first appointment with dr. bouchard

my parents wanted to see me again through the powers of ultrasound so they were really looking forward to their first appointment with dr. bouchard, from the st. alphonsus medical group. mom chose dr. bouchard since her name sounded great she was one of the doctors referred by dr. slater, plus she really wanted to give birth at st. alphonsus.

this morning they were finally able to meet her. but before that, they were greeted by the nurse who used to work with dr. shearer-depp and recognized them. she's just so happy that they finally have me. she said that dr. bouchard is a sweet doctor. well, based from first impressions though, mom doesn't know how she defines "sweet".

dr. bouchard is very accomodating though. she really spent time answering all the never-ending questions that my parents could think of. she never showed any signs of "i-still-have-patients-waiting-for-me-so-can-you-please-hurry-up" syndrome. however, most of the questions that my parents asked, she just answered with "it's just normal" or "that's not a problem" or "don't worry about it". and this could only lead to worry-free parents (since so far they aren't showing any potential risks based on her answers) or worry-freak parents (since they might think that she's just another uncaring ob). my parents are a little of both right now :)

aside from the blood and urine tests done to mom, dr. bouchard also checked her physically. she confirmed that the bleeding was coming from mom's sensitive cervix which is normal for some women. so she said that we all have nothing to worry about. she then used the doppler thingy to hear my heartbeat, but it could be a bit early to hear or i was in a different position so they weren't able to hear it.

she also asked if my folks wanted her to do a quick check on me through the ultrasound (ain't that standard?). it wasn't as hi-tech as ICRM's equipment, but enough to get a good glimpse on me. she initially used the one that checks on me on top of mum's belly, but she couldn't get a good view. then she did it again, transvaginally, but had a hard time looking for me (yep, i was playing hide-and-seek again). she said that it could be because of the position of my mom's uterus, which is retroverted. but she assured them that the uterus moves and probably by the time she gives birth, it'll be in its normal position. and alas! the tiny flickering heatbeat was seen, and soon after, they all saw me. she didn't measure me though (i don't know if she just forgot or the low-tech movable ultrasound equipment can't do that) but lookie, i look more like a real baby now (with bigger head though :D):


i am now 10 wks and 2 days old! in about 3 weeks, the rest of the world will learn about my existence. ahhhh! exciting!