First Appointment with the RE

Yesterday we had our first appointment with our Reproductive Endocrinologist. I wasn't too nervous about the appointment since I knew that we'd just be chatting and wouldn't be doing any testing but I was still anxious to get things going. When we got there we checked in and then sat in the waiting room. I love how awkward these situations can be and luckily Lenny has the same sense of humor. We spent the twenty minute wait commenting on the weird artwork in the lobby, the furniture and reading through scary pamphlets. One of them said something about how once you turn 30 you have less than 2% of your eggs left. Lenny looked at me and said, "How old are you again?" After calling him a jerk and laughing, the doctor came out to greet us.

The doctor was very friendly and nice but ran through everything super quickly. Luckily I have been reading a lot on infertility so I was familiar with the terms and tests that she mentioned. After going through our medical histories the doctor said that she would run a battery of tests on us first and then from there come up with a plan. She was very confident that I'd get pregnant, which was reassuring to both of us. We met with a nurse afterwards just to go over the tests that I'd have to take and to see if we had any questions. It was definitely overwhelming and I was happy that they gave us paperwork that went into more detail.

After the appointment we went out to lunch, which ended up being a great idea. It gave us time to discuss the serious stuff and laugh about the awkwardness of it all. I'd highly suggest having lunch or dinner after your first appointment with the RE-- it gives you something to look forward to and an opportunity to talk about things while they are still fresh in your mind.

Here are some things that I didn't know prior to the appointment. They had recommended that I get testing on Cycle Day 3 and 10, which seems to be pretty common from what I've read. My instructions were to call on the first day of my period and then from there they would give me additional instructions. Day 3 testing includes fasting lab work and day 10 includes lab work and an ultrasound.

If I knew this before hand I might have changed the date of my appointment a bit. It doesn't really matter but when we left we felt excited and empowered and now we just have to wait.... So if I had to redo it, I'd probably book the appointment a littler closer to when I'd be expecting my period.

The doctor gave me a list of vitamins to take- a multi, vitamin D, calcium, folic acid and fish oil. I had some of those but will order the fish oil online and plan to buy some calcium/vitamin D chews.

So that's it for now-- we are playing a waiting game but  have to say that is feels AMAZING to not have to think or worry about getting pregnant this month. The doctor told me to throw away my thermometer and stop tracking my temperature. We are both excited to see what's next and we feel much better knowing that we are on our way to (hopefully) starting our family.