Diary of my Pregnancy - 40 year old first timer

7 weeks 4 days:


Well, today I had my first OB visit. And they have quite a well-oiled machine at this office. Clean waiting area with ample comfortable seating, art books to flip through, and receptionist ready and waiting to give you instructions.

Of  course, I screwed up from the first minute. I never printed out the info from the website, so I did not pre-fill out my paperwork. Something that could have saved me a lot of time. Then, I was handed a urine cup. I know darn well that you should NEVER pee before going to the doctor because we always want a sample. But at home, I HAD to go.

Since my bladder has been working more frequently lately, I figured a few cups of water while I fill out the paperwork and I'll be ready. And it worked. The mere act of drinking made me pee. (Sorry TMI?).

Then, I was directed to a wall of bathrooms to choose from. I did my business into the supplied cup (onto it too - totally gross - I washed it thoroughly before handing it in). Then put the cup into the bag and brought it back into the waiting room. "Where do I put this?" I innocently asked. It goes in the window of the bathroom. The "window" is a two way metal biohazard door. Pretty cool.

When I was called, they weighed me, blood pressured me, wrote a few notes, and then asked, "Are you the one who didn't label her cup?" Ummm, yes. Label? I assumed they put that there...I was already not having a good day.

Soon I was placed into the patient room to wait for the doctor. I've never met her before so I was curious what she was like. Even though she was recommended by my friend/OB (in another city). Of course my stuff was piled high on a corner of the counter because there is NO PLACE to put your stuff. Big pet peeve of mine. My husband is a healthcare architect and he agreed. He puts places for patients to put their stuff built into his designed rooms. All patient care rooms should have somewhere to put their personal items. I hate having to move patient items so I can find a place to sit down with my patients. I hate it as a patient too.

My OB is really nice. Smart. And stated her case for getting blood screening for various disorders. I was against it at first, but conceded that identifying heart issues early on can be extremely beneficial. All was going well, and I asked if we could have an ultrasound. She had not had me scheduled for one, but made an on-the-fly appointment with their in-house tech.

This was a tough spot for the husband. This is where he got all the bad news for his wife. I was pretty confident all was well because I had strong pregnancy symptoms, breasts swollen like balloons, the frequent peeing thing, etc...But again, I've been realistic because I'm 40. I kept an open mind. But when I saw the tech do her thing (very quickly) I was able to spot immediate issues. The dates were wrong. I couldn't find the heart beat. And the doppler did not show anything. She did not point this out - but I've done a bunch of these myself - enough to know the basics were not promising.

When she got my doctor, my suspicions were confirmed. I'm one week off, and even if that were true, I should still have some kind of heart beat. They had me at 6wks 2 days. So while the sac looked good, and I feel pregnant, the inevitable is coming. My first pregnancy. My first miscarriage. Getting pregnant at 40 so easily seemed to be a miracle. I hope it is not once in a lifetime.