The first appointment

Well...technically, I guess it's the second. But, the first one was little more than "pee in this cup, yes you're pregnant, make an appointment for 1 month from now."

So, I count this as the first real appointment.

Anyway, first of all...I was totally bummed that we didn't have an ultrasound. We're at 8 1/2 weeks. I thought they would do one at that point. Maybe we have to ask for one in advance, or something.

2nd...I like the doctor. She seems smart. But this visit was basically informational diarrhea. No, "how are you doing." Nothing like that. Just, "Is this your first pregnancy, do you have any birth defects in your family history, and think about genetic testing."

So, this whole genetic testing thing is quite an interesting thing to think about. First of all, we won't be terminating this pregnancy, regardless. It would be a huge violation of our ethics. But, still...if there are any birth defects, it would be great to know this in advance.

Still...if you go in the stomach with the amneo-whosa-whatsis, the chances of complications are 1 in 200. That seems higher than I am comfortable with. The other option is ultrasound combined with blood test. No complications with this method, but the possibility of an inaccurate result is 10%." So...a 10% chance that you are told your baby has a birth defect so you stress and stress for 7 months, or a 10% chance that they tell you everything is okay only to find that it's not on baby's birthday.

I don't think we've decided which path to go yet. If we get the testing, I'm pretty sure my wife would prefer not to have the needle in the gut.

Regardless...I hope we get an ultrasound next time.