It's Official!

I have Gestational Diabetes. 

Again.

Yeah, I've been watching my carbs and testing my blood sugar levels all along.  It's no surprise and will be 'business as usual' for me but I was holding on to the little glimmer of hope that I might kick the glucose test's ass.  I came close to winning. Closer than I ever have before.

My history with sugar ...

Megan - took the 1-hour test at the typical 28 weeks.  Passing is <140.  I hit 205.  YIKES!  The doc didn't even need me to take the 3-hour test.  A fasting blood sugar of 126 (should have been <95) confirmed it.

Emily - took the 1-hour test at 7 weeks.  Passing is <140.  I hit 179.  WOW!  Should have taken the 3-hour test but didn't bother to schedule it and my doc seemed OK with that.

The Boy - took the 1-hour test at 9 weeks.  Passing is <140.  I hit 111!!!  I PASSED!  So I took the 1-hour test again at 28 weeks, even though my doc didn't seem to think I needed to. I barely failed with a 156.  Held onto hope that I could pass so I took the 3-hour test.  FAILED IT! 
   Fasting:      84  (<90)   ** fantastic **
   1-Hour:   186  (<180)  ** close! **
   2-Hour:   177  (<155)  ** ouch! **
   3-Hour:     77  (<140)  ** sugar crash **

The main reason I wanted to take the test, aside from a failed personal mission to pass it, was so I could have the diagnosis in my records.  If I end up having problems or in the hospital on bed rest, I just need to have it in writing that I am a Gestational Diabetic.  I don't need anyone overlooking anything.

I'll be 30 weeks tomorrow.  Emily was born at 30 weeks so I'm holding my breath until we get past this week.  Don't go back to the doc until next Tuesday!  Looking forward to another ultrasound!!

IMG00451-20110317-1351.jpg

So I pulled this can from the fridge and Megan says, "Hey! You have a heart on your beer!"

Ummm ... Not to throw blame ... But I haven't been drinking recently.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Another Stellar Performance



27 weeks 6 days
March 15, 2011

Both The Boy and the cervix behaved well at my appointment with the "you're too old and have too many crazy pregnancy problems" doctor today. James came along so it was nice to have him there but for some reason they only run behind schedule when he's along for the ride and he has so little patience for time spent in waiting rooms. The Boy weighs approximately 2lbs 15oz already. The doc was happy with his growth and everything else still looks normal. Yeah, he's still a boy. Not that I expect that to change but it's always good to have confirmation. My cervix still looks very good (4.5+cm ... Worry starts at 2.5) and there was no funneling going on. Good news all around! Doc said he didn't need to see me for another 3-4 weeks, so I go back in 3. Still planning to continue the couch potato rest but I have a little peace of mind now.

As for my shots ... the injections I've been taking are called 17p. It's a compounded hydroxy progesterone. A company recently gained FDA approval to manufacture and market the drug (and be the sole company to do so for 7 years) so compounding pharmacies are no longer allowed to make it. The cost is increasing from roughly $15 per dose to $1500 per dose for the SAME DAMN DRUG. Make sense? Yeah, that's just the way government works, I suppose. And FDA approved drugs are always the best and safest out there, right? *cough*cough* SO my doc today said he cannot ethically prescribe a $6000 per month drug for me that, frankly, has mixed results in pre-term birth prevention. I have 1 more vial being shipped to me Thursday and it will last me until I am 32 weeks pregnant. After that, thank you big greedy pharmaceutical company and big stupid government, I am off the miracle drug injections. I'm sure everything will be fine. Doc said he'll prescribe a progesterone suppository in its place. Oh I can't wait for that. *sarcasm*



26 weeks 3 days
March 5, 2011

 I go back to Dr. P (OB) next week. I go back to Dr. Z (high risk guy) in April.  My last visit with Dr. P was last Friday.  It went well but it was basically one of those "chit chat" appointments.  I took my 1-hour glucose test and expect the results soon. I'm sure I failed it and I didn't even have to take it but it was kind of personal for me this time around. My blood sugars have been so good, I just wanted to see if I could beat it!! I had gained a pound since my visit a week and a half before (yikes) and my total weight gain is standing at 16 pounds. I was doing great there for a while then *BOOM* my appetite just erupted!!

