Gynecologest Appointment 24 Weeks

We had another appointment yesterday morning. My wife is at 24 weeks and is at the perfect size for this stage of pregnancy. We got to hear Rykers heart beat again, it is so nice to hear it. As soon as she put the wand to Kayla's stomach his heart beat was super loud. He must have been in just the right position but it sounded like a strong young man's :). Her tummy is measuring at 24" if I remember right. I'll have to verify with her.

Our doctor told us that we should look into the two hospitals we have here and decide where we want to have the baby at. One has a birthing room and the other you have the baby and then get wheeled to a birthing room (this one has a queen bed though so I would'nt have to sleep on a chair all night). She also told us that mommy needs to make sure she is eating plenty of protein. This is because right now he is creating the building blocks of his body right now and needs plenty of nutrients. Calcium is very important now too because his bones are starting to ossify ( turning into bone or boney tissue). This appointment went really good.

In 4 weeks we have another appointment for the rogam shot, and glucose test. After that we start having appointments every 2 weeks!!

Our First Sonogram

For all you first time daddys out there, a sonogram is a computerized picture of an internal organ. They actually use sound waves to create the image and not X-rays. Which is considered to be extremely safe for a baby. It's a pretty neat deal actually. The technition squirts a little gel on mommys tummy and then uses a transducer wand to emit the sound waves, thus creating a picture. The only inconvience in our experience was that my wife had to drink like 60 ounces of water before the appointment (to inflate her stomach) then let half of it out in the bathroom right before the test. Other than that it was very easy and smooth. It was wonderful seeing our baby boy up on the screen.

As soon as the tech put the wand to her stomach, Ryker made his gender well known (as you can probably see in the picture.) Luckily we wanted to know the gender or else he would have ruined the surprise for us in the first 5 minutes. "He's a very proud young man." The tech told us. I will just leave you with this... I wonder where he gets that from :).

The First Gyno Appointment

Gynecologist... Get used to saying it fellas. You will be making monthly trips to this lovely doc for the first few months then bi-monthly trips, then weekly trips (depeneding on your situtation and the doctors prefrences of course). You need to learn to be comfortable not having any of the attention. This is all about your lovely mommy to be. She is the one that is pregnant, not you. Repeat this like a mantra in your head. It is easy to want to pipe up and give your 2 cents but please refrain. Use this time to soak everything in and learn as much as you can about what mommy has to look forward too. This way you can be ahead of the game when any situation arises. Usually they will weigh her, make her pee in a cup, and possibly take blood samples. (remember, this is from my experience. Every doctor can/probably will be different. This first appointment is usually too early to hear any heart beat of the babies. Don't worry if the doctor tries and is unsuccessful. Right now your baby is extremely tiny.

It is important to try and be at this appointment, the gyno will need important family health history and it's good to know yours and your wifes blood types. Off the top of my head I believe that if both parents are O- then there is a special shot mommy needs around 28 weeks to prevent any incapatability issues with the baby. Again, I am no doctor. Other than that these appointments don't take long and are really just to monitor mommy as the process evolves. It is important that you are there for her at this time, it will show that you are wanting to learn and be involved. So take a break from Call of Duty and get your butt to the Gynecologist. Maybe mommy will take you out for ice cream after!

Tip of the day: Be there for your wife/girlfriend/partner/whatever title fits. YOU'RE A TEAM!