What to Expect at 28 Weeks

Kayla and I just went in for her 28 week appointment. It was a fairly interesting one this time. 28 weeks is when our gyno does the glucose testing. Testing for glucose is used to screen for gestational diabetes. When we first arrived at the doctors they had Kayla drink this orange sugary cocktail. She said that it tasted like a mix of Tang, and orange soda. After she drank this mixture we then proceeded to see the doctor as normal. We listened to the heart beat again, and our gyno measured her belly baby bump.

Since Kayla and I are both O- blood type, she was supposed to recieve the rhogam shot. This shot is to protect your baby from HDN or hemolytic disease of the newborn. According to rhogam.com if your baby's Rh blood type enters the mothers blood stream, the mothers immune system sees the babies blood cells as foreign and produces antibodies against them. Getting a rhogam shot at 28 weeks is necessary to prevent this from happening. Studies have shown that the rhogam shot will not cause harm to the unborn baby. The only way to make certain of a babys blood type is an invasive percedure. It is best to just administer the shot to all Rh- women because it won't cause harm even if your baby is not also Rh- . This link is a great place for any questions you may have about the rhogam shot.

Since the blood type is fairly rare, and the rhogam shot expires, we had to wait until the doctors next order came in. Kayla got her shot about two days later and she said "it was a painless shot in the hip."

After an hour had passed (for the glucose test) Kayla had to get two small viles of blood drawn. This gets sent to a lab to test for glucose levels. If her glucose levels remained high after the hour, then she would have to recieve a plethora of tests and blood draws to confirm whether or not she has gestational diabetes. Also, this is a wonderful place to get more information on gestational diabetes. This is about it for what you should expect at 28 weeks.

Be ready for a longer appointment this time. From now on we meet with our gyno every other week!!

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!