Meeting Dr. Howerton

I was scheduled for a physical with my doctor's nurse practitioner on November 9th. All my appointments have been on a Monday - what an awesome way to start our week!! I've never loved Mondays so much :) Since it was going to be a routine physical, i.e. weigh in, pap n' such, Ryan decided to skip out on this visit. Big mistake mister!

We were so bummed he didn't make it because they surprised me with the first real Doctor's visit! Dr. Howerton doesn't meet with her OB patients until they are at least 10 weeks pregnant. This bubbly, quirky woman came bounding through the door and I knew it was her! The physical went great - I am a healthy Momma and Baby is doing great too! It was a milestone visit for me because I got to hear the heartbeat through my BELLY!!

I got the inaugural cold goo squeezed all over my belly! She searched and searched for the heartbeat while I held my breath in anticipation. I had been going through a weird worry spell lately, wondering if this was all real, is the baby healthy, is something going to go wrong? I read online that tons of first time mothers have trouble enjoying their first trimester (not only because they were too nauseous to function - I understand that from experience) but also beacuse of worries that this is too good to be true. She stopped at the top of my belly button and we listened to a deep drumming and my eyes got wider..."aaaaand there is Momma's heartbeat!" Geez! She kept searching until way over on the left side she stopped and we heard our little hummingbird heart! There baby was, heart beating as healthy as could be. The heart rate was the same as the weeks before, 170 beats per minute. I broke into giggles and she lost it, she laughed and told me to hold still :) She was so sweet, she let me listen for what seemed like 5 minutes! She could see the relief and joy all over my face I'm sure.

The appointment came to an end and she sort of blindsided me with a conversation about delivery. Apparently her niece is graduating out of town the same weekend that I am due. She nonchalantly told me we would be inducing a week early to avoid a time conflict. I whispered a confused "okay" and she said she would see me next month! Uhh...
Aside from that weirdness, it was a fantastic appointment!