Congratulations Melissa!
You know I did have an experience with pain meds during my first pregnancy but not in a "CP" sort of way....
The first month of my pregnancy I began having pain & hard belly. By my second month my stomach looked like I was 4 months pregnant. Turned out to be cysts. Instead of rupturing like most cysts eventually do... a series of 4 (3 on one side and 1 on the other ovary), they grew. Fast. Very very fast. We made a decision together. We would let the cysts and the pregnancy be. We would see what would end up happening over the first term. If they ruptured and I lost the pregnancy (the larger with 3 was a little larger than a soft ball, the other two on that side were size of golf balls and the one on the left was the size of a small tennis ball) then it was meant to be that way. If the fetus was still stable and I still had the cysts by my 4th month then we would have them all surgically removed.
The cysts didn't rupture. The fetus was progressing at a normal rate. We went into surgery my 4th month. When I woke I was told I had stopped breathing... the experience of that I wont go into. I was also told that the larger of the cysts continued to grow during those months of waiting was the size of a grape fruit. I had to stay an unusually long amount of time because I had stopped breathing, they had to resuscitate, aed, et al. It was a very long week. Dear goodness in heaven I missed my family (I swear I was with my family weird) and my chest hurt terribly bad. My throat burned and was raw for weeks.
Long story short I was obviously given a large amount of meds for the months before the surgery. Anesthesia of course. Incredible amount after the surgery while in recovery. Of course, meds for my first month out of hospital.
No matter what the doctors, nursing staff and midwife told me... I was sure I harmed my baby. I fretted the entire time I was pregnant. How could all those meds NOT hurt a baby? I saw the commercials on TV, I heard what other moms said in Lamaze class.
...She's fine. Healthy, active and obsessed with all things relating to science. Now my biggest regret? That I didn't enjoy myself while I was pregnant. I spent so much time worried, anxious and scared I wasted my entire pregnancy fretting.
What is my point? Don't worry. Listen to your doctors. The advancements in medical knowledge these days is amazing. You will do just fine. Just follow your heart and do the best you can. Most of all, enjoy yourself! The rest will fall into place.
...as a side note though... get in with an OB / GYN a.s.a.p. make sure that the GYN and your PM are in contact with one another right away. It will help them to both be on the same page.
*warm hugg*
dani