We had our first prenatal appointment late yesterday afternoon and we heard the baby’s heartbeat! It was so very exciting to me. I loved Scott getting to hear the baby too. Something so special. It was just incredible the wave of joy and love I felt when I heard that speedy little thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. 150 beats per minute.
I again feel so honored to have this little baby in me, and doubly excited that, hey! I’m really pregnant! Hearing that heartbeat makes all this nausea worth it :p
The rest of my appointment went well. I like my midwife a lot and feel very comfortable with her. I also got to meet one of her apprentices yesterday. There were a lot of questions yesterday just for general health history and next month we’ll go over a lot of my previous birth history. We talked about me feeling queasy and tired, and I’ve been constipated some days. I’ve noted my prenatal yoga helps that, and my midwife also suggested some prune juice in the morning.
We did talk about the safety of Dandelion during pregnancy and she says it does have diuretic effects. She also said they are very mild and she feels ok with dandelion being used by a mother who is nutritionally sound. She said there are other herbs with have strong diuretic properties which should be avoided completely. So that was her opinion, but it is important to consider that it does have diuretic properties and diuretics have been shown harmful during pregnancy as the maternal blood volume needs to expand. She suggested ginger tea as an alternative if I don’t feel comfortable taking the dandelion. Since I hopefully don’t have much more time of feeling sick I think I’ll try the tea on afternoons when the nausea is overwhelming so I stick to an herb I feel confident about the safety of, but can maybe get some relief (I always get queasiest in the afternoons).
But babe is healthy, our next appointment is in four weeks. Now the biggest thing for me to do is to eat right and read the slew of information she sent home with me! And debate if and when we’re going to find out this baby’s gender!
