Baby questions

11/18/09 Prenatal medications, trashed

Today we had our 32-week check-up with Dr. Wilberg.

These check-ups are rather funny, since the medical part consists of Joanna peeing in a cup and then the doctor listening to the baby's heartbeat for about twenty seconds. It's a total of about one minute of clinical procedures.

Then, he asks us if we have any questions.

Of course we have questions! How do we create a "Birth Plan?" How much will Joanna be able to move around during labor? Can we travel out of state over Thanksgiving? Why in the world didn't Bill Belichick punt the ball on 4th & 2 with a Patriots' lead and only 2 minutes left in the game?!?

Dr. Wilberg is great, answering our questions patiently. His relaxed, confident style matches Joanna's, and we're feeling confident as we enter the last two months.

The most interesting moment of the visit came when Joanna asked if he could tell which way the baby was facing. The next thing we knew, the Doc placed his hand on Joanna's abdomen, squeezed, and said, "Yeah, I think this is his head right here."

Joanna and I looked at each other. Holy crap! The guy is grabbing the kid's head! I sort of wanted Wilberg to make the little guy nod like a puppet. Hey, it might have been funny.

And, of course, downsizing was not out of my mind during the appointment. One of our questions concerned the proper disposal of some left over medications that we no longer needed. Surely, another pregnant mother could use them. Or, perhaps they could be properly disposed of at the medical facility we were currently standing in!

No dice. The answer: take 'em home and toss 'em in the trash.

Why is throwing stuff into a landfill always the default option? Haven't we moved beyond that yet?

Well, no matter. We can pass the buck on the tough questions. They'll be my son's generation's problem soon enough.