Hope

I loved the new doctor - we'll call her Dr. R. I was so nervous this morning waiting to meet her, but Mr. NK and I were both very impressed. She had all my records ahead of time, so she asked us a few questions about our experience and what happened to Joseph. She said that based on my records, the only thing she might worry about is that something was wrong with my placenta - Dr. S. had ordered tests to be run on it, but apparently it was discarded in the time between Joseph's birth and death, so we will never know. Since Joseph was a normal birthweight, however, Dr. R. says that most likely the placenta was not the culprit, and she's leaning toward the same "freak accident" diagnosis I got from the neonatologist.

Based on all of that, she said she didn't recommend that we do much differently in this pregnancy. I will see her and be treated as a high-risk patient (in terms of having more monitoring, etc.) but mainly only for my peace of mind. She gave me the numbers for not only her and her nurse, but also the triage nurses, and told me to call any time I had a question, no matter how minor - no worries about bothering them or about having too many questions. I will have nonstress tests beginning in the third trimester and a scheduled c-section around the 39 week mark.

I was honest about the date of LMP, but told her that I am certain I ovulated late. She made a note of it, but added that she generally felt charting was unreliable. I said, "Would it help if I told you that that week was the only week it would have been physically possible?" (hey, it's been a stressful month at work for both of us.) She laughed at that and noted it on my chart, but she still wants me to have a dating ultrasound on December 2, which is fine with me. My first real prenatal appointment is December 20.

I left her office with a really good feeling about everything. I know that if this pregnancy lasts, it's not going to be easy, but I think having Dr. R. on my team is going to help immensely.