Gestational Diabetes (GD)

So as I mentioned in my last post I have GD and therefore I have to make some changes to my lifestyle.
This past Monday I had a growth ultrasound. Baby boy is already 3lbs 1 oz., measuring a week ahead and growing beautifully! He was very shy per usual and we didn't get any good shots of his profile. My ultrasound place has 3D capability but I have a feeling we won't be getting any good shots of those since he loves hiding his face, oh well...I've always been a big fan of surprises anyway. You won't be hiding your face from me soon enough little man! lol

Afterwards we meet with the nutritionist. I love this lady and I kid you not she looks and sounds just like Lisa Lampanelli! And her name is Lisa! Ha! Ok moving on.
Seems like I failed my 3hr intervals by only 1-2 points above their standards (Doh!) So I'm very borderline.
She didn't want to put me on any medications because she feels that a diet change should be enough to control my GD for the remainder of the pregnancy. I am being monitored for 2 weeks to make sure this new diet really is helping me control my sugars.

Ok so here is a little GD 101.
Gestational Diabetes is a type of diabetes developed only during pregnancy. This is a disease of metabolism which causes your blood sugar to be too high. Your body, when functioning properly breaks down the food you eat and converts it into a simple sugar known as glucose which is your body's main source of energy.
With GD, your placenta can interrupt your own insulin production. This is why any woman; heavy, thin, healthy etc. can form GD. You are at a higher risk if you don't eat well or are a heavier set woman but plenty of thin healthy women can get this too. Just luck of the draw in the end.
Monitoring and controlling GD will help future complications such as a larger than normal baby (which increases your chances of an early birth & C-section), developing Jaundice and developing Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS) among others. Even though your GD will leave after you give birth you can be at risk to develop type II diabetes which is why monitoring your blood sugars will continue about 6 weeks post-partum.
(This is all information given to me in my "Managing Gestational Diabetes" booklet. It's an easy read and very informative.)

Currently I check my blood sugars with my glucometer 4 times a day. I check once in the morning when I wake up and 2hrs after breakfast, lunch and dinner. During the morning my numbers should be between 70-95 and after meals they should be between 70-120. I have had no problems with my after meal numbers but I couldn't figure out why my numbers where above 95 in the morning. Finally I realized my after dinner snacks might be to blame. Once I cut those out my numbers were starting to fall within the right range. 3 meals and 3 (now 2) snacks a day seem a lot to me, but I'm handling it well. My appetite hasn't been very strong during this pregnancy so sometimes I have to force myself to eat.
I'm still learning & testing my boundaries on food consumption but there are 3 rules everyone should follow.

1. Protein at every meal. This helps to avoid that crashing feeling one gets after a meal because of eating too many carbs.

2. If a food has more than 6% of fiber, it actually helps you subtract from the number of carbs you’re having in your meal.

3. No simple sugars, no fruit juices and fruit should not be had in the morning or after dinner.

I won't lie, I already live without indulging in wine every now and again so being told I can't enjoy some sour patch gummies now too seems cruel but....I know I would do anything for this kid so it’s not a big sacrifice. He will be here soon and I needed to eat more veggies in my life anyways :)

For addtional information you can visit National Institue of Child Health & Development (NICHD)

Quaking on more healthy,
~JD

Birth Boards are strange...

So I was thinking about the birth board I belong to today and to be quite frank I really just hang around for the entertainment value. I mean I've picked up a few tips here & there but most of the time it just feels like women attacking other women for different opinions, stupid subjects, etc. I remember I posted something back in December about my baby being a boy, and what a boy! The picture I have just makes his "package" look big and I made a joke about hubby being happy that he is well hung. That's all it literally was, a joke! But no....I had random women very disgusted about what I said, almost made me out to sound like a perv and "why would I be a happy about him being well hunged?"
Ahhhhhhh.....I don't get people.
I miss the ladies from the TTC groups; they always had a wealth of relative information to share and really kept you in high spirits, then again who would want to be part of TTC group that was anything but helpful & supportive? It's already stressful in the real world trying to make your dreams happen, why add virtual stress to that too.
Rant over.

Quaking on,
~JD

Almost to the home stretch!

