Finding a Doctor

I called the Doctor’s office first thing Monday morning after finding the first positive test. This was a new doctor for me. The first time I’d been there, was the week before for a pap smear. I’d seen the nurse practitioner then, which I hadn’t realized. Every other pap was done by the doctor. I had chosen this doctor based on proximity to my home and hoped she would be all I hoped for in a doctor and partner during this journey.

I saw the doctor for the first time that week of July 9th, a few days after I’d called to make an appointment. At this point I was 4 weeks pregnant. I had to sit in the waiting area for over an hour. The staff booked 4 people every 15 minutes to see the doctor. I have no clue how that was supposed to work and keep the doctor on schedule.

Sitting in the waiting area/lobby for that long, gave me some perspective. I hadn’t noticed before how poorly lit the office was. I started to notice how dirty the walls were and how dirty the carpets were. I quickly realized that I was in a Medicare Providers office. Now I’m not being elitist or anything, but my time is valuable and I pay good money for a PPO and I expect faster and cleaner service. I have a choice those other women did not.

I made my next appt 5 weeks out, since I was going to be on vacation during the 8th week appt. I spent the next 2 weeks on a mission, looking for a new doctor.

First I logged onto my health insurance website and got a list of doctors with privileges at the hospital I wanted to deliver at, Little Company of Mary in Torrance. I hit a few websites and learned about their education, how long they’d been in practice and any law suits or complaints filed against them. I’d narrowed my search down and I called their offices to see if they were accepting new OB patients so I could make an appointment.

I chose my doctor because she was gentle and kind. She had delivered tens of thousands of babies without an incident, or at least one for which she was unable to adjust, and she had experience with difficult births. She had recently moved to the Los Angeles Area a few years earlier and was continuing to build her practice. The doctors in her on call group were also on my list of perspective doctors so I was comfortable with having them in case my doctor wasn’t able to be there. I just seemed to connect with her more than the other wonderful doctor’s I’d met. After all, this was going to be a personal experience and journey. I wanted a doctor who would treat me as a person and a patient, not just as a number or file. I felt she listened to my concerns and needs and she understood that I was looking for a personal experience or patient/doctor partnership. I let her know that it was important, that she is able to deliver my baby. Of course I knew it would depend on what time my baby decided to pop her head into the world.

After I’d decided I liked Dr Zhanna Pinkus, I made my appointment for my 9th week and filled out a form to have my medical records transferred from the previous doctor. I felt good and I felt happy. I found the doctor that would delivery my baby.

First Trimester

My first trimester was pretty easy. I coasted right through it. I had morning sickness for like a 1 ½ weeks sometimes between the 10th and 12th weeks. I could only eat starches. Spices didn’t help the cause and salads were too light. Saltine Crackers… Yeah right…. Wendy’s baked potatoes and either 5 piece chicken nuggets or a burger…. That was it.

I’d also decided to eat healthier so I cut out High Fructose Corn Syrup from my diet. This meant no sodas and not very much else. I found some great ginger ale at Trader Joe’s, the real stuff with real ginger and sugar. I also drank lots and lots of Vitamin Water, which used Crystalline Fructose. I discovered this because I didn’t want to take Gatorade, which had HFCS.

We were eager, so we started the baby’s registry around the end of the first trimester. We figured that there are things that we’d need regardless of the baby’s sex, so we’d get those items chosen and out of the way in advance. This proved to be a great idea, because walking into Babies R Us and standing there with all the possible things a baby might need and a scanning gun was a bit much. It’s a good thing they provide you with a check list of things you’ll likely need. I also called my sister up who was able to cut that list down by eliminating the things we really didn’t need, like a diaper genie.

All in all, I had a great first trimester. I only home the next pregnancy will be as smooth.

Getting Pregnant

My story begins June 2007, when Vonn and I decided we wanted to start a family. We were so excited. I bought the FIRST RESPONSE® Easy-Read Ovulation Test. and was eager to begin our attempts at baby making. After all, I had an irregular cycle and needed help predicting those fertile days.

Vonn and I had been busy with work and hadn't really committed to the process yet, but we still managed 2 attempts in between my cycles. When I was at work the next day, I felt a cramping in my left side, which was ovulation. It was occasionally painful for me, but this time, I was excited. I knew I had to be pregnant since we'd done the deed the night before.

Now I had already purchased the 3 pack of the FIRST RESPONSE® Early Result Pregnancy Test and was ready to go. The box said, you'd get a positive result up to 5 days before a missed period. So on July 3rd I woke up and peed on my stick, after all, this was 5 days, and my pee was supposedly loaded with hormones in the morning.

Now peeing on this stick was a tricky maneuver. Not as easy as you may think. The instructions say 5 sec not 4 or 6, but 5. Add to that, the stream is not a trickle and you don't want back splash on your hand... So Step 1: Assume the position. Step 2: Pee on the stick, careful not to back splash on my hand and count to 5. Step 3: Eager anticipation and 3 minutes later.... nothing. Negative. Okay, I sucked it up, no big deal, I'll try again tomorrow.

Morning July 4th. Surely if I'm prego, I'll get a positive result today. Buuuut no such luck. Another negative result. So I tell Vonn, it is a no go this month and we'll have to keep trying. Oddly, he didn't object...

Now I don't know why, but I was out of tests. I don't recall when I'd used the 3rd one, but I did. So on Friday, I went to Target to buy another 3 pack. When I got home, I was talking to my sister. (She's very supportive and always full of advice. Including the one to scrap the ovulation test and just have at it every other day.) I told her that I wasn't pregnant yet, but had just purchased more tests. She asked if I was sure, and I told her I was. I was spotting on Thursday and I usually spot for 1 to 2 days before my cycle. Then I thought out loud and realized that I had not been spotting that day. That I did read that there could be some spotting from the implantation of the embryo. So my sister got excited and told me to pee on a stick. After about 10 minutes of encouragement, I decided I would. Despite the fact that I had just peed 30 minutes ago, I thought I could pee again.

So I pee a weak stream of about 3 seconds and think great, not enough pee, I just wasted a test. But I put the test strip on the sink and watch as the urine moved across the screen, then I see it... the first pink line, followed by the control line and I get excited. Then I realize, hey that is a very faint line... maybe not, so I do want anyone would do. I take a picture with my phone and send a sister a pix message. I get an immediate phone call and confirmation that the test is indeed positive.