My new OB here is awesome and nice. And he ordered me another ultrasound. Score!

I am definitely cool with any additional opportunities to see baby girl (and make sure she is still, in fact, a baby girl!!) and was totally elated when he mentioned it. He said he knew my previous scans were fine and that my previous provider was happy with them, but he said that because all he had in my file were the text reports he wanted to have another one done as a follow up just so that there was a complete report in the "system" for me here. He started to tell me that there is no research to show that ultrasounds are at all harmful to the fetus and that they do them routinely all the time, like I was even considering NOT doing it after he brought it up and I cut him off and said, "Oh, I'm not arguing! It's fun for me!" He laughed and said, "Okay then!"

So I need to call and schedule that - I'm waiting until Mark can tell me when is a good time for him, though. I'd hate for him to miss out on another ultrasound. Other than that, though, this was a really boring appointment. Nice to meet my doctor and learn a little bit about their standard procedure and policies here, though. Baby girl's heartbeat was just fine at 146 BPM and my blood pressure (when checked the second time) was perfect. My bump measures right on, 25cm.

Amaris and I drove around a little bit and ran some errands before we came home, and I'd been promising her a trip to the playground all afternoon. She knocked out in the car just as we got close to home. I felt immediately guilty. She'll forgive me, I'm sure. But for now she is peaceful in her room. (How I managed that during the school's out crazy rush that was occuring when we got here is truly a miracle.) For the first time in well over a year though, while I was driving from the post office to our apartment, I remembered what it was like to drive around like an independent woman instead of sitting at home like a dependent chump. And it was good. And it even made me a little sad. I don't mind sharing our car usually, but it'd be nice if I had a certain day each week designated as "my" day, so that I could drive around and run errands throughout the day and get things done. Most of all, get out of the house. There were times in San Angelo when I had the car, but I didn't really ever feel at ease or in control. The Garmin was always barking directions at me and I was always stressing out about something. Today, had I ventured outside of my little Camp Courtney bubble, I'm sure I would have been panic stricken and hopelessly lost. But for my little excursion, I felt really good.