First Ultrasound

We went to Kaiser today and got great news from our first ultrasound. Most importantly there is a heartbeat, or that is what the nurse practitioner said was the flashing blip on the screen. Really it looked like an old low resolution video game. Also, the baby is in the right place (meaning the uterus) and has a yolk sac, so it is as the nurse called him/her "viable." This means the miscarriage rate goes down to about 5%. So I am really relieved.

Gigi was sick the whole time but they had apple juice there so she didn't throw up. I tried to be as supportive as I could. Very interesting difference in the way I was treated at Kaiser versus with the midwives yesterday. At Kaiser I went back with Gigi and while the nurse was taking her blood pressure she informed me that I was not allowed back in the room with her during the interview. At first I thought this was some strange hold over from the "keep the dad out of the room" era so I asked why. The nurse got this odd look on her face and said: "that's just the new protocol. But you can come back after the interview." The was she said it, I knew immediately that it was so that the woman could tell the nurse about any smoking, drug use, prior abortions, abuse, etc that she may not admit to in front of her partner. So I sat out in the waiting room until they called me back.

Contrast that with the midwives who yesterday, when we asked them what the requirements for us would be, answered that they expected me to be at all the meetings, classes, the birth or course, etc and that we would have to work as a team with them. They also recommended a book for birthing partners that wasn't written down to guys--unlike the 2 that I looked at already.