Introduction

[Kathy]

This is actually a re-introduction...I've been here before...

My name is Kathy...DH and I just found out I am about 7 weeks pregnant!
Due around mid February 2006.

I've lurked and posted here before, in late 2002 and throughout 2003
until our DD#1 was born in the fall of that year. I found this group to
be very helpful and informative, and I'm glad to be back.

Yesterday I had my first appointment with my OB. All went fine, except
for one issue concerning the fact that I am still nursing DD#1 (I posted
about that issue over on the breastfeeding board). In a nutshell, OB
would like me to quit...I have no intention of doing so (unless of
course DD decides to wean or there are complications with the pregnancy
that warrant weaning).

I am going for an Ultrasound this week...this is something different
that I didn't have to do during my first pregnancy. Despite my knowing
the date of my LMP, OB wants me to have this ultrasound to better
estimate my due date. According to him, this is because I have
irregular cycles (anywhere from 31 to 40 days). Also, I will be going
out of town next month (just one state away by car) and he claims that
he'd like to confirm that all is well before I go. This seems like a
little much to me (with no history of problems), but since it is only an
ultrasound I gave my consent. Anyone else have an ultrasound early on
for similar reasons? At least we'll get to see the baby's heartbeating,
so that will be nice...

Looking forward to lurking and participating more in the months to
come...

Kathy

[Ericka Kammerer]

Kathy wrote:

> This is actually a re-introduction...I've been here before...

> I am going for an Ultrasound this week...this is something different
> that I didn't have to do during my first pregnancy. Despite my knowing
> the date of my LMP, OB wants me to have this ultrasound to better
> estimate my due date. According to him, this is because I have
> irregular cycles (anywhere from 31 to 40 days). Also, I will be going
> out of town next month (just one state away by car) and he claims that
> he'd like to confirm that all is well before I go. This seems like a
> little much to me (with no history of problems), but since it is only an
> ultrasound I gave my consent. Anyone else have an ultrasound early on
> for similar reasons? At least we'll get to see the baby's heartbeating,
> so that will be nice...

Dating u/s are becoming much more popular, though not
necessarily with great evidence. In your situation, it may well
be a good idea to establish an accurate date. With longer than
usual cycles, LMP dating is likely to set your due date earlier
than it should be. Your OB smells somewhat interventionist to
me, so if I were going to stick with him, I'd want the latest
due date possible on the books to avoid later pressure for
induction due to dates. Later u/s are not as accurate for
dating.

Best wishes,
Ericka

[Emily]

Kathy wrote:
> This is actually a re-introduction...I've been here before...
>
> My name is Kathy...DH and I just found out I am about 7 weeks pregnant!
> Due around mid February 2006.
>
> I've lurked and posted here before, in late 2002 and throughout 2003
> until our DD#1 was born in the fall of that year. I found this group to
> be very helpful and informative, and I'm glad to be back.
>
> Yesterday I had my first appointment with my OB. All went fine, except
> for one issue concerning the fact that I am still nursing DD#1 (I posted
> about that issue over on the breastfeeding board). In a nutshell, OB
> would like me to quit...I have no intention of doing so (unless of
> course DD decides to wean or there are complications with the pregnancy
> that warrant weaning).
>
> I am going for an Ultrasound this week...this is something different
> that I didn't have to do during my first pregnancy. Despite my knowing
> the date of my LMP, OB wants me to have this ultrasound to better
> estimate my due date. According to him, this is because I have
> irregular cycles (anywhere from 31 to 40 days). Also, I will be going
> out of town next month (just one state away by car) and he claims that
> he'd like to confirm that all is well before I go. This seems like a
> little much to me (with no history of problems), but since it is only an
> ultrasound I gave my consent. Anyone else have an ultrasound early on
> for similar reasons? At least we'll get to see the baby's heartbeating,
> so that will be nice...
>
> Looking forward to lurking and participating more in the months to
> come...
>
> Kathy
>

Congrats Kathy! I second what Ericka said about the dating u/s...
it could well save you some pressure towards induction down the road.

Emily

[Kathy]

Ericka wrote:

>Dating u/s are becoming much more
>popular, though not necessarily with great
>evidence. In your situation, it may well be
>a good idea to establish an accurate date.
>With longer than usual cycles, LMP dating
>is likely to set your due date earlier than it
>should be. Your OB smells somewhat
>interventionist to me, so if I were going to
>stick with him, I'd want the latest due date
>possible on the books to avoid later
>pressure for induction due to dates. Later
>u/s are not as accurate for dating.

Thanks for the response Ericka. He did say that he wanted to do the
ultrasound early because it would be more accurate in estimating the due
date than a later one would be.

You are right, I do want the latest date possible on the books. Last
time I had my baby 3 days before the ultrasound predicted due date...and
I remember a few days before that my OB already wanted to send me for
monitoring, etc (even though there were no problems with the pregnancy
or my health).

My last OB was extremely interventionist...the feeling I get from this
one is he presents the information as he sees it and then leaves the
decision to me. He presented his view on discontinuing BF'ing, but then
said he would leave it to me. We went over all of the various tests
that would be offered to me and didn't seem bothered in the slightest
when DH and I said we would be refusing some of them.

One other thing I liked about him...he was really good about the issue
of weight gain. I am somewhat (but not hugely) overweight to begin
with, and last time my OB rode me about it from start to finish...she
wanted me to stick to a gain of 15 pounds (I ended up gaining
30)...seemed positive that I would have blood pressure issues, diabetes,
etc (and almost seemed irritated when I did not). This OB told me right
off the bat that he felt 30 pounds was reasonable and that as long as I
was healthy and the pregnancy was progressing normally that he wasn't
majorly concerned with how much I gained. He said the important thing
is getting it off afterwards. I liked that attitude.

Kathy

[Kathy]

Emily wrote:

>Congrats Kathy! I second what Ericka said
>about the dating u/s... it could well save
>you some pressure towards induction
>down the road.

Thank you Emily! I think you and Ericka are right...it's a good idea to
get the date as accurate as possible which will hopefully save me a bit
of aggrivation later on...

Thanks again,
Kathy