Blood draws, blood pressure, and a shot oh my!

Today I had another Dr visit. This one was basically just for the second portion of the screening i did back in July. The one that's suppose to test for Down Syndrome and Chromosome disorders, well technically for the potential of these things, it doesn't actually tell you if your baby has something or not, just the likely hood/possibility that he/she will have it. Anyways, so the first half of the test, if you don't remember, was an ultrasound to measure some kind of fluid and space behind the baby's neck as well as measuring the heart beat and length of the baby combined with a blood draw (from me, not from the baby).

The portion I did today was the second part which has to be done between 15 and 20weeks (I'm two days shy of 16 weeks) and all they do for this half is another blood draw. So they drew my blood, then I went to see the actual doctor. Who by the way was not the normal doctor I've been seeing because she was on vacation. Oh, this doesn't sit too well me, she was on vacation, okay fine everyone should go on vacation, but she specifically told me to schedule my appointment for today because she was going to make herself available for it. She also said she'd call me to make sure it got scheduled. Now why would a person promise things like this when they know that they're a doctor with a bazillion patients about to go on vacation and there's no way they're actually going to call or open their schedule? Come on. So of course, she didn't call, and when i finally called to make the appointment, she didn't have the day open, she was listed as still being out on vacation. Figures! So, not too big of a deal, just annoying. I saw a different doctor for this, who frankly I liked the first impression i got from her, so it was all good!

They took my blood, then i went in to see the doctor. Of course i saw a nurse first, she took my blood pressure and asked me a few questions, like if i had any cramping, blood, strange/abnormal discharge or anything else i was worried about. Thankfully, i have had none of the above and everything sounds fine! Oh i did learn that often times during pregnancy women's normal Vaginal discharge may become heavier or more frequent.. if your a girl that should make sense... if you're a boy you may have no clue about this and it might actually sound kinda gross. The best way i could think to describe this- i didn't know how else to explain the semi clear, whitish fluid that comes out in small amounts everyday as a way of keeping the Vagina clean and healthy- is that a woman's Vagina is like a self cleaning oven (lol) and everyday it lets out a little bit of a clear or whitish odorless, or slightly odored fluid that basically takes with it old dead cells from the Vagina and pushes them out to keep the Vagina clean, healthy and infection free! Anyways, during pregnancy this fluid can come out in a much heavier amount compared to what is "normal" for your body. It is considered "normal" for the pregnancy as long as it's not a weird color, greenish, brownish or yellowish, and as long as it does not have a foul or very strong smell. During pregnancy, this discharge can increase mostly due to the increased levels of Estrogen (which if I'm correct is the  hormone that aides in the production of this discharge in the first place. So obviously the more Estrogen, the more discharge! ) Who knew? Just when I was feeling a little uncomfortable about this "problem" I found out its in fact not a problem at all, its totally normal!

So....where was I....
They took my blood pressure, we chatted a little about the discharge then the nurse asks me if I've had a Tetanus shot or a Tetanus Diphtheria Pertussis (TDP) shot recently. Uhh.... I literally don't even remember the last time I had a shot, much less what kind of shot it was. I'm probably over due anyways... So she goes on to explain that in California they've had a lot of recent out breaks of Whooping Cough (Pertussis) and that they recommend that all pregnant women in their 2nd or 3rd trimester get the shot as well as all persons that are going to be around the baby before it's able to get the vaccine itself. In California they're labelling it an epidemic. So of course I had to get the shot! It was weird since it's been so long since i had a shot, but it didn't hurt too bad.

Finally i get to see the doctor. We chat about what my next steps should be since I'll be moving "home" soon and will be needing to transfer care. She asked me a few questions then looked at my blood pressure number that the nurse got and said she wanted a re-do because it was higher then normal for me. Coincidentally my blood pressure was taken right after i had my blood drawn, that paired with the simple fact that I'm in a doctor's office talking about possible bad things that could happen, no wonder my blood pressure was up! She re took it and it turned out fine and normal :-) yay! that was after we finally got to hear the baby heart beat! And she measured from my belly button to the top of my pubic area (basically where the hairs would stop growing... maybe a little lower). This was to measure the approx growth of my uterus. She said it was right on and looking great. So basically everything is good so far. Hence my blood pressure being perfectly back to normal.

I must admit that waiting an entire month between visits is hard on me. Partly because I'm so anxious about this little baby growing in me and the doctor visit is the only way i know everything is going okay. Since i can't feel the baby yet and I don't really have a tummy showing, it feels like nothing is happening. So by the end of the month I start getting anxious and worried and end up saying a lot of prayers asking for patience and strength and improvement on my capability of trusting in God to keep our baby safe and healthy. Its hard to have faith sometimes, but every time I've been to a doctor i get nothing but great results. This is a continuous reassurance that i should keep my faith and everything will be okay :-)

Oh! I'm just so excited for what's to come. Only about one more month until the "big ultrasound" where we'll finally get to see our baby again and finally get to know the gender (hopefully supposing the baby is positioned right and it's easy for them to see) I can't wait for this!