Well, we had the appointment. When we were sitting in the waiting room at the medical centre, I confided in K___ that I was feeling nervous, she said she felt the same and this was enough to ease our tension.
From what the midwife was saying ('Oh, you know more than me,' said the midwife. I sincerely hope not, I thought) we must be somewhat unusual, in that we'd actually bothered to read the notes in the pregnancy pack the GPs surgery had given us and we're both reasonably well up on what all the tests are for etc (thought K___ has read far more books and articles than I have).
It was all pretty straightforward really. A lot of it was establishing the family background to fill out their form. In fact, K___ had already filled out a lot of the form, so it was just checking it back with us to see whether there were any implications for the pregnancy. The only one is the nuchal fold test discussed privately. Bit of a crap postcode lottery; they don't do it in our town, but the one seven miles away does. Unfortunately, we can't just pop along there because it's a different health trust, so we will have to pay and go private on this one.
What else did they do? Well, they took K___'s blood pressure (on the low side, but normal and apparently 'fine') and pressed her stomach to see if they could feel anything. Nothing yet. This seems to rule out twins. I am glad about this, K____ is not, but the midwives say they wouldn't want multiple pregnancies if there was a choice.
Oh, and they tested K___'s wee. They test for proteins and sugars, but hers was fine. Then they give you the pot back and say you should rinse it out and use it for the next one too. So, lovely, K___ carried home a small pot of wee in her handbag.
We're both glad to have it out of the way and kick start the process. They'll send off a form to arrange the first scan and will come and see us at home within a couple of weeks.
We're on the way.
From what the midwife was saying ('Oh, you know more than me,' said the midwife. I sincerely hope not, I thought) we must be somewhat unusual, in that we'd actually bothered to read the notes in the pregnancy pack the GPs surgery had given us and we're both reasonably well up on what all the tests are for etc (thought K___ has read far more books and articles than I have).
It was all pretty straightforward really. A lot of it was establishing the family background to fill out their form. In fact, K___ had already filled out a lot of the form, so it was just checking it back with us to see whether there were any implications for the pregnancy. The only one is the nuchal fold test discussed privately. Bit of a crap postcode lottery; they don't do it in our town, but the one seven miles away does. Unfortunately, we can't just pop along there because it's a different health trust, so we will have to pay and go private on this one.
What else did they do? Well, they took K___'s blood pressure (on the low side, but normal and apparently 'fine') and pressed her stomach to see if they could feel anything. Nothing yet. This seems to rule out twins. I am glad about this, K____ is not, but the midwives say they wouldn't want multiple pregnancies if there was a choice.
Oh, and they tested K___'s wee. They test for proteins and sugars, but hers was fine. Then they give you the pot back and say you should rinse it out and use it for the next one too. So, lovely, K___ carried home a small pot of wee in her handbag.
We're both glad to have it out of the way and kick start the process. They'll send off a form to arrange the first scan and will come and see us at home within a couple of weeks.
We're on the way.
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