I had a dream a while ago that this baby was born at 28 weeks. That's tomorrow through next Tuesday. I don't really pay attention to dreams but sometimes the "baby" dreams come true. I'll be taking it extra easy until next week for sure!

Pictures

I go to the MFM tomorrow for another checkup.  It has been 3 weeks and one uneventful trip to L&D since my last visit so I'm anxious.  More about The Boy later (hopefully tomorrow).  For now, you'll have to sit back and enjoy some pics of the cutest girls in the world!  OK, so I'm a little biased ...  

A little bit of dress-up.  Despite my best efforts, they're becoming girly girls right before my eyes. They LOVE the fancy shoes Santa brought.

They're intrigued by all the baby stuff.  It's going to be interesting.

Finally some outside time and breaking of the girly girl dress up habit!

This might seem a little strange but you would be surprised how many hits my little 3 year old Craig Biggio-ette has on the back of her Topps 2011 card.

Time to teach the little one too.  No, she's not wearing a batting helmet. That's her Trike Helmet and it has Dora on it and she wears it while we're outside.  Always.  Silly girl!

Daddy's influence showing through.  Hoop dreams?  She is a tall girl and can sink the fade away from a few feet out!  Ball selection is a bit of a problem right now.

No idea where she learned this. She just got in the goal and crouched down like a natural born keeper.  Too cute for words!  She has a pretty awesome shot too!  Hopefully she won't be pulled up to forward from defense when her team doesn't want to score any more. That never happened to me.

Update on The Boy

We had a little excitement last week that we could have done without. I was having some painless contractions Wednesday morning, which I really wouldn't have worried about but I also had an achy back and the MFM doc said my cervix, while still long and closed, is funneling already. With me, better safe than sorry, so I checked in for a stint in Labor and Delivery. They hooked me up to the monitors and did a fetal fibronectin test. The "contractions" weren't even registering on the monitor and the ffn test came back negative, so I was sent home with orders to "take it easy". I'm sure they giggled when I left and put my folder in the "crazy" pile. They know I'll be back. :D

So ... A funneling cervix is not a good thing BUT it is still 4-5 cm long. You worry at 2.5. Picture, if you so desire, a 5 cm cylinder. At the top, you have a 1cm funnel going down into it. Imagine there's a baby's head headed down that funnel and you've just pictured my cervix and, well, what happens during birth.

Next ... The fetal fibronectin test, in case you're wondering, is a swab test that can predict pre-term labor. Fetal fibronectin is a chemical in a substance that acts as a glue between the amniotic sac and the walls of the uterus. If it is detected in ... where the baby comes out ... You are pretty likely to go into labor within the next two weeks. A negative result is actually more helpful in determining that you will NOT go into pre-term labor for 2 weeks. A little peace of mind for us.

So being a couch potato is my life now. I went to Dr. P today (she's the OB) and instead of releasing me from couch arrest, she said I really need to do a whole lot of nothing until I'm at least 30 weeks. Yeah, I'm 26 weeks today so that takes me all the way to April. She explained it to me in terms I would understand. The difference between a little boy being born at 26 weeks and 30 weeks is "survival". Guess I'll be sitting on my ass as much as possible. Can't argue with that.

And how possible is that when poor Megan and Emily are going stir crazy and are watching so much TV they don't even care anymore?! At least they have school twice a week.

So that's where we are today. I see Dr. P again next Friday and she'll probably do another FFN test. I see Dr. Z again the week after that. He's the MFM who does all the sonograms. Then, I'm back with Dr. P the week after that. Still doing my weekly shots too. Too late to rethink this whole thing ... But I would probably do it all over again even knowing what I know now. Can't wait to meet this little guy - SOMETIME in MAY!!

Kid, listen to your mother!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry