Mafe Maria: Personal stories by autism parent mentor, Maria Stultz

It’s Time!

It's timeThis is a postcard I received two months ago from my doctor in Dallas reminding me of my annual checkup.

Being now in a different city, and given our self-imposed deadline to start trying for a baby, this meant several “awful” things for me: 1) I needed to find a new doctor and make an appointment; 2) I’d have to go through the horrible annual exam I don’t think I’ll ever be able to feel comfortable with, and 3) I’d have to tell my new doctor to put me on prenatal vitamins, officially kicking off the process of attempting to bring a baby to our family.

I placed Tweety on my desk, on a spot where I can’t miss him, and for seven weeks I have procrastinated doing research on doctors at “wounded turtle” speed. For the last 16 days I’ve had a list of suitable doctors, but I kept not calling… And all that time, an extremely happy and excited Tweety stared at me constantly telling me that IT’S TIME. I debated between love and hate, but come on! Look at him… How could you really hate him?

So I’m proud to announce that I have finally made an appointment with a new Ob/Gyn doctor, and everything that means (oh dear)… Here we go…

6 comments:

  1. On , Jennifer wrote:

    Just one thing came to mind… Like you think ANY woman EVER feels comfortable with THAT exam? HELLO?!?! I’d have to say you’re nuts if you think, “Oh gee, I’m so excited to have some stranger looking inside me from the bottom up! OOOOHhh YAYAY!”

    It’s just not a great experience so I am with you on the procrastination in that respect.

    Wow, things are starting to get REAL for you, aren’t they??

  2. On , Maria wrote:

    You know… And if it was only “looking”… sure, no big deal…
    I described to Joey what goes on during those exams, plus the fact that I’m ticklish at a certain part of it (how frickin’ embarrassing!)… He can’t hear about it any more: His reaction was gags and rolling of eyes as if he was about to faint… Men really get it easy, don’t they?

  3. On , Kim Rodriguez wrote:

    Don’t worry….wait til you get joey in the delivery room! what’s more, once you go through labor/delivery.. (xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)….. annual exams will seem very inconsequential….
    the (xxxx) were a little quip that I guess I’ll reserve until AFTER you’ve gone through labor/delivery….
    ;-)

  4. On , Maria wrote:

    Hmmm… I wonder if xxxxxxxx is one of the two “WHAT???” things I’ve heard related to labor. I’m guessing there are more than two “nice” surprises, huh?

    Brrrrr!!!!

  5. On , Petie wrote:

    One of Chris’s many nicknames is, “tweety.” We both took a survey once that related us to a cartoon character. I wish I could remember what I got… but I will never forget that Chris got tweety – someone that everyone likes. :) My little tweety.

    Good for you for taking the first step. I hope you find a doctor you like. Also, remember to ask where she delivers – if that matters to you.

  6. On , Maria wrote:

    Funny…
    Yep, we narrowed down the list by looking at hospital affiliation, dates of graduation and residence, and one third check (I’m not sure it’s ok to say here). Right before calling my top choice I googled her name just in case, and found a website with customer reviews for doctors. She had three great reviews. Without anyone who could give me a reference, this is the closest I can probably get to picking a good doctor.