1st meeting with Dr. Sureen Chi

9/20/11 - Brad and I anxiously headed to the doctors for our first meeting with our new doctor Dr. Sureen Chi. She came highly recommended to us by a friend and we were eager to meet her. Plus, I wanted to finally meet with a doctor and not just the nurses. When we got there we were sent to a different floor as usual. I liked it more because it was quiet and not as hectic as the other floor. After filling out a bunch of paper work, a nurse took me to a room to take my blood for various tests. She also took my blood pressure and had me stand on the scale. I think I gained around 1.5 -1.8 pounds so far. She then handed me a big bag with lots of mom-to-be toys in it....like magazines, a journal, and a bunch of samples, for example, baby food, breast pads, baby milk bags etc. I was most excited about the tiny sample of huggies diapers..they're adorable..so little and cute. I can't believe I will be using lots of little diapers like those in about 7 months. Wow, I realized once again that I will be a mom and responsible for a little person. Crazy and so exciting at the same time. I honestly think the 9 1/2 years of taking care of Lucky my dog, every single day and night has taught me so much about responsibility and I can't be more thankful for that experience and preparation to motherhood. I feel much more prepared now than if I didn't have a dog and pets to take care for. I think I pour my heart and soul into my animals and I know I will do the same for my baby.

After the initial tests we were headed to Dr. Chi's office. I was supposed to have my ultra sound first but they were backed up so we met with the doctor first. I liked her right away, she seemed very friendly and knowledgable. We casually talked a bit to get to know each other and then slowly transitioned into talking about pregnancy, precautions, diet, exercise etc. We also had a lot of questions and she took her time answering each one of them. She encouraged me to listen to my body, exercise moderately and watch my diet. She did not recommend drinking any alcohol, not even a glass of wine. She told me to stay away from raw fish, cold cuts and have very limited amounts of caffeine. I know some people and doctors say it's ok to drink a glass of wine every now and then but I have noticed how strict I already am with myself... I haven't had coffee (only decaf) since I found out about my pregnancy and avoid diet coke or any caffeinated sodas. I also do not want to drink (and haven't so far) any alcohol during my pregnancy..not even a glass of wine. I'd much rather play it safe and put healthy things in my body...with the occasional cheating of a greasy hamburger and fries ;).

After we talked for a while we headed to the ultra sound room where Dr. Chi performed a quick pap smear and then let Sandra the ultra sound technician do my ultra sound. It was so exciting because the baby looked much bigger this time and you could really tell the head and shape of the body. The heart beat measured at 167 beats a minutes and she said that is normal and very healthy. She told us I am measuring at 8 weeks and 5 days. Brad immediately did the calculation to figure out when we actually conceived (we still haven't quite figured it out) but then realized that it really did happen when we were in Switzerland. It actually happened during the time we were in Zurich and stayed at our friend's amazing house on the water. They have three children and I think there must have been a lot of left over baby dust in their home :) It's cool to think that it happened in Switzerland...my home country...a special place in my heart that holds most of my memories with my mom. It makes me smile to think that it happened there... and also exactly around the time my oldest and dearest friend Tselha married on July 22nd. It was an incredible weekend, surrounded by so many lovely people. I remember standing in the Tibetan Temple during Tselha and Joel's tibetan ceremony, feeling such a strong spiritual energy and wishing..asking..the tibetan gods and monks to send me good energy and luck. It seems they did just that. And when we had dinner that night at the Tibetan restaurant I felt such an appreciation for the Tibetan culture and people. The food and the tibetan songs sang by one of the guests was amazing. The genuine good company was so humbling making the evening so special. It now all makes sense to me that my miracle happened in a special place during a special time.

After the ultra sound we met with a Dr. Chi again and she said everything looked great. She calmed my nerves about my bleeding episodes and the occasional spotting. She said she could spot a tiny remaining blood clot behind my placenta that was causing the bleeding/spotting and that once that flushes out I shouldn't be bleed free. My fingers are crossed.

We left the doctors with big smiles on our face. Brad shared with me in the car that he didn't think Dr. Chi liked him, which I thought was absurd. I asked him why he thought that and he said it was just a feeling he got. I told him how can she not like you, she just met you! But I understand when you have gut feelings about someone but then again they often can be mislead or misunderstood feelings/impressions. So I am strongly hoping that at our next doctors appointment Brad will feel differently about how he thinks Dr. Chi thinks of him...