Thursday, January 7, 2010

First OB Visit for Little Sib

I have been really looking forward to my first OB visit for Katie's Little Sib! Being back at Temecula Valley OBGYN with Katie is a beautiful experience, recalling many months of our visits together when she was in my womb. I love being able to show her everything, the place where I sat on my last visit before her birth... She got to meet Dr. Elfelt, the doctor who cared for her and we saw Dr. Glaser (who was on-call to deliver her) pass by. It is a widely-reported phenomenon that women tend to become a bit enamored of their OBs, and I am no exception. For me, it was like seeing old trusted friends who helped to bring into the world my most precious treasure. I have so much appreciation for Dr. Elfelt's expertise and skill and the way he projects a friendly authoritative confidence in his explanation of everything. I know we are in extremely capable hands at TV OBGYN.

With a first child, so much of the medical process is myserious, but now that I have been through all of the procedures once, I feel so comfortable and sure of myself. It really is fun to experience it all again, like some form of happy nostalgia. I even liked having my blood drawn today. Everything reminds me of Katie and I also feel joy to be experiencing it with Little Sib---so it is like my delight is a thousandfold.

I took Katie with me, of course, and Amie came along to help watch Katie during parts when I was being examined. I did take her through every step of my exam, though, so she could be part of the process with me. Katie even got to see Little Sib on the ultrasound monitor, which was really cool... She can see her brother or sister developing right in front of her eyes. She got to watch my doctor use his stethoscope and the nurse use the blood pressure cuff (90/60)---she has both tools in her toy medical kit at home. This pregnancy is an opportunity to teach Katie so many things---about the development of life, about the medical profession, about becoming a mommy. I am so excited!

Our appointment was lengthy. I actually moved from task to task with hardly any real waiting, but there was so much to do, including the onsite lab and a consultation with Dr. Elfelt in his office before the exam. But it is so exciting to have the process rolling along again... After I was all through, we went out for Costco pizza and berry smoothies, Katie's favorite. I am pretty tired this afternoon, and Katie has been such a good little girl all day long. I am just so thankul for both of my children and for Bill.

I can't wait to meet Little Sib in person in August!