Anyone else out there pregnant?

[AliB]

Hi,

I'm a type 1 (for 25 years now) and about 15 1/2 weeks pregnant. Its been a long road, with two miscarriages but we've finally made it to a point where i'm feeling ok abut this pregnancy. We're due on 8 January but will most likely be c-setioned on christmas eve (or so i'm told). I'm curious to find other pregnant type 1's going through a similar journey.

This will be our first baby and we're super excited, although so far my diabetes hasn't given me too much trouble (probably because i've been a bit of a maniac testing every hour or so and three times overnight and correcting) but who know's what will happen further down the line.

I've had super bad morning sickness and as terrible as it sounds, it has made managing my diabetes a bit easier i think as i haven't needed to bolus much as i haven't really been able to manage much more than one slice of toast at a time for the past three months. I'm hoping that eases up soon as i head further into the 2nd trimester.

I'm seeing Peter England (ObGyn) privately through Freemasons and Jenny Conn (Endo) through the Women's Pregnancy clinics as i couldn't get in to see her privately. We'll deliver at Freemasons in Melbourne, i;m also keen to hear anyone's experiences at the Freemasons?

Anyway, thought i would put my feelers out for anyone else going through the same thing. I've had a read of the Pregnant or TTC thread but it looks like most of the women who were regular poster's have had their babies now (yay!) so i thought i would start a new thread for any newbies.

Ali. xx

[Sharalynne]

Hi Ali

Nice to see a new mum that is pregnant and congrats :-) I'm 12 weeks, due on 29 January with my second baby, had a miscarriage a year ago but so far so good. I've had type one a simillar period of time as you, 26 years and just went on a pump in January. I'm struggling with adjusting the pump and being pregnant, I love how it is so easy to correct but have problems with which amounts to adjust when my levels are high and there are so many settings for the basal amount. I'm on a Accu-Chek pump, which pump are you on? I've had a lot of morning sickness too and find that my levels actually go higher after I throw up, not sure why..

I'm going public in Brisbane, I went through them with my first and didn't have any issues, my HBAIC was around 6.5 during my last pregnancy and my girl was 3.45kg.

Good luck and hope to chat on here again.

Sharalynne

[AliB]

Hi Sharalynne,

Congratulations on 12 weeks! it was such a milestone for us and i felt so much better about the whole pregnancy after we made it to the 12 week scan and things were going well.

I'm on a Medtronic Paradigm Pump, purely because when i started on the pump, the Women's loaned one to me so i could get one quickly rather than having to wait months, i've since gotten a new one, but i just stuck with the brand that i knew so i didn't have to relearn all the settings. I go back and forth on whether i love the pump or whether i would rather go back to MDI. Mostly i love it, but i do hate being attached to something all the time. It is certainly the best thing for me while being pregnant as i could never maintain the control i have now on MDI (but thats just me). I do love how easy it is to make small adjustments. It does take a bit of getting used to using all the basal settings, but its worth the effort, i've been on the pump for over 2 1/2 years now and sometimes i still need help to adjust things.

You poor thing! I've had constant nausea but have only thrown up a handful of times (one of which was all over the car and my poor husband...that one took me by surprise!) i think thats why my sugars have been ok mostly as i haven't had to deal with the stress of having eaten and then throwing it up and all that that can entail with diabetes as well. It can mess things up. Are you starting to feel better? I was under the impression that morning sickness went away around 12 weeks, but that hasn't been the case for me at all.

I was going to go public as my Ob works in the same clinic as my Endo, but with first pregnancy we had trouble with actually seeing him each visit, i actually didn't get to see him at all and saw different doctors each vista which i didn't love (some of them hadn't even read my file and made assumptions that were incorrect). After our second loss we just decided to suck up the cost and see him privately so that we could have the reassurance that he knew my history and i could contact him day or night if i needed to. I have private health insurance so would have delivered privately anyway so its only the OB fees that are the extra bit, still hefty though.

Glad to have found someone in the same or at least a similar boat!!

Ali

[moose81]

Hi Alib and Sharralyne,

Im in Perth and 23 weeks pregnant with my first. Type 1 for 20years and on medtronic paradigm veo. (for about 2 years but previously on animas pump for about 4 years) Having a little girl and so far everything is looking great with the pregnancy :)

Im going public as there is only 1 private ob in perth who is as well qualified in type 1 as the public one and he was booked out for my due date.

