We went in for our 14 week appointment on July 2nd and were able to meet our doctor at Carle - Dr. Fulfer. We really like her! She was our first choice, so I'm happy we got her! My mom had asked her Carle friends who they recommend, and she came up about 4 of the 5 times, so I figured she had to be good! I had been so anxious though up to this appointment because I was so afraid we weren't going to hear the heartbeat - as I'm sure I'll be at every other appointment I have! As the nurse put the fetal doppler on my stomach, it took a minute or so to find the heartbeat (so of course I was freaking out inside!)...but then FINALLY, there was the heartbeat! It was such an amazing sound to hear - a strong 156 bpm!
So I definitely don't think it is in all my head anymore - I officially did get a bigger baby bump from week 12 to 14 (yay!)! One main difference I see is that in week 14, I actually started filling out at the top of my belly too, not just at the bottom (does that make sense!?). Hopefully these pictures clarify :)
WEEK 12....
THEN....
I can't wait to start showing more!! Especially because people will actually know (hopefully) that I'm pregnant and not just getting *ahem* fat :)
Have a great night!
Molly :)
Thanks for feeding my pregnancy/baby obsession! Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteHi, I was looking for Champaign OBGYN recommendations online, I found your website because I searched for "Dr. Fulfer" and "Carle." My first pregnancy recently ended in a miscarriage and D&C, and I wasn't happy with the care I received from my doctor, Dr. Goodwine-Wozniak. So, I've been looking for a new doctor, and I was thinking about switching to Dr. Fulfer. I hope you don't mind, but I was wondering if you could tell me a little more about Dr. Fulfer and what you thought of her. Is she easy to talk to and does she explain things well? Does she care about her patients and have a good beside manner? Do you trust her medical judgement? Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteHi! So I posted something last night - but it doesn't appear to actually have posted, so I'm going to try again!
DeleteI'm really sorry to hear about your first pregnancy - I truly hope that it works out the second time around and you have a healthy baby before you know it!
I'm glad you found my blog-I am happy to share my thoughts on Dr. Fulfer! I loved Dr. Fulfer - she was great throughout the whole pregnancy and during delivery. She was always kind, knowledgeable, and I felt that she really cared about me. I've heard that from other patients of hers as well! I also had a higher risk pregnancy with gestational diabetes, and she was great with all of that. Another perk is that I LOVE her nurse, Donna. Which is important since it's always the nurse you talk to on the phone with questions :)
Another doctor that really impressed me was Dr. Hennesey - he just came to Carle not that long ago but practiced in Boulder, CO previously. I had him for 2 appointments when Dr. F was available and he discharged me from the hospital after having Annie. He was very knowledgeable, but still really nice. I would also recommend him.
Finally, if you need to meet w/ a nurse practitioner at some point, I recommend Jessica Dyer - she's the best! I hope that helps and good luck!
Thank you so much for telling me more about Dr. Fulfer! I really appreciate it! I'm hoping it won't be a problem to switch to her. I'm glad to hear you liked her nurse too. I felt like Dr. Wozniak's nurse wasn't able to answer a lot of my questions, which added to an already frustrating and emotional situation.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that you met with another doctor when she was unavailable. Is it hard to get appointments with Dr. Fulfer? Also, do you know if she usually tries to be present at the birth? Thank you again! :)
Yes, I hope you can too! Even if Donna doesn't know the answer right away (which is understandable), she talks to Dr. Fulfer asap or finds the answer and always follows up!
DeleteNo, it's not hard to get appts with Dr. F as long as you schedule them ahead of time like they recommend-like a month out. I was on bi-weekly appointments at around 32 weeks and she had taken a vacation just before Christmas, so I had to see Dr. Hennesey then. And then for discharge from the hospital, it's whoever is on call that morning.
Also - yes, I believe Dr. F tries to be present to deliver. She was on call the day I delivered (I was induced so we planned it that way), so she was there for me - and actually rushed straight from another delivery so she could deliver my baby. There was a midwife waiting just in case, but she really wanted to be the one to do it. Jessica Dyer told me that Dr. F asks the labor and delivery nurses to call her when her patients come to the hospital in labor, which I guess is rare for Carle doctors. I don't know if that guarantees you have her unless she is on call, but she does like to know what's going on and I hear that if she is at the hospital, even for appts, she will try to deliver if possible!
Hope that helps clarify! :)