A Visit to the Doctor

Yesterday was my 16 week check-up at the doctor. 16 weeks is a fairly easy visit, just weight, blood pressure, and listen to baby's heartbeat since I decline the AFP test so I decided to take the children along with me. I scheduled the appointment for after lunch so the little ones would take a nap on the hour drive to the doctor's office. that worked out really well and Lily, Christian, and Anthony all took a nap in the van. I did pray that the office wouldn't be running behind or that my doctor would not be delayed because of a delivery (which has happened both other times I have been there.) I also had a talk with the children before we left reminding them of what kind of behavior I expected of them: no running, talk softly, no climbing on anything, don't touch anything that doesn't belong to you, don't touch anyone, wait patiently without complaining, speak respectfully to each other, and answer questions politely that you are asked. If everyone behaved then I promised to stop at Sonic when we were done and get some Jr. Candy Bar Sundaes to eat on the way home. Even with the promise of ice-cream, you know how unpredictable children can be and I still was a little nervous at how a 13,8,6,5,3,and 18 month old would behave especially if we had to wait a long time (I did have some snacks, small toys, and books packed in the diaper bag just in case.) Luckily we only waited a few minutes in the waiting room and the doctor came in right after the nurse left. The children were very well behaved and did just what I asked! I got several comments from the secretary, nurse, and doctor about how well behaved my children are! (and not one negative comment about how many children I have.) they definitely earned their ice-cream. The doctor's visit went well. It took a little while to find the baby's heartbeat but once she did it was good and strong. My blood pressure was good and I gained three pounds bringing my total weight gain for this pregnancy to 3.5 lbs. Next month we will have the ultrasound and daddy will hopefully get to come with us too.