I recently made my next yearly appointment with my “woman doctor” and since I am a “glass is half full” kind of gal I thought I would look at the bright side of my impending visit.
See, I have a favorite part of going to the woman doctor (yes, I know I am freak for having a favorite part – stay with me…) and that would be…. seeing the males in the waiting room. I mean if you’re gonna wait for 30 minutes plus you might as well have some fun “people watching.”
And c’mon, you know what I mean. I love that you can usually tell which guys are there for the first time with their newly pregnant significant others. They kinda have this total “deer in headlights” look and some even look a little glazed over like their whole world just got turned topsy-turvy and well, I guess it just did. Seriously, I’ve seen some of them look like they are about to vomit when they walk through that door and into the first baby appointment. But then I was in the same situation a couple of times, so I can totally relate. ; )
I tend to wonder if they are freaking out more about actually being the only man (or two) in a waiting room full of women, knowing exactly what is about to happen to the ladies (Okay, well maybe not exactly, it’s not like many of them have ever seen a speculum and yes, I did just use that word on my blog.) Or if they are losin’ it more over the fact that they are about to be responsible for another human being… Oh and that the next 8 months of their lives are going to be ALL about the arrival of that baby. It’s inevitable.
Anyway, I thought it would be cool to get a few guys’ perspective on this (besides my husband’s) so if any of you know a guy who is willing to read this and give his 2 cents, I’d love to hear it. C’mon ladies, get your guys to comment – it’ll be fun! : ) How did they feel when they made that first visit to see how their world (and their heart) was about to be rocked? How did they feel sitting in the obgyn’s waiting room? And if they don’t want to actually comment, at least ask ‘em and let me know. Just curious…
*As I disclaimer I don’t mean to imply that EVERY father-to-be is this way, just many of the ones at my doctor’s office! : )
My DH wasn’t freaked out by the dr. appts…he was just plain freaked out by the idea of being a father and being responsible for a little one!
Oh, and I LOVE going to my OB…She is the best doctor I’ve ever had and we’ve even sort of become friends since I was in her office practically every month for almost 3 years! Is that weird?
My hubby was always totally cool, calm & collected at such appointments, although he didn’t come to all of them with me. I’m grateful that he is so “even-keeled” because I needed him to be!! Must be quite funny seeing all the different reactions. I can’t say I’ve ever looked or noticed before 🙂
I love people watching too- and yes, men in this setting are quite amusing to watch
I found out I was pregnant about three weeks after our honeymoon–my husband hid under the covers when I told him, really!
haha, wouldnt you love to be able to hear the thoughts racing through their head at that moment? Poor things. haha
I had the reverse problem w/ my husband. He is a doctor and was way too comfortable at the appointments. He would get down at end where my doctor was standing, and they would compare notes like they were checking under the hood of a car!
okay, during my pregnancies if my regular ob wasn’t available i would always see Dr. Dickey. Since that is my name too I always got a really great chuckle from the looks on everyone else’s faces when the said over the waiting room speaker, “Mrs. Dickey to Dr. Dickey’s office.” You could see the wheels turning… from every thought from “i wonder if they are related, ewwww; to why would they make his wife wait out here; to did they just say what i think i heard…fun times i tell ya!
It may make him sound like bad husband, but I don’t think he ever came. He offered, but I’m sure I declined precisely for that reason. I didn’t want to be gawked at, and the couples always get the most attention. I just always made sure I had my wedding ring on so people wouldn’t go there either!
During one pregnancy I had the privilege of sharing the waiting room with a teenage girl who came with her mommy and thug boyfriend. We were almost always there on the same day, at the same time. THAT WAS SOME FANTASTIC PEOPLE WATCHING!
With our first son my husband went to most of my appointments and was definitely a little white knuckled during the first one. After all it is an internal exam. He is REALLY squeamish so stepping foot into the room with all that equipment was just about enough to send him to the floor.
With my second I think he went once and they needed to draw blood and give me a shot because I had been spotting. He went and sat in the car! He hasn’t been back since.
Daddy Mo’s irst visit to the ob/gyn was when I got preggo with #1. While we were waiting for the dr (we were already in the exam. room), DM (that would be Daddy Mo) was asking me all kinds of questions and got quite curious checking out the equipment in the room. He got on the exam. table and put his feet in the stirrups, he wanted to know what I felt, LMAO. I was pretending to the be the doctor, shining the light at his privates (we were dressed, thank you very much). AND THAT”S WHEN MY DOCTOR walked in. She caught him on the table with his feet in the stirrups and me playing with the light. For a split second, we are froze, looking at each other, then burst out laughing. My doc says- “Oh you guys are going to be a fun couple”.
Funny thing is with each subsequent pregnant, DM went with me less and less to the dr. th #3, he only went ONCE and that was for the anatomy ultrasound!
I have to admit that my hubby got out of most of the appointments. I always went after work, and the place was a haul, so I didn’t force him to come.
Now I think he was probably lucky to have such a laid back wife. Doesn’t this now mean that he owes me?? Heehee 🙂
I am guessing that eventually my husband will be one of those men (since we don’t have kids yet) and I will have him do a guest blog entry at that time.
In the meantime, I would like to share that mom and I refer to the speculum as the “jaws of life”….
My husband was pretty excited with the first one. He couldn’t wait to see the ultrasounds.
After that the ultrasounds were nail-biters…is it a girl? no. Is it a girl? no. He probably won’t have to go through any of those again. 🙁
Sorry he didn’t comment himself – I think my husband would rather punch himself in the head than read my blogs. He doesn’t know what he’s missing!
Oh gosh. You’re reminding me that I SO need to make that appointment. Fun.
My hubby only went with me to the first appointment, and the ultrasounds. And yeah, I’d say the “deer in the headlights” description fit him. ;o)
My husband actually took me to the gyno for my first appointment ever during our engagement (I was 21 and wasn’t sexually active so I had no real reason to go before then). He didn’t come in with me (that would have just been awkward) but he did mention that I came out looking like I had been violated.
For baby number 1 he didn’t come to the doctor’s with me at all because he was overseas in Iraq (we were blessed that he got to come home in time for delivery).
For baby number 2 he has actually gone to two appointments with me. He freaked out when he saw my first “internal” ultra sound. He was like, “You’ve got to be kidding me! She’s going to put that there? Shouldn’t she buy you dinner first?!” (Yeah, he’s that guy…). He was also there for ultrasound number two. He won’t be there for any more appointments though since he’s deploying again. I joke that the Army has something against dh being home for my pregnancies…
It looks like I am the first husband to comment for himself but I would say that I was very excited at the first appointment. Mainly because Claudia and I spent five years trying to get pregnant and then spent $20K doing in-vitro to make it happen. After all that, I didn’t want to miss a thing. I went to almost all of her appointments for baby #1 but I only went to a few appointments for baby #2. I think it is very interested to know how it all works and Claudia is not very good at telling me how things went. It is easier for me to go and ask my own questions.
The people in the waiting room at my doctor’s office must not be very interesting. Either that, or I always have my nose stuck in a book. Yeah, that’s it. Very clever – and uncharted – topic!