Always Listen to Your Doctor

Remember that we changed the date for amnio from April 14th to the 21st because Bill has to be in Beijing for business?! At Monday's checkup, Dr. Liu told us that I'll be 20 weeks on April 21st and that we should really try to get an earlier date if possible. He was also sightly annoyed at the fact that I hadn't called to set a date for the anatomical ultrasound. "The anatomical test is usually done in the 20th week, and you're already at 17. They're very busy, you know?! Most of the time they book appointments months in advance. You should've phoned them when I told you to." He wasn't angry, but I felt really bad 'cause I've always been a good patient and I didn't do what he said this time. I really thought I had A LOT of time. Oops.

The nurse gave me a name of a private lab where I can get amnio done in case I was unable to get an earlier appointment at the hospital. I called both places yesterday. The hospital can put me back on April 14th (when Bill's on the other side of the Taiwan Straight), and private clinic can have us next Tuesday, April 7th. I went ahead and booked an appointment for next Tuesday because (a) the private lab is also able to run tests to determine whether the baby is carrying hemophilia, (b) the cost of amnio at the private clinic is only about US$14 more than what the hospital charges, and (c) Dr. Liu will be able to receive the results before our next checkup at the end of April.

Dr. Liu was right.... again. The clinic where we can get the anatomic test done is already scheduling for May and June. Luckily, they're able to squeeze me in for Tuesday, April 28th because of a cancellation. Phew~~ (wiping off sweat on the forehead).

I'm glad everything worked out even better than the original plan. In sum, by the time we go for our next checkup,

• I will have crossed the mid-point of pregnancy,
• we will have seen Peanut on a high-definition ultrasound machine,
• we'll get the results of the amnio and hemophilia tests, and
• I'll also have my latest CA-125 result (yes, we've been monitoring it).

Being pregnant is awesome! There are surprises at every corner. Just remember: always listen to your doctor and do what s/he says.