Friday, November 23, 2012

I really wasn’t surprised to see two bold blue lines. The text on the six-inch white stick was clearer than the results. Positive. Pregnant.

Sean was behind me as we looked at the stick on the bathroom sink. I don’t remember if I said anything, probably “I’m pregnant.” We just hugged. And then I cried a little because I’m happy, scared and all that stuff.

After calming down a bit, I went to my laptop and my trusty friend, Google. I think my search terms were “I just found out I’m pregnant.” I went from there on starting the next steps. Obviously, seeing a professional was high on the list. I tried setting up an appointment online through my HMO which was more complicated than I expected since I was used to the easy system I used with the student health center I used as a grad student.

I didn’t find much on the website that was truly helpful. I called the appointment hotline and soon was speaking to a helpful scheduler/operator at the West LA medical center. She answered my questions and informed me that pregnancy tests are done on a walk-in basis at the woman’s health center. She gave me the hours and said she didn’t know how long a patient might have to wait to be seen. With 45 minutes before they closed, Sean and I rushed out and were parking 5 minutes later. Yay for proximity.

I checked in and was called a few minutes later.

Sean got up to come in with me to the exam room. The nurse waved him down, “He’ll get to go to the next one,” she added.

“First, the test.” She handed me a cup and pointed out the bathroom. When I came out, she stuck a test strip in and pulled it out.

The color changed as she looked at it. “It looks light, but that’s probably because you’re so early. You’re definitely pregnant.”

We moved away from the nurse’s station and into a second room where she took my vitals, weighed me and asked some basic questions to figure out how far along I was.

“Five weeks! You’re early.”

She set up an appointment with an Ob/Gyn for the first week of December. It seemed so far away. She gave me some forms to bring back with me for my next appointment with info about my lifestyle, personal and family medical history. And I got a folder packed with info on each month of pregnancy. It was cute, but so obvious. Finally, she ordered some tests and sent me down to the lab.

I met Sean out in the waiting room and we headed down to the lab. We looked over the forms while we waited to get my blood drawn. Even with a big folder making it pretty obvious I was expecting and two positive tests, it still felt surreal. On our way out of the medical center, I stopped by the pharmacy and picked up some prenatal vitamins. Those would be necessary.