So i go to a clinic and see the diabetes midwife, a dietician, the obstetric physician (same role as endo so i dont see my regilr endo during the preg) and the obstetrician, seems like a pretty good set up.
I too had really bad nausea (not throwing up too much food but a lot of dry retching etc, sorry if tmi!!) until about 16 weeks when my ob prescibed "zofran" wafers (ondansetron) to help with the nausea. It cleared up pretty quickly and i didnt need to take much of the zofran luckily.

As per usual my blood sugars did the opposite of what was considered 'normal' and i was running high from 7-12 weeks when the midwives said 'most' people have hypos. I did get a run of hypos from 14-17weeks but i was also travelling around europe and walking around heaps, eating different foods so its hard to know whether that was related too.
Latest HbA1c was 6.5 which the hospital was pretty happy with so the highs and lows must have evened out, haha.

Just the last week (so around the 23/24week mark) ive suddenly spiked and had to put up my basal rates by 20% and increase my meal bouses and correction boluses too. Seems to be working ok the last few days but testing heaps to see. Used a sensor a few weeks ago too which ive found really helpful in fine tuning the basal rates.

Next hospital appointment on tuesday so hopefully everything settles down and i'll see what they think of the changes ive made then.
Sorry for the essay long post! Nice to see some more pregnancy posts on here, the other TTC and preg thread has gone pretty quiet!

Ali K (moose81)

[Moe]

Hi to the Ali's and Sharalynne

I'm another one in the same boat... I'm 26 weeks today. I'm only a newbie at diabetes - I was diagnosed at 30 in October 2010. This little one is due in October so it'll be nice to have something positive to associate with October from now on!

I'm just on MDI - still honeymooning so I'll admit it's been easier than i ever thought it'd be. My a1c has stayed under 6.2% the whole time. My result this week came in at 5.5%.... Not sure how I managed it. I seem to have plenty of post meal readings over 10 and have developed a terrible freddo frog habit!

The first trimester wasn't much fun - no vomiting but 24 hour nausea. I found the exhaustion the hardest to deal with. It just made me feel like I did in those horror weeks leading up to diabetes diagnosis... And I'd hoped I'd never feel that way ever again. But at 12 weeks I started to improve... I wasn't better overnight but it got a bit better every day. I think I'm at the best stage now- I actually look like a genuine pregnant woman but the bump is yet to cause me too much discomfort. I keep hitting my bump with the toilet door at work though ... I seem to lose sense of just how big it is now.

I'm going private here in Brisbane. I'm not sure if I'll go private if we have a second one... We just seem to be forking out $$ constantly! But I've reached the Medicare safety net now so things are certainly cheaper now. So I see an ob and my regular endo. From 28 weeks I've been referred to an endo who specializes in obstetrics.

I go on maternity leave from Tuesday. Earlier than I'd planned but we're facing redundancies at work (not a good time to be a Qld public servant) and it's just such a stressed out crazy environment that I think the best thing for my health is to get the hell out there! I'll find out on Friday if I'll be made redundant. I'm trying to remain philosophical about it. It's not great timing but maybe having a baby and receiving a sizable redundancy payout isn't so bad...hardly the end of the world! I'd rather keep my job though.

Well that's it for now... Baby is kicking up a storm which I love. It's so cool (but a bit freaky) to see my tummy moving! Makes it Easier to forget how hard the first 12 weeks were!

Moe.

[AliB]

Hi AliK and Moe,

So nice to have a few of us going through this! I can't wait to get a bit further along and look at least pregnant and not just fat(er)! And i'm itching to actually be able to feel the baby move... seems like so far off!

So so far we've got:
AliK (Moose81) - due mid-November?
Moe - Due October?
AliB - due 8 January
Sharalynne - due 29 January

I figured i'd start a list so we could keep track.

AliK, the clinic you go to sounds very much like the one in Melbourne that I see my Endo through, she specialises in diabetes and pregnancy and its been such a long time to get to tho point that i haven't bothered seeing an endo outside the pregnancy clinic. But i see my oB privately. I know what you mean Moe, about feeling like you are constantly forking out money!

Moe, it'll be nice to be on Mat leave, but not so great circumstances, fingers crossed you can keep your job.

Well done both of you with your hbA1c's! its such hard work isn't it? mine have been around the 6-6.5% mark for most of the pregnancy so far, but i got my last one back this week and it was 5.1% which is the best i've ever had! So i was pretty excited about that!

