24-Week Doctor Visit

Tonight was my 24-week doctor visit. They checked my weight (total below), blood pressure, etc. The doctor listened to the baby's heartbeat, and she couldn't find it at first (rather, she kept finding it and then losing it) because she said that the baby was moving all around! She finally found a steady beat and said it sounded great.

Then she said that this visit would be the start of measuring me, so she placed a tape measure from the top of my belly to the bottom -- 23 inches, which she said is right in the middle of the range that it should be (21-25 inches).

Today's weight gain: 5.4 pounds
Total weight gain: 12.2 pounds

I have another visit in four weeks, and then two weeks after that for the glucose test! (Ugh!)

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I also asked the doctor if my chart at the office had been updated with the due date information we got from the genetic specialist/ultrasounds, and met with some ... attitude.

The back story: Based on my last menstrual cycle, my due date should be July 28. Then, in one of my first visits to this practice, the doctor (not the one I saw tonight) pushed my due date back to Aug. 4. Once I went for the sequential screening at the genetic specialist's office, however, and he did the ultrasound, he said that the baby was measuring just where I should be for a due date of July 28.

That was back on Jan. 22, so it's not like we haven't known this for awhile, and I wanted to make sure they changed the date in my paperwork but kept forgetting. However, my OB/GYN has gotten all my ultrasound paperwork from the genetic specialist (I know this because she told me tonight that my last ultrasound looked great), so really, shouldn't they have my due date somewhere on that paperwork?

And the more important question, I think, is why did I receive this woman's attitude? More important, even, than all these questions, is that it comes down to the fact that I really don't feel 100 percent comfortable, with either of these doctors, and that upsets me. This is my first time being pregnant, I've never gone through any of this before, and I'm scared. And excited. I'm looking for guidance from my doctors. But really, I feel more comfortable asking my best friend for advice than I do calling my doctor.

On top of all of this, my theory about childbirth is that I trust my doctor to make the right decisions. I don't want a natural birth. I don't want the doctor to stay out of it. I want it to be as medical as possible and I want to know that someone who knows what she's doing -- my doctor, definitely not me -- is in charge of getting that baby out safely. So I'm not going to step in and try to override the doctor once we get in that delivery room. But can I trust her? Am I really putting all my faith in these women who may or may not think I'm a pain in the ass? I'm not asking for much -- I don't even ask a lot of questions, especially not for being a first-time mother -- but just don't make me feel like doing your job and taking care of me and my child is an inconvenience to you.

Of course it's too late to find a new doctor (unless I start interviewing "Knocked Up" style), and I'm not sure exactly where I'd go anyway, seeing as how I've already switched OB/GYNs four times since we moved to south Jersey. So I'm stuck here. I just hope they pull through when it's important.