My first "regular" OB check

I visited my obstetrician yesterday. My regular gynecologist only does gyn these days so I have to see someone else in her practice for ob. I met her for the first time yesterday and really liked her. She was friendly and caring and took a lot of time with me to answer all of my questions. Here's what I learned:

• The nausea/vomiting may persist into my 14th or 15th week. It's not unusual for it to last that long, especially with multiples. Just what I didn't want to hear. She prescribed Reglan for the nausea. She said that sometimes it works better for some people than the Zofran. I'm getting it filled today.


• I am allowed to walk 30 minutes a day until week 20. Beyond that, she said I should only be on my feet for about 10-15 minutes a day. That's going to be miserable. It's only 8 weeks away so I better enjoy my 30 minute walks with Winnie until then!


• She is not overly concerned about my lack of appetite right now. She said after 15 weeks, she'll get more on my case about eating enough and the right foods, especially protein-rich foods.


• I need to be prepared for bed rest at 20 weeks. She said it doesn't always happen, but it is not unusual, and it's better to be ready than for it to catch you by surprise. She gave me the explanation for when bed rest is recommended. That's where the lady business illustration above becomes important. As you can see, the cervix is between the uterus and the vagina. When a woman dilates, they are measuring the opening of the cervix closest to the uterus. However, with a multiples pregnancy, the weight from the babies and fluid puts pressure on that opening, which pushes down on the cervix. This causes the cervical length to decrease because it is being compressed. My perinatal specialist will measure my cervical length every 2 weeks after 20 week, and if it gets to be too short, bed rest will be recommended to alleviate the pressure on my cervix.

Everything seems to be looking good for now. I will visit my perinatal specialist again on Friday to get some tests performed on the babies and make sure they are all in tip-top shape.

I had a couple of good days this week, but I now have a cold. Whenever I cough, it triggers my gag reflex, and I already threw up a bunch of mucus this morning. My throat is so sore, and I'm congested. It's not good. I only slept a couple of hours last night because I was so miserable. I have to call my doctor and find out what I can take to alleviate some of the symptoms.

If I wasn't pregnant, I would get loaded up on Tussinex, which kills the cough and knocks me the hell out. I love that stuff. However, these little people inside of me complicate the issue. I don't think they are supposed to get strung out on Tussinex this early in life.

I'm probably have to do a bunch of natural crap, like salt water gargles, hot lemonade, Vick's vaporub, etc. Speaking of Vick's, when I was a kid, that was the remedy my grandma, Nata, used for colds. She would rub Vick's all over our chests when we were sick and then wrap us in plastic wrap. That's so weird! What was the point of the saran wrap?

I hope to get some rest today, but it doesn't look good. We are having new flooring installed in our condo. Today, they are doing the entrance area. We are getting hardwoods put down there. Tomorrow, they are putting down fresh carpet everywhere. I can't exactly take a nap with all of this commotion going on. If these updates get this place sold for us, I'm willing to take all of the noise.

I will update the blog after my appointment on Friday.