Two weeks ago, we went to our first doctor's appointment. Until then, all we had were the over-the-counter instant tests, so we were a bit nervous going in. There was still a chance, however slight, that we made a mistake somewhere and were wrong about the whole thing. With someone as important as this, even the slightest chance of mistake is enough to cause anxiety. For me, I had been looking forward to this appointment ever since Sophie first made it, weeks before.
It was my second day of work, so I felt a little nervous when telling my boss I had to skip a good portion of the afternoon for the appointment, but everyone was of course very understanding and supportive. I had a meeting run late, and when I got outside, the traffic was ridiculous. Note to self: never take cab in midtown on a weekday afternoon. I got in the cab, went about half a block, paid $5 (yes, for a few hundred feet of transportation) and got out, running the rest of the way to the office. 10 minutes later, I was huffing and puffing my way into the doctor's office.
Our doctor is the head physician in her group, and a professor of Ob/Gyn here at Columbia. She specializes in high-risk pregnancies, and although we were told we don't fall into that category, it's nice to know that in case something goes awry, we're in good hands. She's also fairly young (late 30s?) and a snazzy dresser - she's pretty cool, as far as doctors go.
The first thing we did at the appointment was to go in for the ultrasound. When we were able to see the image for the first time, and when the physician said "there it is!", it was a moment of great joy and relief. It was pretty incredible to actually see it, it's heart rate, and it's blob-like form. Alf checked in with a heart rate of 145, and seems to be developing right on schedule. After doing the ultrasound, we went in for questions with the doctor and finally, Sophie went through a physical exam. Everyone looks great for now (knock on wood), and our next appointment is in a few weeks.
With each such event, Alf becomes more and more real. Over the weekend, we saw "Knocked Up" (which by the way, is easily the funniest movie I've seen recently, maybe ever), and were able to relate to a lot of the things going on. We have all of the baby books that they have, and had done a lot of the same things. As time goes on, I'm sure I'll notice even more similarities.
Ok, that's it for now. I'll leave you with our first ultrasound, at 7 weeks and 3 days! It was very, very cool.
