Wednesday, April 27, 2011

(First Trimester) Consulting with the doctor, finally!

~* written from my perspective; pregnant for the first time, nervous, and hormonal; take these posts with a grain of salt please *~ Week 6; Written March 2nd.
One of my biggest stressors is that Josh and I don’t have insurance until April 1st, he changed jobs and we had a lapse in insurance until the new insurance kicked in.  This causes me a lot of anxiety, especially now that I am pregnant and I called my primary care doctor about a consult.  She was able to get me in on Monday , two weeks after I found out I was pregnant, for a consult.  This consult entailed figuring out who would deliver the baby and assume my care on April 1.  She recommended a birth center, since I preferred a midwife, near Swedish Hospital about 20 minutes from our house.  I had already found that same birth center online, and so it was great to hear her refer them.  I talked to her about the “world of no” that I was experiencing being pregnant and asked her about what I CAN do during this pregnancy.  She recommended NO medicine, no sushi, no nuthin’ during the first trimester; but then she said after that, things aren’t so strict.  She mentioned she had a few beers during both of her pregnancies and she ate the food she was comfortable with, she ate a turkey sandwich everyday during her pregnancies saying that lysteria is very rare in the US and if you are worried about it, nuke the lunchmeat for 10 seconds.   She also said she had coffee, but cautioned me against sushi, and specifically ahi tuna, which is a bummer.  I suppose the sushi will taste real good in November…


I asked about hiking 14ers this summer, and the pregnancy book saying that women should not go to altitude; she laughed and said that it’s great for me to keep hiking and as long as I don’t feel too lightheaded, I would be fine.  I’d really like to take this baby on a 14er this summer, so I am excited to hike at least 1 before my belly gets too big.  I heard from all of my friends, “there are a lot of other mountains to climb” but that’s not the same as a 14er, is it?  J  For you hikers out there, you understand.


After seeing my doctor, I felt a little more comfortable with being pregnant, but it will really help when the insurance kicks in and I can get a full checkup, ultrasound and more.  However, my doctor did say that most physicians or midwives do a complete workup at 8-10 weeks, our insurance kicks in at 10 weeks and she said that’s fine, not too late.


The rest of the week, I continued to not sleep; reading that insomnia is common in the first trimester, as is frequent urination, which I surely had as well.


Now, this is a big one for me; I am terrified of throwing up. Terrified.   And it’s one of my biggest worries during pregnancy, I keep wishing this first trimester would hurry up and be done, so the puking worry goes away.  While I haven’t thrown up yet, I do feel queasy and nauseous; which causes me to worry about puking and then I get really anxious.  It’s a vicious cycle.  All of the books I have borrowed said that 75% of all women have morning sickness, and they talked a lot about vomiting.  I decided that I am not going to read any more about the first trimester, b/c whenever I read about throwing up, suddenly I feel ill.  At this time I am avoiding all literature, and that’s probably not good, I should really keep reading and learning, but I just can’t take all the puke talk!

4 comments:

  1. Paranoia will destroy ya!!! Good for you for putting the books down. When my sister was pregnant with her first, she made herself crazy reading all the books out there. You just have to take them with a grain of salt and take a break once in a while. I'm glad to know you'll still be hiking too. Heck, I know people who rock climbed, skied, mountain biked, and did all that dangerous stuff while prego. I don't recommend doing all that, but remember your life doesn't end either. Keep the blog post coming!

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  2. I am 14 weeks today (May 13) so pretty close to you. This is my first baby and we are considering a babymoon to Colorado sometime in June. We really want to go hiking... I would love to hear if/when you hike 14ers and how you fare. I just ran a half marathon so I feel comfortable with my level of fitness but would love to hear firsthand from some one who is pregnant and doing the things I love to do...

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  3. Cheree, I have felt okay hiking, but get lightheaded easily, which is unusual for me. The lightheaded-ness makes me hike a lot slower and drink a lot more water and stop to pee a lot more often. But still enjoyable! I plan on doing at least 1 high altitude hike before it gets too hard, but want my hubby to go with me, just in case something happens. That is different for me, because I really enjoy and almost prefer solo hikes. I am sure you can do it, just take it slow and work your way up to a 14er, don't start with one. I also have a hiking blog, if you want to find a trail http://trailparkreviews.blogspot.com

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  4. This isn't a 14er, but we just completed a hike up Mount Washington in NH (6,133). It had an elevation gain of 3,800 feet in 5 miles and I did great. It was an amazing experience... I still hope to get to try a bigger mountain before my baby comes. Good luck with your high altitude hike! I will definitely check out your hiking blog.

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