Just out of curiosity does anyone already know how they'll deliver? I've been told induction or c-section probably at 38 weeks, and i'm leaning more towards the c-section simply because i know so many people who have been induced and then had to have emergency c-sections after a long drawn out process. But i still haven't decided and figure i have time to figure it out. But always interested to know other's thoughts?

[moose81]

Congrats on the great hbA1cs guys!! I would love to have one under 6% that is amazing! My latest 6.5% was the lowest its been in about 10years and it feels really good to know i'm doing the right thing for my health and bubs :)

AliB,
Good idea with the due date list!! my EDD is 13th Nov.
In terms of delivery, like you said probable induction at 38weeks. The clinic has said that is pretty standard for them and because its a public clinic i dont think i get the option of choosing a caesar. (i havent actually asked) At my 19week scan i had a low placenta (reaching the cervix) so if that doesnt fix itself by then then it may be a caesar anyway... otherwise i'll just go with whatever they suggest. I must admit i am a little worried about an induction, just because ive heard its more intense and the contractions build up much quicker but i guess i'lll get a chance to discuss it further down the track a bit. (still a bit in denial that the baby has to come out somehow!) I noticed almost all the girls in the ttc/pregnant thread ended up with booked or emergency caesars so it will be interesting to see what my clinic have to say about it...
Feeling bub move is amazing! a little unsettling/odd-feeling at first but now that its more definite kicks/punchs its lovely and reassuring :)
I feel like she has a bit of a personality, and its nice for hubby to feel it too!

AliK xx

[Moe]

And I'm 26th October...doesn't seem so far away now. When I got the positive preg test in February I thought October would never arrive! It goes soooooooo painfully slow to begin with but once I hit around the 15 week mark time suddenly sped up and before I knew it I'd reached 20 weeks...and now 26 weeks. It didn't help that I'd had a miscarriage at 5 weeks in January (then got pregnant again about 5 mins later)...so it feels like I've been pregnant since Christmas!

Ali, just wait for how the kicks feel in a couple of weeks. I've noticed just in the past week they've totally changed - so strong! and I can often feel where the baby is and find myself saying out loud 'So is that your head or your @rse you're poking out at me?'. I'm not sure if there's ever a way of telling....I'm assuming huge giant lumps can't be feet (I hope not anyway).
I've not really had a chat with my ob about the actual birth yet - he just said it'll be born before 39 weeks. If the baby is head down and ready for action then they can induce otherwise it'll be a caesar. My regular endo said the obstetric endo (who I've not seen yet) will push to get baby out sooner rather than later. He said going for the induction is fine but just to be prepared that most will end hours later with a caesar. I'm not sure that I mind what happens - just let me take a home a lovely not-too-chubby baby! An actual real life stork could come deliver it for all I care!

[polka dot]

Hey guys,

Add me to your growing list!!! I'm 17 weeks now.... due on 26 December. Quite happy that it will come two weeks early and no chance of being born on xmas day! I have posted earlier on the TTC thread....it was a long journey to get to this pregnancy but all has gone well so far to get to 17 weeks. hanging out for the 20 week scan now being the next milestone!

For the first 12 weeks i almost wouldn't let myself believe it was true...it took the 12 weeks scan for it to sink in a bit and feel comfortable that some of the diabetes related risks were avoided (as much as they can tell at 12 week scan). now i'm starting to enjoy being pregnant and actually letting myself think about actually having a baby.

my hba1c when i got pregnant was 6.5 per cent, its now down to 5.1. i never ever thought i'd see that in my lifetime! been testing hourly, sometimes half hourly, and always through the night at least once. i test at least 20 times a day. I have been having trouble with guilty feelings when i record a bsl over 10....seems to still happen at least daily that i'm over 8 at least once....but i guess its good to know the overall average is good and i just correct the 10 quickly and bring it down as soon as i can and try and think of the averages rather than each result.

i'm finding high fat and high protein meals are really making my levels go higher than they used to before pregnancy. if i have a high fat meal i find i need to run a temporary basal of around 110-125 per cent for about 6 hours afterwards. this is getting more to be the case the further i go through the pregnancy.

i didnt really have heaps of lows in the first trimester as i'd read happens to others....perhaps thats coz i was eating heaps though....!!! i was starving all the time and eating stopped me feeling nauseas. i found i was most nauseas when my bsl was dropping - i could never tell if i was just feeling nauseus due to pregnancy or whether my bsl was dropping to a hypo. about half the time it was a hypo and eating made the nausea go away. i didnt have nausea as a symptom of a hypo before pregnancy.

ive put on quite a bit of weight, about 5kgs since finding out i was pregnant....i feel guilty about this and am trying not to put any more on during the next phases....easy to say hard to do!!! especially when low carb snacks are usually full of fat!! I also struggled to excercise in the first trimester as it made me feel nauseus moving around and i was soooo tired! i'm getting back into my walking now so hopefully that curbs some of the weight gain.

i've been told i'll be induced at 38 weeks, for sure, at the latest. then only have a ceaser if i have to. i am also scared about being induced, given teh stories on the other ttc and pregnancy forum and stories of friends who have been induced but ended in emergency ceaser anyway! i really want to give birth naturally though so i'm willing to give the induction a go...unless of course its getting too big before then, i'll have a ceaser if the ob thinks thats best.

has anyone else been told to finish work earlier than the standard 34 or 36 weeks? my obs are suggesting i finish work at 28 weeks so i can concentrate on my bsls in teh last trimester. i'm going to see how i go and finish early if i feel i'm not coping and can't give diabetes the attention it needs. i have been finding it really hard to manage bsls and work, but its getting easier now as i get less and less nauseous and exhausted and i get used to the constant testing and thinking about bsls. i do a desk job, but its fairly stressful at times.

i think i've said the word 'guilt' a few times in this post! that has been the hardest thing ive found. stressing about bsls and feeling guilty about them! these feelings are improving now, the more weeks i am along in the pregnancy, the more confident i feel things are going to be ok and less worried and anxious i feel. surprisingly though, despite all this talk of 'guilt' i've still managed to consume plenty of chocolate and other 'bad' foods, which has added to my guilt!!! i thought prior to getting pregnant that it would be so easy to be motivated with food and i wouldn't want to eat any bad food, but that has totally not been the case!!! chocolate and icecream and nuts just taste so good at the moment and i've just been so hungry!

sorry that was a very long post! just thought i'd share as i've loved reading everyone elses experience throughout their pregnancies. we're all so different but have so much in common. these threads are so great to learn from. good luck to everyone ttc and pregnant.

[AliB]

Hi girls and welcome Polka Dot! Looks like you are only a week or so ahead of me! Thats lovely! So here's the updated list:
Moe - 26 October
AliK (Moose81) - due 13 November
Polka Dot - due 26 December
AliB - due 8 January
Sharalynne - due 29 January

I've had a very interesting 48 hours. Both of my sisters are also pregnant, one due in october and one who had her baby yesterday. I was her support person and spent 18 hours with her in labour followed by a c-section. She originally had a planned c-section yesterday anyway but her waters broke 14 or so hours before she was booked so she decided to try for a natural birth (she also has an 11 month old so wanted to try natural so she could recover faster and sell lift him etc) Anyway after 18 hours she had failure to progress and had only dilated to 1cm so she decided that it was time to go ahead with the c-section. I was a bit apprehensive about sitting in n the c-section, thinking that if i end up having one it might be better not to know whats coming! But its was absolutely fine. Very relaxed, although lots of people in the room with us (15 or so i'd say) and there was some pushing and shoving of my sisters belly which must have felt really weird but she was fine, then after about 10 minutes my nephew was born! it was amazing! they showed him quickly to us and then took him over to the headlamp table to clean him up and check him over, they called me over to cut the cord which was such an honour! and i got to take photo's while they were checking him over. All of the staff were amazing and made sure that my sister knew exactly what was going on and that i had access to the baby so i could document it for her to look at later. Once he was cleaned up they took him over to her to cuddle, unfortunately he had some breathing issues, just grunting which is apparently quite normal for a c-section as all the goo doesn't get squeezed out of their heads as they come through the birth canal, so he needed to go up to the NICU. My sister wanted me to stay with him, so off i went, again the staff were very relaxed and happy to explain everything that was going on. Once in special care they checked him over and decided that he didn't need to be there after all, however the hospital protocol was that once a baby is admitted they must stay for 4 hours of observation. So little Luke and i stayed up there in the NICU, after about an hour they decided that he didn't need to be in a humidity crib so asked me if i wasted to put a nappy on him and dress him and wrap him up after that they just gave him to me to cuddle. They called down and asked my sister if it was ok for him to be given some formula, although I'm not sure why, she doesn't have diabetes and he wasn't crying or looking like he needed food, but maybe they just like to put something in their little tummies? not sure. So as I'm cuddling him they hand me a bottle and say there you go give him a feed. I was amazed at how relaxed all the NICU nurses and doctors were, they didn't hover over us or worry that i was going to drop him or not feed him right, they just sort of let me have a go and were happy that it would happen. It was a lovely experience but i felt a bit bad as it should have been my sister having these firsts with him but when i spoke to her later she said she was thrilled that he had me with him to do those things rather than a stranger, which i suppose makes sense but i think i still would have been a bit sad if he was my baby and i was separated. I goes he is her 4th so its not as new for her now.