It's been awhile in the blogging world for me and it's been nice to catch up on some on my favorite blogs. With spring just right around the corner there is new hope in the air and the possibilities of new beginnings feel even stronger than ever. I want to take a moment to give a shout out to all the ladies embarking on new pathways that will allow you to get a step closer to motherhood! You’re always in my thoughts and prayers.

Come Saturday I will be 28 weeks and officially be in the third trimester! Just when I was complaining it was all going so slowly, I blinked and the clock fast forward quickly.
So here is a quick update on things so far.

First the bad..
I failed both my 1hr and 3hr Glucose test so I am now diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes...great...(eye roll). For someone who doesn't drink soda, doesn't really like chocolate/sweets and can eat her weight in carrots, this just doesn't seem fair. I want to do a separate post on this after my meeting with the nutritionist on Monday for anybody looking for more information. I have found some great recipes for GD that I can't wait to try out this week. It's going to be the healthiest 3 months of my life, lol.

Now onto the good...
Work wise-I actually got a raise! I call it my "Cost of Baby's Living Allowance Adjustment" since that's were all my new funds are going to go. I feel really empowered right now and in admiration for all the movement done towards women's rights. A young pregnant women actually flourishing and getting new offices/raises just a few months short of going on maternity leave? Shocking! 

Baby wise-Baby boy has become quite an active little fellow. I don't worry about kick counts because I feel him practically all day long. He is quiet during the morning, gets busy in the afternoon till the evening (very active in the evening). I don't know how active he is when I sleep since he has never woken me up during the night. Surprisingly I am still sleeping fine too! We will see how long that lasts, lol.

DH and I ordered the crib last night and it felt great since we have barely anything for him yet. Our baby shower is on April 28th which is only about 5 weeks away from my due date. Stressful much? Uh yeah!
My mom has racked up many reward points on her credit card so she gave us $200 in Babies "R" Us gift cards. We had to choose a different crib because the one we liked does not have the option to ship to the store which would have given us free shipping. They would have to ship it to us, which would have cost $129.00 for JUST shipping......Ridiculous!
So we went with this one instead...

We currently live in a one bedroom apartment so we wanted something that wouldn't consume too much space and would give us the changing table as well. Our bedroom is quite huge and this will fit perfectly. We also have a separate small closet apart from our his & her closets that will be more storage for the baby. Aside from that, our attic will also help us store anything else needed.

  I'll be seeing baby boy on Monday as well, can't wait to see how big he has gotten!

Quacking on,
 ~JD

My Wish..

Dearest baby boy,

Growing up a little Latin girl in New York City gave me very little (if any) exposure to country music. It wasn’t until I went to college in upstate New York, made some friends, met your father and met his family that my love & appreciation for country music began to flourish. Now I’m not a HUGE country fan (and for the record, your father is NOT a fan, lol) but I no longer have a negative reaction to the sound of a “twang” and if I wasn’t a happily married woman, I’d make Brad Paisley participate in a shotgun wedding in a heartbeat J

Any who, I’m explaining this now because I have a song I hold dear to me. A popular little diddy I imagine but like I said, I came into this music a little late. I think of you now every time I hear it. I hope one day, if you decide to get married and you decide you want a mother/son dance. I hope this can be ours <3

My Wish-Rascal Flatts

Never a moments rest.......SUA?

Oh the new things I learn everyday...

Part 2 of my anatomy scan went pretty smoothly. Baby boy is very stubborn but will give in to the technician after awhile. This time she was able to get some excellent photos of the spine but getting the photos of specific sections of the heart were still difficult because of the position he was in. 

The high risk doctor switch out with her towards the end just to see if he could have better luck with it. He did manage to get some pictures and let us know that even though he thinks it looks fine (baby has 4 chambers and everything) they want to schedule me for a fetal echo-cardiogram because he didn't get everything he needed. During the scan he also mentioned to us that our son has an abnormality with his umbilical cord. Normal umbilical cords have 3 vessels, 1 vein and 2 arteries. My son's umbilical cord has 1 vein and 1 large artery. This condition is called Single Umbilical Artery (SUA)

Naturally this threw us off guard since how many first time parents know what the hell that is?!
The high risk doctor didn't seem overly concern with this new information. Ducky has been measuring good in every aspect and the echo-cardiogram will rule out any abnormalities in the heart. He explained normal function of delivery of oxygen and nutrients could still be handled by just 1 artery. I wish I would have asked more questions but in the end he is not my regular OBGYN and I figured the best route to take would be to discuss what (if any) new plan we would have to make in light of having SUA.

