Yesterday was my first monitoring appointment. Thankfully, I only had to drive an hour south to a women's health center instead of four hours to the fertility clinic in Jacksonville. I was glad I got there early because it looked like there were a lot of women waiting to have scans done (or the location simply schedules a dozen patients for 8:30am on a Monday). The ultrasound scan itself is painless, if a bit awkward. The nurse/technician pointed out the various fibriods to me, including one that will definitely have to be removed via surgery prior to any embryo transfer. Fun fact: a fibroid larger than 4cm is considered "large" and will likely hinder pregnancy.
After the scan was done, I drove over to the nearby hospital for my bloodwork. I'd never been to the lab there before and the signage is not the most helpful I've ever experienced. I walked into what I hoped was the correct location and went to the registration desk. There was a sign-in sheet, but since I wasn't sure I was in the right place, I waited for the woman behind the desk to finish her phone call. At first I was patient, but as I realized she was simply chit-chatting about non-work things (it didn't sound urgent), I started to fidget. I finally got her attention long enough to ask if I was in the right place. Not entirely -- I was supposed to walk into the room next door and grab someone's attention there. So I did. The technician who took my blood was incredibly polite, attentive, and good at what she did (it was the least painful needle stick I've had in a while). I spent less time getting my blood drawn than I did waiting for the lady at the desk to notice I was standing there. At least I know where to go the next time, and knowing is half the battle.