Anyway after the four hours we went back down to the ward to be with her and i realised that i hadn't eaten or had anything to drink for over 12 hours. Whoops! checked my blood sugars an they were 5.5 so pretty damn happy that i've got my basal levels spot on! had a cup of tea and a chat with my sister then realised how absolutely shattered i was (had been up at that point for 24 hours) I passed out in bed after a 40 minute drive home and slept for 14 hours! Pleased to report that my sugars when i woke up were 5.9! another win!

Anyway i thought i would share my amazing day! Certainly not one I'm ever going to forget! I'm now about to head off to an OB appointment. I'm hoping he gives me a scan and we can find out the sex of the baby...i'm dying to meet my little one now!!!!!

Hope you are all well.

Ali. xx

[Moe]

Holy cr@p Ali....are you seriously saying you're one of three sisters preggo at the same time? Your parents must be beside themselves with excitement....my parents are going bonkers with just the one on the way. They'd be having some sort of fit with three.
Day three of maternity leave and I'm having a ball... Feeling very relaxed and it makes me appreciate how truly stressful an environment work had become in the last month or so. I find out tomorrow if I'll be redundant or not and amazingly I've barely given it a thought.

[AliB]

Hi Moe,
Yep - Well there are only two of us pregnant now, but yes all three of us will have babies this year. Mine will be grandchild number 8 for my parents though so while they re excited its not the first. My dad was barely able to contain himself when he found out and all he wanted to do was take photo's of us all together and show them to his work colleagues... hahahhahah he's a dag!

Glad your start to mat leave is going well and you're enjoying it! time to get the nursery finished and sorted? Did you find out about the redundancy?

Ali

[Moe]

Ha ha, my dad's a dag too...that's what dads are for. When we were skyping with my brother overseas dad put the web cam up to my belly and put on a silly voice saying 'hello uncle, this is your niece or nephew here'. I couldn't help but laugh at him.
No official word on my job... But I've heard on the quiet that a surprising number of people have volunteered to take a redundancy so I'm hoping that increases my chances of staying! It sort of feels like a very strange game of musical chairs.... I suspect it'll be a game I'll be playing until the next state election.

[NB]

Hi guys

You can add me to the list too :)

I'm currently 34 1/2 weeks, so nearly done.

I'm Melbourne based and seeing Stan Tsocanos at Freemasons. I'll be delivering there via c-section on 30th Aug (at 39 wks).
My endo is Esther Briganti.

My blood sugars have were really spot on and I had to drop my basal by about 35% from week 6-29 and then at about 30 weeks they've gone back to prepregnancy levels. I now have a few issues at night sitting around the 7.0-9.0 mark for about 6 hrs after dinner, and I've had to modify my diet a tiny bit and lower my carbs from about 40g to 20g at dinner but other than that I'm really greatful for the way things have been so far.

We're having a little boy and he's right on track in terms of size - that's one thing I struggle with - people's "judgements" about diabetes and big babies.

Glad to hear everything is going well for all of you :) :)

Nicola x

[AliB]

Hi Nicola,

I'm really glad that someone else is delivering at the Freemasons! I'll be excited to hear about your experience. Im seeing Peter England who's rooms are also at Freemasons. How exciting that you're having a little boy! I was hoping that we would be able to find out the sex of our baby at our scan last week, but we couldn't and we'll have to wait until 20 weeks, only just under three weeks til our 20 week scan but its going to feel like forever!!!! i'm so impatient!!

well done on your level's its hard work isn't it? but it will be worth it in the end. I was surprised last week when i had my OB appointment, my last hbA1c was 5.1% which is mega low for me, i usually sit around the 6.5% mark, my Ob gave me a talking to about over doing it with testing and making it rule my life. I don't feel like i'm being crazy about my sugars, i'm not weighing food, i'm not setting alarms to test every hour, i'm just testing when i feel a bit different or curious and correcting as necessary. I'm not sure he believed me when i told him that i am not having any major lows, I'm just paying attention to what i'm doing. It probably also helps that I'm not eating much as i'm still feeling off, i was hoping that would go away, but at 17 weeks I'm beginning to think that i may just be one of those unlucky women who are sick the whole way through the pregnancy...