I've tried not googling but I can't lie, I have a little. Most of the information out there is relatively positive but of course you always find horror stories here and there. So far I have found out that it is a rare condition, about 1% are diagnosed (1 in 100 births).

*Small vent=I'm really tired of this 1% bullshit. I was told by our R.E. we had a 1% chance of conceiving naturally without the use of fertility treatments. Can I just say...grrrrrrr? Yeah that is about as eloquently as I have the energy to put it right now, lol.

Anyways, I also found out that the reasons for it are relatively unknown and the likelihood of it repeating in another pregnancy is highly unlikely. Seems that many women have had healthy pregnancies despite of SUA however they are monitored much more closely once the diagnosis has been made. Some women have had to have early inductions if the baby is showing signs of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) since the baby will have a better time growing outside of the womb. Most doctors will not allow SUA babies to go past the 40 week mark. There also seems to be more concerns if a baby has other abnormalities besides SUA (heart defects, one kidney, markers for down syndrome, etc). So far baby boy is looking good, measuring in at a whopping 12 ounces! Just have to keep my faith strong and hope for the best possible outcome.

I'm 20 weeks today, officially half way there. Lets keep going at this my baby boy, mama's determine to make it another 20 weeks! Can't wait to meet you :)

Quaking on,
~JD

My Christmas Story...Part 2 (Finale)

Ok we continue on with the show….

Once we were at the ER I was put through a series of tests and such. They placed an I.V. in me, took about 4 vials of blood, sent me for an ultrasound and checked out the PH of my “leakage”.

Well when all was said and done a very tired and out of it looking doctor discussed our results with us. All blood work is fine, I’m not leaking amniotic fluid but the results of my ultrasound stated that my amniotic fluid came back on the low side. I needed to follow-up with my OBGYN asap. We left the hospital around 3:30am.

I spent all Sunday in bed with a gallon of water by my side in hopes by some miracle I could replenish fluid that I had somehow lost. Although I tried not to despair it was impossible not to. I was miserable and very tired. I tried to find some information on this but since the possibilities on why I was low varied from source to source, I stop googling since it was not helping me calm down. My mother spent the day with me feeding me and keeping me company. I couldn’t believe how good it felt to have her there. We have very different personalities and we tend to bicker more as we get older but when it is needed she is there in an open, loving way only. My DH is wonderful but he couldn’t provide me with the comfort I needed. I think he was having a hard time processing this as well.

Monday morning rolls around and I have an appointment with an OBGYN at my new clinic (not the doctor I had an upcoming appointment with) to see what I should do. His name was Dr. Gerber (I found this slightly amusing) and he was really wonderful. He laid down what my options would be if I had lost all my fluid and so forth but he also said that sometimes he doesn’t completely trust the results of the ER because A) They are being transcribe sometimes from a different state altogether and B) The ultrasound technician is not specialized in OB. I prayed he was right.

He checked out my cervix, it was completely closed. He also rechecked the PH of my vaginal fluids, no amniotic fluids found. Amazingly he scheduled me at a high risk pregnancy office for an ultrasound same day (mind you it was New Year’s Eve). The results of the ultrasound would determine our options.

As soon as I settled into the coolest chair I’ve ever been in, the first thing the technician stated to us was “looks to me like baby has plenty of fluids”……THANK YOU LORD!

Honestly the rest of the ultrasound was a blur; I didn’t even realize she had decided to do my anatomy scan that day as well. They didn’t get all the pictures they needed so I have to go back but to me that is just another chance to see my little Ducky. The only thing she could tell me about what happened in the ER is that the shape of my uterus might have caused them to miscalculate the amount of fluid in the amniotic pockets. DH and I couldn’t have been happier that everything was OK, although DH is ready to burn down the ER…..he was very pissed at this whole experience, I can’t blame him though. I’m also happy to say that I love my new practice and have decided to keep good ole Dr. Gerber!

