11 WEEK APPOINTMENT

Yesterday was my physical appointment.  Not necessarily an appointment that anyone looks forward to, but it turned out to be a really good appointment.   We were able to hear Jellybean's heart beat with the doppler yesterday, which was a pleasant surprise.  Heart rate was a nice, strong 160 beats per minute. 

We had only met with this particular doctor for about 5 minutes during our pregnancy with Gracie, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  I had really good conversation with her yesterday about Gracie, as well as this pregnancy.  During our first appointment a few weeks ago that I would be seen every two weeks until 30 weeks.  The doc that I saw yesterday gave me the option of every two weeks or every four weeks.  She said that most times, appointments are set every two weeks more for peace of mind of the expectant parents than anything else.  Because my schedule is so crazy between now and the first week of June, and because this isn't the period of time that we really need extra peace of mind, I elected to schedule the next two appointments four weeks apart.  That leaves our appointment line up looking like this ... Monday, March 15th - Ultrasound as part of the 1st trimester screen; Monday, April 5th - midwife appointment; Wednesday, May 5th - 20 week ultrasound and midwife appointment.

During our pregnancy with Gracie we attended Bradley classes to prepare for a natural birthing process.  After our completely out of control, medicated birthing process with Gracie, I started thinking about future pregnancies, and how prepared I was/wasn't feeling with just the Bradley class under our belt.  After reading about some other approaches, I started feeling like Bradly had prepared us to know what to expect from my body during labor, but compared to what was offered by some other approaches, I felt that it actually offers a lot less in terms of working through and managing pain.  So, after much reading and thought, I have ordered the home study course from Hypnobabies.  I can't wait to get it and start working through it!  I have also ordered a few of the books that I wanted to read previously and never got to.  Aside from all of this, things are pretty uneventful at this point.  I certainly hope that it stays this way for the next 29 weeks!!!