Well done as well on having a baby that is spot on in terms of size! i'm only 17 weeks and I'm already struggling with people feeling free to comment on the fact that diabetics have big babies... i think I'm going to have to have a rule that anyone who visits after our baby is born will be asked to leave if they comment on his/her size... I'm already getting super sensitive and taking their comments personally, like it'll be my fault if our baby is a bit bigger...god knows what i'll be like after giving birth and adding a surge of hormones!!! could be a disaster!

Here's the updated list:
Nicola - due by c-setion 30 August - little boy
Moe - 26 October
AliK (Moose81) - due 13 November
Polka Dot - due 26 December
AliB - due 8 January
Sharalynne - due 29 January

Hope everyone is well.

Ali

[NB]

Hey Ali

I so hear you on both the testing frequency and baby size comments fronts!!

I was testing about 10 times a day prior to conceiving - not so that I could conceive but because I've always been attentive to my levels. When I got pregnant that ramped up to close to 15 times a day. I saw my endo today and she mentioned the anxiety over testing again but wasn't worried because imagine if it went the other way and I wasn't so attentive!

It really does upset me when people feel it's their place to comment on diabetics having big babies. I brought this up at one of my endo appts and she was as annoyed as I was. She pointed out that they are actually more worried about diabetic women carrying babies that are too small because that means the placenta isn't working properly - another reason to embrace increasing insulin requirements if they ever occur - it means your placenta is doing a fabulous job and producing lots of good hormones :) I still take people's rude uneducated comments to heart and I know my husband feels for me because he can see how much it distresses me. To make matters worse his cousin is a GP and feels the need to make everyone think she knows it all. Another reason I feel the pressure to produce a little wee baby instead of a larger one!

Good luck for your 20wk scan! I can remember the looooooong wait to find out the gender. Do u have an inkling at all?? I was convinced our baby was a boy right from the beginning. I could feel it in my bones :)

I'll be sure to let you know how freemasons goes :) I'm attending weekly monitoring sessions there at the moment.

[AliB]

Hi Nicola,
I'm sooo impatient! i want the 20 week scan now!!!!! Our cot arrived this morning. We were so lucky, i found a warehouse in NSW that had the Boori cot i wanted for only $350! so now its sitting in my living room in two bog boxes taunting me! i so want to put it together but my husband thinks its too soon...plus we are getting the nursery painted in the next moth or so, so i guess i should wait until then... i might have to store it in the garage so i don't look at it!

I've got no inkling about whether we are having a boy or a girl, i did have a dream that we had our 20 eek scan and it was very clearly a girl, but that could just be a dream. I'd like a girl, but honestly i would be happy as anything with either! Just so excited to meet our little one!

This week my sugars had been a little off, over night they seem to be rising, i've increased my basel rate the night before last, but the same thing happened again last night. Did this happen to anyone else at around 18 weeks?

I also thought i felt the baby move last night when i was lying in bed, but i still can't be sure, i can't wait until it moves and i am absolutely sure that its in there kicking around! right now it all still sort of feels a bit unreal...

On other good news, my morning sickness seems to have eased over the last few days to the point where yesterday i was actually hungry!!! woo hoo! i haven't felt hungry for 4 months!!!!

Hope everyone is well and their diabetes is behaving and making this as easy as possible for you!

Ali. xx

[polka dot]

Hi everyone!

Ali - i have also had to increase my night time basal over the last few weeks (im 20w today). I am currently running a 120 percent basal every night from 7pm to 6am. this is completely weird because my insulin requirements have stayed the same during the day! craaaaaazy hormones!! So thankful i am on the pump, it seems to make this trial and error of adjustments so much easier.

I have an ob and endo appt tommorow, and my 20w scan. So nervous!!! i just want to know that everything is ok. we aren't going to find out the sex. i dont think i have felt any movements yet - i might have but its so hard to be sure whether its movements or just uterus expanding feelings! i'm certainly showing now and people are noticing i'm pregnant, which is nice.