So now for the part you have all been waiting for. My DH gave me two boxes to open Christmas morning. One contained a cookie cutter in the shape of an E. I got very happy at first thinking I knew what it already was but then I figured DH wouldn’t make it so easy.  We already have names chosen for both a boy and a girl and both names have the letter E in it. When I opened the second box the rest of the letters came pouring out along with a onesie. I couldn’t help but start shouting….it’s a BOY! OMG it’s a BOY! :)

 "Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering 'it will be happier'...." -Alfred Tennyson

Quaking on into the New Year,

             ~JD

My Christmas Story....Part 1

I don't even know where to begin. Last time I posted I was happily awaiting Christmas morning to find out Ducky's sex. I do have that information for everyone but will tell you at the end of my story. This post will be more or less a vent to what turned into a Christmas nightmare.
First off let me start by saying that the baby and I are fine. Tired & shaken but fine.

Christmas Eve was great. Good times were had with my family here at home. I didn't return to my house till about 1:30am and since it was technically Christmas morning by then I begged and pleaded with DH to let me open the gift. He complied and I had a very wonderful Christmas morning as I learned what I was carrying inside :) Now...more on that later (patience, patience)

Christmas morning we drive to Vermont to see DH's family. Drive went smoothly and the rest of the day was good as well. That was pretty much the best part of my vacation, after that things just kind of went nuts.
My DH and I became sick the following day, it was pretty bad. No fun winter activities to be had for us. My temperature went as high as 101.7 and it took a little over 24 hrs. to finally break it and keep it at a much more reasonable temperature. Those 2-3 days were a bit of a blur for me. I just remember couch, T.V., Tylenol, sleep and fluids. We stayed an extra day than planned because we were just too weak to drive home.

Flash forward to Saturday morning, Dec 29th. DH and I are good to go home. We were still weak but doing much better. Our trip that usually takes us 5.5-6hrs ended up taking 8hrs thanks to the horribly snowy driving conditions that never let up.
This day turned out very strange for me. Since the previous night I was having some abdominal pains I couldn’t explain. They didn’t go away Saturday either. The pain wasn’t too bad when I was sitting but the few times I got out of the car and walk around it felt like I had done 500 sit-ups in a row and I kept  having a lot of pressure down there. What also concerned me that day as well is the fluid I was leaking. I didn't have a full bladder when we first stop the car so I could not figure out why with every step I took I would gush some fluid out uncontrollably. Even sitting in the car after using the bathroom it keep coming out. It stayed this way for all 8 hours of the trip and so on. It didn't have a smell to it, just light yellow in color. Being a FTM I was freaked and ended up calling my new OB practice (who I hadn't met yet) to speak with an on call doctor. He told me I would need to have an ultrasound to check on everything but at this time of night I could only get one at the ER.
With this doctor’s recommendation, my DH without a moment’s hesitation whisked me away to the ER. At most we were only home an hour before we were driving again.
We went in at 9:30pm and that's when the real "fun" started.......
                                              To Be Continued

New Year, New Doctor!

I have an appointment set-up with a new OB January 7th, 2013!
He comes recommended through my Bosses wife’s colleague. They are nurses at the hospital I plan to deliver.
I'm really hoping this will be it! His staff, so far have been so nice with me and they answer their phones right away. A great change from a horrible staff at my previous practice that will leave you on hold for 30-45 minutes! I hope if the receptionist are good, then hopefully the rest of the staff will be too.
I'm currently 16.1 weeks. I'll be exactly 20 weeks for my appointment which means they will more than likely schedule me for an anatomy scan pretty quickly afterwards.
The good news is that my DH and I have decided to do an elective ultrasound this Friday. I don't care about the sex, I wanted to go Team Green to begin with but I caved because hubby really wants to know and since I’ve known him he rarely asks for anything. I'll just be happy to see my little Ducky again!
We did compromise a little on this ultrasound. Our technician will be writing the sex down on paper and placing it in an envelope. DH can read what the sex is when I'm not around him and will get to know what the baby is for a few days only because he has some shopping to do!
Come Christmas morning he has been instructed to leave a present for me under the tree from Santa that will hold a present inside that will clearly indicate if we are having a boy or girl. This way he gets what he wants and I still get a surprise, so to speak :)
I have also THREATEN him that no matter what anyone does to him, no one gets to know the sex of the baby before I do.
It's a good thing he only has to keep the secret for 3 days, lol
Can't wait! <3

A message for my readers...

