The first appointment (of many) – my booking-in appointment with the midwife

Wasn’t sure where to start with my second blog post – arrrghhh, I’ve discovered I’m pregnant. What the hell happens next? Who should I call? etc but I figured everyone finds themselves in a totally different situation so, thought it best to jump ahead to the first experience that will be the same for us all – the booking-in appointment.

If you’re anything like me your first question: what the hell is a booking-in appointment and what on earth does it involve?

Well, it’s a pretty straight-forward and if I’m totally honest underwhelming event. It needs to happen within 10 weeks of being pregnant and usually takes place at your local doctor’s surgery. Be warned though, midwife appointments get booked up weeks in advance so, make sure you ring up as soon as you can.

It was the first time I met my midwife so, as the advice went, I tried to be as honest and upfront as possible both in my answers to her questions and the questions I wanted to ask her (family and friends gave me a list!).  I’m presuming every appointment differs to an extent but, typically we’ll all be asked :

• The date of our last period
• Details of family history to identify any hereditary illnesses
• All abour our lifestyles – including whether we smoke, how much we typically drink, history of drug taking etc

…which all go towards building a pregnancy profile and identifying the best route for pre-natal care.

My midwife was also interested in the same information for my partner so, if they’re around and available I’d always recommend they come with you – so much easier! I was also booked in for my first screening tests and, it seems to have been the start of many a round of blood tests.

Obviously I don’t profess to be the oracle (BabyCentre has a pretty comprehensive list of the questions and tons of details on your booking-in appointment but disappointingly, no trumpet chorus this time round.

We’re not the first and certainly not the last to be bringing a little person into the world.

Little Pea Green x

Entering the world of blogging!

So, hello world and welcome to the first post from Little Pea Green.

I’m writing this Loeat a pretty momentous juncture in my life. I’m now 18 weeks into my first pregnancy and feeling excited, scared, perplexed and overawed with the decisions we’re going to have to make in the next 5, 12, 24 etc etc months!

Of course I’ve turned to the web, interestingly more so than magazines and books (which were my research of choice when I was getting married) but, there is so much information out there – where do you even start?

Obviously, I realise that this blog might just be adding to the noise but I’m hoping it might provide some insight for other first time Mums on some of the challenges and decisions we’re all going to have to make.

Blog posts already in progress include:

• what to expect at your booking-in appointment with your midwife;
• when and how on earth to tell work you’re pregnant;
• how you can try to maintain your style when you have an ever-expanding bump to contend with; and
• will you ever find a nice/pretty/sexy underwired bra?!

So, let’s get started and see how we get on. If I’m totally wide of the mark, if I’m not covering the things you’re interested in and concerned about or, you just have some questions to share, comment away.

Little Pea Green x