My diabetes has been ok this last few weeks, but its certainly getting harder to manage. there seems to be more 'odd' high readings that I can't explain. Today has been awful - i've been sitting around 11.4 for a few hours now and can't get it down even though i have done a few corrections and i hardly had any carb for lunch. its so hard to know if its hormones or if its just a dud line or dud infusion site or something. I don't think my next hba1c will be 5.1 per cent, mainly because overnights haven't been so great (better now i've worked out the 120 per cent ratio but we'll see how long that works for!!)

hope everyone is well!! I also found my first trimester all day sickness/tiredness started improving around 18 weeks. great because now i feel more like walking and this is better for my bsls (so cold at the moment though!)

take care all!

[Moe]

Well my diabetes is sort of behaving. I reached 28 weeks and it suddenly went a bit haywire. It's taken a week of tweaking my doses and being more regimented (and super low GI) with my eating to bring it under control. I've been carb counting (I'm usually a carb estimator at best) and writing everything down. Feels like a full time job but after a couple of days I'm seeing some more predictable readings so it feels as if it's worth the effort...and it's only for ten more weeks. Once the baby is out I'm going on a Tim tam only diet for a few days.

I saw the obstetric endo for the first time last week. She was very nice but wanted me to up my insulin doses quite dramatically....which i tried but after two days of hypos and lots of poppers I decided that it just wasn't possible. I still have to have a life! She did say I was in better nick than most non diabetic women!

The scan went well though....everything was measuring in the 75th percentile which felt disappointing at first until my dr pointed out that plenty of diabetics' babies are off the charts entirely! So i felt much better after that. And it had a very cute little face! My husband keeps looking at the photos and saying things like 'oh my god, I'll have two people to come home to soon'.

[NB]

I really loved my second trimester. I was full of energy so was walking a good 1.5hrs each day - I think it really helped my blood sugars, so my advice would be to keep it up as long as possible!! Oh, and my second trimester meant the return of my appetite - sooooo good!

I can remember the first time I felt baby kick - I knew immediately what it was, and 20 secs later my husband felt it from the outside - it was so special :) :) at 36 weeks this baby goes crazy with the movements and sometimes they hurt! A big foot in the ribs or a kick to the bladder to wake you up isn't that fun, but I still love every movement I feel because it's reassuring to know he's doing ok in there :)

My endo and OB told me they only really get concerned at abdominal circumference over 95%ile so 75%ile is great!!

I haven't really changed my diet too much at all - if anything its been a but worse than normal due to losing all self control - a timtam only diet sounds like heaven right about now! :)

Good luck for your scans ladies! I look forward to hearing all the good news :)

X

[Ellikus]

Hey all

Please add my name to the "mummy to be" list :) I havent been on RC for a while but am 32wks preg with a little boy on the way. Im due on the 10th oct but will most likely be induced early around week 39 much to my disagreement as I would prefer to go into labour naturally however drs are saying its too risky.

Had my antenatal appts today and bubs heart rate is good and strong, he is head down atm however he seems to be changing positions daily so I hope he moves head down again by the time he needs too ;) also bubs is measuring at exactly where he is supposed to be so that is great news, another scan in 2 weeks to double check size etc and most likely another at 38 wks just to ensure he is still a good size and also in the right position! My blood pressure and weight are good and stable and Hba1c is soo not great for a preg t1 but is much better than it was pre-pregnancy and overall drs are happy which makes me happy :)

Good luck to everyone and hope all are doing well xx

[Moe]

Glad to see you back Ellikus. I was wondering how things were going with you since you're only two weeks ahead of me. I hit the 30 week mark tomorrow which feels like a bit of a milestone. Feels like the countdown is really on! We put the cot and change table together yesterday so it definitely feels like a baby is coming to join us in our crappy 70s brick veneer. I had a scan at 28 weeks and it was measuring 30 weeks which everyone was happy with. I may be in for a big baby no matter what I do...I'm 5'9" and my husband is 6'5" so I keep picturing bringing a giant leggy baby home.
My next scan will be 36 weeks. The 28 week scan helped me to refocus on my bgl management and diet. I'd been getting a little tiny bit lazy even though my a1c kept going down. I think once i had the twenty week scan and saw that everything was ok I just needed to relax for a bit...I just couldn't keep all the effort up! But now I'm refocussed and writing everything down and trying to spread my carbs more evenly across the day. It's a lot of effort but it feels like it's worth it. There's no way I could be putting this much effort in if I wasn't already on maternity leave...I think ive just replaced one full time job with another. My mum often asks 'so what have you been getting up to?' and I always feel like saying 'managing the diabetes!'
Glad it's only eight weeks till 'Tim tams and Camembert Day'....I mean 'Birth Day'. Yep, definitely not thinking about all that gooey soft cheese I'll soon be eating!

