Hi everyone,
I thought I would start up a new thread for this so that I don't clog up the 2nd Trimester chatter (you all know how I can go on and on and on an on...... and so on, hehehe).
Anyway, our first appointment went REALLY well! I am so rapt with Geelong hospital!
I hate being late for anything so Neil and I met outside the hospital at 9:10am (appointment not until 9:30am). I get lost very easily so I wanted to make sure I got to the antenatal clinic with plenty of time to spare. I went to the reception desk and they asked me to go and sit in the "Yellow" waiting area. Everything is colour-coded which is quite ingenious really! Makes it easy for silly-billies like me. Neil wanted to sit in the "Green" area so I had to convince him to move because everything had to be 'just right'
No sooner did we sit down than we were called into one of the rooms! It wasn't even 9:30 yet! I was stoked. No waiting around at all. The doctor got me up on the bed straight away and, within seconds, there was little Nobba up on the screen! It was SOOOOOOO cool! It wasn't moving around or anything but you could see its little heart beating away and its little brain inside its head. It had 2 arms and 2 legs and everything right where it should be. The scan was pretty fuzzy so there was no way of telling the sex but that's ok. It was just so amazing!
I got 2 pictures which I will try and put onto the site ASAP (having a little bit of trouble with it at the moment).
The doctor was wonderful (she was pregnant aswell) and she didn't say anything about my big belly. I was prepared for nasty comments but I didn't get even a weird look which was lovely.
We then had to go back to the waiting area and only had to sit for 5 minutes until the midwife was ready. We were probably in with her for an hour (Neil decided to stay since we were ahead of schedule) and she went through a whole lot of stuff like my family medical history, my medical history etc. etc. When I told her about the history of still births in the family she took it pretty seriously and explained how things have changed these days. Less risks are taken and there is far more monitoring throughout the pregnancy now days. I was very happy with how she really listened to me and made me feel at ease about it.
She took my blood pressure and it was on the high side. Considering I have a history of high blood pressure, she was a little concerned about it.
She consulted with a Dr. and she came in to speak to me about a few things. She wants me to have another blood test for the "Slapped Cheek" (parvovirus) virus going around at the school just to make sure I haven't contracted it (even though I have no symptoms). She just wants to keep on top of it since I am in contact with children so much. She also wanted me to get a test for my immunity to chicken pox. I have already have them (and have some scars to prove it) but she just wants to make sure.
As far as my blood pressure was concerned, she told me that shared care probably wouldn't be a good option because it puts me in the "High Risk" category. So, I have to go through the Drs at the clinic at the hospital. In a way, I don't mind doing that because it means that I will be more closely monitored (easing my fears about having a still-birth) but it is going to be a pain in the bum because there's no flexibility with appointment times. I have to go in again in another 2 weeks to check my progress and I could only get an appointment on a thursday at 10am - no earlier. When I work 45 minutes away, that eats right into my day so I will probably have to take the whole day off. Another day of sick-leave wasted!
My second ultra-sound is booked at 8:30am and I am sure that it won't take all that long so I will probably only need the morning off work for that one. That's not too bad. I may ask if I can just take unpaid leave and get my class split up for the morning to save some sick leave and to save the school some money for an emergency teacher. I am not sure they will go for it but I can only ask.
So, all in all, I am thoroughly rapt with the quality of care I received at the hospital. They really went in depth with questions and really listened to me. I came out of there feeling over the moon for getting to see Little Nobba and knowing I am in good hands. Even though I am in a high-risk category, I was told that there is medication I can take for high blood pressure that is safe during pregnancy. Better to nip it in the bud now I suppose!

So, that was my first hospital appointment! I have my next Ultrasound (the good one) on October 22 when I am 19 weeks but before that I go in to the hospital again on October 7 to see how the tests went.

I still haven't booked in for antenatal classes so I will give them a call tomorrow to do that (I completely forgot because my mind was boggled with information). Man, they give you a LOT of stuff to read! I have to get a decent folder to store it all in!

Am going to try and upload the photos now. Hopefullyt the site is up and running again so that you can have a peek!