I want to take a time out from my pregnancy postings to remember why I'm here.
I started this blog as a way to openly talk about infertility and reach out to other women about the struggles infertility comes with. I had no idea that 2 months down the road I would be experiencing my first pregnancy.

I know how terribly blessed I am and thank God for this miracle profusely.

I get scared like many first time mom’s (FTM)  do that this might all be taken away in a blink of an eye but I know for my baby's sake that I cannot live in that kind of fear.
I want those who are still struggling with infertility or have recently suffered a loss to know that I am so sorry for this emotionally (and physically) troubling time in your lives right now. I still want to be a source of encouragement, support and information for those still waiting on their special day, however I can understand if my current pregnancy updates are too much for you as well. I take no hurt if you decide to un-follow me, I understand completely.

I found an old college photo album recently that had a little quote from a poem most of you might be familiar with. I remember I choose that poem because I was having a hard time my first year in college and I came close to leaving. I won't lie, it took about 7 years to finally obtain my Bachelor’s degree and I cannot begin to describe to you how I felt the day I held my real diploma in my hands. I am actually now a Financial Aid Counselor for a private University. All I can say is that life definitely has a way of coming full circle.

I want to leave you with the poem that echo with me for a long time. It's not a cure and I don't expect that I will miraculously relieve you of all your pain. I just hope that for those of you with the dream of motherhood, it helps you to carry on even through the pain.
God Bless you all through this journey.  ~JD

When Things Go Wrong

by Anonymous

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint in the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It might be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit



OB, you can suck my big fat D*&#K!!!

A bit harsh? maybe but I seriously dislike my OB.
I'm considering changing but I don't even know where to start. I started at this clinic because my Aunt recommended her to me. My Aunt is a no-nonsense, in-depth researcher kind-of-gal so I have no idea why she goes to this lady!
I had a regular OB check up with my actual OB yesterday. I usually see the PA on staff because my OB doesn't have flexible hours. Well she couldn't find the baby's heartbeat with the Doppler which just made me feel great (insert eye-roll) so she sent me for an ultrasound.
The technician who was with me was super sweet and friendly (they do exist!) so I couldn't be more grateful to have her with me.
She didn't say anything at first (bad thoughts start forming, naturally).
Then she starts chuckling and says "I'm having a hard time getting the baby's heartbeat because it's moving too much!"
My baby is moving too much?! Can't be MY baby! My baby wouldn't even wake up after 45 minutes of extreme jiggling at the NT scan!
She flips the monitor over and there is little Ducky just flopping away having a grand 'ole time. Heart rate is 143bpm. Biggest sigh of relief left my body and then I just watched this beautiful little creature dance its heart out for a few more minutes. It was quite a sight. Really wish my DH was there today too! He is always surprised I get sent to ultrasounds on my visits. Poor thing is always missing out.

Back to my OB rant. Seriously, every time I even decide to ask a question I feel I get attitude. Lady, don't ask me if I have questions if you don't want to answer them! I have really good health insurance that I work hard for and all I ask is that you treat me like a human being. Is that really so much to ask?
I also asked if I could have Zofran for my all day nausea. Every time I've told the PA that my nausea is getting worse she always offers me the Zofran but I usually turn it down. The one time I ask for it, my OB says they don't recommend Zofran unless it’s absolutely necessary (all day vomiting is my guess). Fine I get that but lady you and your PA need to be on the same page, don't look at me like I'm crazy for even asking.
In the end she said I can give you a few if you feel it’s absolutely necessary but after the ultrasound she was nowhere to be found and forgot about me. I always feel forgotten in that office. I left a message for the nurse one day because I was worried about measuring behind.
She never got back to me.
I am at my wits end here, I really am....
I just want my baby to be fully gestated already so I can take it home and not have to deal with these people.
Is it June yet?

Quaking on,

~JD