking care of yourself is important, but its also important not to drive yourself nuts for nine months with stress and worry.
When i was pregnant I called the doctor’s office right away, and I was fully expecting them to clear their calendars and bump people’s appointments–possibly send an ambulance to come get me–because for god’s sake this was the biggest thing in my life and I had another LIFE inside me! COME ON!!!
It was really strange, a letdown almost, to have them be so blase about when I needed to come in. Couple weeks, no big hurry. And that was just to see a nurse for that first visit, not even a doctor! I almost wondered if they’d heard me correctly. Hello?
Now I know that there’s nothing to be done, pregnancy is a healthy, normal condition and at this point there is nothing “medical” that needs doing.
Funny, that’s exactly what my mom said. Almost word for word. Luckily I don’t really eat much meat anyway. Bummer about the bree though. I have noticed that the smell of sauteed chickien also makes me want to gag. No puking yet, I hope to aviod that altogether. A girl can dream, right?
Hubby figured out the cat litter on his own, but he was little upset when I pointed out that I probably shouldn’t be cleaning the ducks pool either. He hates the duck.
I never had morning sickness in any of my three pregnancies, thank og. But I did find the smell of fish completely revolting during my first pregnancy. Normally I love seafood, but I swore it off for the entire 9 months. I went to a wedding reception in my first trimester at which fish was served, and nearly had to leave the banquet hall.
Congratulations! As others have said, that kind of wait seems totally normal, although I found it nerve-wracking.
What surprised me about the first trimester was how little nausea I felt and how exhausted I was. I had some nausea, but never actually vomited. On the other hand, I slept more than the cats. If you can take it easy and sleep a lot, I highly recommend it. After all, your body is working hard. Not only are you growing a little person, you’re also growing a brand-new organ (the placenta). Give yourself some slack.
I have the Sears book, and I like it a lot. It’s quite matter-of-fact, without being alarmist.
