Oakdale OBGYN, Maple Grove - First Appt.

jen83mn

Hi all! I have my first (8 week) appointment coming up next week at Oakdale OBGYN. If you've been to Oakdale before, I'd be interested to know what all they did at your first appointment, how long it lasted, if they did an ultrasound or listened for the heartbeat, etc. As a FTM, I'm just wondering what to expect as every clinic is different. Thanks for your help!

MesmrEwe

Most appointments are pretty standard though.  Usually the first appointment is a pap and basic "workup" with a few blood tests.  Make sure you're on a prenatal, go over your medical history and risk factors, and some basic educational things like choosing a hospital, what to expect while pregnant (the clinic I went to gave a step by step guide book to each month of pregnancy and what to expect at that appointment), things you should/shouldn't do (i.e. snowboarding, boxing), etc...  The clinic I went to scheduled an ultrasound to check in on things in there.  Not sure if that clinic has an in-house or not for that, but you'd discuss it there.. 

Above all else, don't be afraid to ask or discuss any questions you've got with your clinic.  They've heard it all before.  It's hard not knowing what to expect your first time around, but the place I learned the most was not in birthing classes, or my OB, but from interviewing and asking questions to the nurses who work in the OB Department.  Silly as it sounds, their advice to me was "go in with an open mind about EVERYTHING because white knuckling usually backfires BIGTIME, each pregnancy and birth is it's own unique experience, and be your own advocate - NEVER be afraid to speak up or ask a question!!!  EVER!!!!  Following that advice I needed less than half of the medications during and post-partum that I needed having my first and my recovery was a million times quicker. 

kmos816

Like the other poster said most 1st appointments are pretty standard.

At 8 weeks it's too soon to hear a heartbeat without doing an ultrasound- so I assume you'll get one of those. A big surprise for me was that they needed to put a wand 'up there' to be able to see or hear anything. With the ultra sound you'll be able to hear the heartbeat and see your little one!
After the ultrasound they will go through your medical history like the pp stated.
The next appointment will be your 12 week- something to know for that is that at my 12 week they couldn't hear the heartbeat so I needed to get an ultrasound. I was pretty freaked out but with the ultrasound they could hear the heartbeat; my LO was just too far back to get a heartbeat with the stethoscope!
Good luck!

jen83mn

Thank you both! I had assumed I would get an ultrasound as well, but when I called to schedule my appointment initially the scheduler told me that they would block out time for an ultrasound but that it would be up to the doctor whether she wanted to order one or not. I'm just anxious to see the little one and make sure everything is coming along as it should ... first-time mom worries I'm sure! Plus, I ovulate later and had irregular cycles the past few cycles before getting pregnant, so it would be nice to at least have a dating ultrasound since my LMP probably isn't the most accurate (thankfully I was charting so I know when I ovulated). I definitely plan on asking lots of questions, and the doctor I'm seeing has gotten rave reviews from others on forums, so I'm looking forward to meeting with her initially. Thanks again!

MagicMikki

My first appointment with my first baby was kind of disappointing... I hate to be a downer! My best friend, who just had her first baby this past summer, said her first appointment was disappointing, as well. We have high expectations of what the appointment might turn out to be, but then we get in and and it's nothing like we thought.

With my first, my 8-week appt included some basics with my midwife, what to during the first and second trimesters, how to handle the extreme symptoms (morning sickness, fatigue, etc.), and we listened to the heartbeat. We picked up on the heart beat using the doppler. I expected an ultrasound but didn't have one until my 20 week appt, where we found out the sex. But, it's totally up to your provider if they are going to order one or not. From what I read and experienced, it's not very common.

However, with my second, I had an ultrasound on my first appt to determine how far along I was, as I hadn't gotten a period between going off birth control and getting pregnant, so I didn't know how far along I was (determined to have been 5 weeks at that time). My provider saw two sacs (twins), but the second was much smaller. So I was ordered a few more ultrasounds until week 12 to monitor the second baby, but the second one never developed past 7 weeks. So, I think every pregnancy and every situation is totally different! You never know until you get there!

Good luck and let us know how it goes! :-)

jen83mn

Update: My first appointment went great! We got to do a (vaginal) ultrasound and see the little baby to verify the dates ... coolest thing I've ever experienced! Heartrate was perfect at 170. Loved the doctor we saw too! Thank you all for your pointers!