Oh, What a Week this Was
Oh, what a week this was. No worries, nothing bad really happened, but it has been a week of emotional ups and downs, and I am glad it is coming to a close! I started out the week on Monday with a doctor's appointment. This was a check-up and then I had to do the glucose screening test. The check-up went well - the babe's heartbeat is good and everything looked fine. The doctor did note that I am measuring a little bit small, but she said that with my size, and this being my first pregnancy, and with the fact that I had such strong ab muscles to begin with (oh yeah!), my insides just probably aren't expanding as quickly. Nothing to worry about - so I wasn't worried. She did schedule an ultrasound for my November 21st appointment just to make sure, but she kept reassuring me that I really shouldn't be worried. I am a small person and it isn't out of the ordinary for people my size to measure a little small. Great, no problem. Mostly, I am just excited that we get to see the babe again in just over a week! Matt will come with me for that appointment, so it will be really fun. Plus, we get to confirm that the babe is really a boy. Even though there was no doubt the first time, it will be nice to see him again and make sure!Now, on to the glucose screening. For this test you drink a big cup of really sweet, syrupy orange soda (or at least that is the flavor mine was). Then you wait an hour and they prick your finger and test your blood sugar. At my doctor's you have to have a blood sugar of 134 or lower to pass. If you fail, you have to come back for a 3-hour, more comprehensive, version of the test. It is checking to see if you've developed gestational diabetes, something that some women develop around this time in their pregnancy. Now, really, if you have gestational diabetes, it isn't a huge deal - you meet with a dietitian, learn to manage your diet and have to check your blood sugar regularly, basically just like if you have regular diabetes. And usually, it goes away once you deliver. However, of course nobody wants to have gestational diabetes.
So on with the test. I'm feeling fine - not really that worried. I mean, I am healthy and my weight is good and one of the problems you have if you have gestational diabetes is an overly large baby. Well, I had just been told that I am actually measuring small, so surely there was no way I'd fail, right? Mmmhmm. One hour later - BAM - blood sugar of 177. FAIL. In case you weren't aware, I generally don't do well with failure. I know it is a fault of mine and that some things are simply out of your control (like this test), but still, that was not what I wanted to see at all. Then you combine that fact with pregnancy hormones...oh boy...I actually started to tear up right there with the nurse who pricked my finger. I knew it didn't mean much at this point except that I had to come back for the three-hour, but wow, did I feel like a failure. Even though it is totally irrational, all I kept thinking was how badly I had failed our babe at that appointment - he was too small, my blood sugar was too high...etc. etc. Oh, I was not in a happy place when I left there.
My poor sweet husband was great in trying to console me over the phone and deserves a medal for having to deal with me that morning, but even after talking to him, I sat in the parking lot and cried for probably 30 minutes. I needed to go get some lunch before going back to work, but I literally felt paralyzed - I knew I needed to eat (the babe was too small - he needed nutrients!), but I was also now scared to eat (what is going to keep my blood sugar from going sky high?). I sat and I sat. I drove to one restaurant, pulled into the drive thru, and then pulled out again without ordering and sat in their parking lot and cried a little bit more. I was just so upset. I do not want to do anything to harm our babe, and I knew that I would do whatever I needed to to deal with gestational diabetes if I had it, but right then I just needed to be upset over it. I had failed. This pregnancy has gone so smoothly, and now suddenly here was this hiccup (which I recognize, in the grand scheme of things, is hardly even worth noting, but it is all relative - and inflated by hormones). After another phone call to Matt, I finally decided on something to eat, got myself together and made it to work.
Again, I really couldn't ask for a better partner and side-kick in all of this - later that afternoon these arrived at my office, with the sweetest card from my husband (in fact, the card is still sitting on my desk at work, just as a reminder of what it's all about). I think they might be the prettiest flowers I have ever received. Even today, four days later, they are still just as beautiful.
Today arrived and my appointment was first thing in the morning at 8am. I was much better prepared to fail this time. Of course, I was still hoping for a good outcome (because a lot of women who fail the one-hour test go on to pass the three-hour one), but I had convinced myself not to be so upset if I failed this one too. In the end it is better to know what we're dealing with so that the babe can get here safely and be healthy. And I knew that. I knew that I would deal with the outcome if it was bad, learn how to manage it and we'd make it through the next three months just fine. But let's be honest, Thanksgiving and Christmas would be a lot more fun if I didn't have to watch what I was eating all the time!
So they take your "fasting" blood sugar first thing. Mine was 69 - which is low, but I hadn't eaten anything since the night before, so that isn't abnormal. Then you drink an even bigger cup of the super sweet orange soda concoction and wait an hour. I was calm. I was collected during that hour. I was feeling pretty good. One hour passes, she pricks my finger, tests my blood sugar - BAM - it had skyrocketed to 217. Dang it. I don't remember what the threshold was to pass that test, but I can assure you I failed it. The good thing with the long test is that you are tested 2 more times, so all was not lost yet. I was disappointed and figured that meant I probably had gestational diabetes, but I did not get upset. I texted both Matt and my sister to let them know that things weren't looking good, and both were so loving and encouraging. I said a little prayer and hoped for the best at the 2 hour mark.
Well lo and behold, two hours rolled around and there was my blood sugar at a nice 144! That is actually the threshold it had to reach by the third test, so that was awesome. I was really not prepared to see anything good pop up and it was such a great surprise. The nurse told me that it was a good sign, and we'd still have to see how the third one did, but I might not have to worry after all. Another hour later and my blood sugar had dropped back to 70, almost to the point of my fasting blood sugar from early in the morning. This was such great news - I PASSED! The doctor said that because of my small size, it is likely that the sugar solution shocked my system at first (hence the super high first number), but then once my body got going, it took care of it just fine (hence, the much, much better numbers in the 2nd and 3rd hours). I was released to go and enjoy whatever I wished, and now I do not have to worry about this anymore in this pregnancy! What a fantastic feeling. You can bet that I went out and enjoyed a great lunch. I was starving at that point!
Anyways, I know I overreacted on Monday, and if I had failed the test again today and been diagnosed with gestational diabetes we certainly would have dealt with it and done whatever needed to be done to keep the babe safe and healthy, but it is really nice not to have to worry about it anymore. Oh, and I had to get my rhogam shot today too (because of my blood type) - that really wasn't that bad, but they give it to you in your bottom. I honestly don't remember the last time I received a shot there!
Whew, so glad all that is over. Looking forward to seeing our babe on the 21st at our ultrasound. And in the meantime, here's a picture at 27 weeks. Hard to believe that the third trimester starts Tuesday!!
 |
| We are growing! |
Post a Comment