I know it's been a few days since my consultation, but this week has been insanely hectic and I'm just now getting to post about it all. Looking back at the week, it was insane and trying at times, but the feeling of peace I have now makes it all worthwhile.
My initial concern going to an RE was that my concerns over TTC would not be taken seriously. I even imagined being turned away from the office and told that I didn't belong there (maybe even a little wishful thinking) but as it turns out, I do belong. My doctor was amazing. How is it possible to put so much trust in someone you've just met? He did a great job of making me feel comfortable and I wanted to share a few things that I really liked about him in general.
1) We were not going to be doing any sort of exam on my first visit, so we moved to his office to talk. That little gesture on his part really eased my tension. I know we could have spoken anywhere, but the fact that he chose to move us from the fluorescent lights of the exam room with the potholder covered stirrups glaring at me put me at right at ease. His office was beautiful and as soon as I sat down, I felt a lot better. I guess I didn't realize how much the exam room freaked me out until we moved elsewhere. Good move, doc!
2) He didn't feel the need to jump right into my file and start talking about my plumbing. First, he told me a little about his background and why he does what he does. He talked about his switch from obstetrics and gynecology to reproductive endocrinology and made me feel like he wanted us to have a relationship, not just him know everything about me, but that he wanted me to be familiar with him and what he does and why he does it. He said, "When you get pregnant, I'd be happy to recommend a OB-GYN." "When you get pregnant..." "When you get pregnant..." "When you get pregnant..." Never "if." Always "when." That felt really, really good. Also noteworthy, not once did he try to sound like a know it all doctor who rambles off his credentials in a pompous, holier than thou way. He just wanted me to know about him. It was exactly what was needed to open the doors of communication.
3) He broke any remaining ice....in a pretty cool way. After he finished telling me about himself, he offered to tell me a little about MYself. I welcomed the opportunity. He looked at my file and said, "You are from.......West Virginia?" Immediately my mind started racing around trying to figure out how he could have picked that up from the information I provided in the Patient Information forms I filled out prior to be called back. Had I provided my cell phone number? With the 304 area code? No. It didn't ask for my cell. Did I scribble little flying WVs in the margin of the page? Most likely....not. Before I could come up with anything else, he asked me how he knew that. I gave up. I told him I had no clue. He informed me that my Social Security number gave me away. He also could tell that DH was from West Virginia and then he moved on to explaining to me how Social Security numbers work and how you can tell where people are from based on them. It was a fun, informative, completely off subject conversation AND I learned something. Who knew??
4) Once we established my origin, he brought up West Virginia football. The key to my heart! This guy is good. Really, really good. We discussed the possible move of Dana Holgorsen from Oklahoma State to West Virginia, which was pretty much still a rumor but on it's way to being announced in a little over twenty four hours. We then went on to talk about TCU being added to the Big East and this and that about Morgantown and such. It's safe to say, from there we could have talked about anything. Anything at all. He had established himself as a person worth spending time with in this endeavor of making a little Jackson baby.
To be continued...