[AliB]

Hi Ellikus - good to have another preggo with us! Fingers crossed the induced labour will go fine and be a really positive experience for you! Where are you having the baby? Re your hbA1c if the doctors are happy then you deserve a pat on the back for all your hard work - if it wasn't good enough or it was going to cause any problems the doctors would be the first to pull us up!!!

Here's the updated list:
Nicola - due by c-setion 30 August - little boy
Ellikus - due - 10 October - little boy
Moe - 26 October
AliK (Moose81) - due 13 November
Polka Dot - due 26 December
AliB - due 8 January
Sharalynne - due 29 January

Sounds like everyone is doing pretty well! Well done us! My sugars have been steadily increasing - i've gone from mostly sitting around the 4's to sitting around the 6's and low 7's so increasing basal rates again and hopefully that will bring me back down a smudge. Saw the endo on monday (19 weeks) and she was happy with my management which is nice. 20 week scan on Monday - excited but also super nervous at the same time... really hoping that everything is ok, although going by the fact that i can no longer do up my normal jeans i'd say things are growing in there! Still itching to find out the sex - hopefully the baby will play ball.

Polka Dot - how did your scan go? i hope it was wonderful!

Just out of curiosity and sorry if this is a bit TMI for anyone - but has anyone else had any nipple discharge? i've got one nipple that seems to be crusting over during the day... gross i know and I'm really sorry to be so randomly gross - just wondering if its something i need to raise with my OB when i see him next week.

Hope everyone is well.
xx

[polka dot]

hello everyone! good luck tommorow AliB! hope it is wonderful.

our 20 week scan was great, all looking perfect. its funny though - i expected to feel relieved, but i think i felt relieved for about 5 minutes then started worrying again, though i am definitely feeling less anxious than i have been. Now onto waiting for the 28 week scan!! i just want the pregnancy to be over fast so i know that all is ok with the bub and we get to meet him/her! we didnt find out the sex at the scan, we both are keen for a surprise. luckily we both want the same thing in that regard! i think i'm most nervous about 28 weeks onwards. i am luckily finishing work at 29 weeks so i'll be able to pay the diabetes plenty of attention.

its nice to be growing now around the belly though and starting to be looking pregnant...its starting to feel so real we bought our pram today! we got it online from overseas so have purchased early to make sure it arrives ok! my plan is to walk walk walk when its all over - i've already put on 7 kilos and the baby is only 10cm long!

in terms of sugars, i've permanently increased all my night time basals from about 6pm till 9am. seems to be giving me much better results. i'm testing my bsl at midnight and 3am still to get it right. i'm finding night time is the hardest and least flexible though. even for no carb meals i have to bolus alot and my sugars just seem to creep up overnight for no reason. so weeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiird!!!!!!!!!!

hope everyones well - love sharing in everyones experiences, so nice to know we are not alone!

[Ellikus]

Hi everyone :)

Moe, I noticed a few posts back that you're having bubs in brissy, I'm not far away as Im on the Gold Coast :) but unfortunately going public which my experiences there have NOT been very good! Im also in the same boat in regards to having a leggy baby as me and my hubby are roughly the same heights as you guys! All though at each scan we have had the ultrasound techs have said everything is measuring normal except his arms and his feet which are both HUGE so I always imagine my little man will come out looking like a gorilla lol ;)

How is everyone else going with their pregnancies? Some of us are not far away now, how exciting!!! Wishing eveyone luck and the deliveries they are hoping for and the safe arrivals of bubs for all :) xxx

Just a question for everyone, has anyone had issues with a fatty liver during pregnancy? I found out due to having a case of severe heartburn and shoulder pain which the doctors thought was my gallbladder. Had an ultrasound on my upper left quadrant of my tummy and they said my gallbladder was fine but apparantly my right side kidney was being squashed by my uterus and also I had a fatty liver :( Since around 22 weeks though I have also had quite constant pain in that left side area, just under my ribs, and most recently spreading across my chest almost halfway to where the sternum bone is.

After hearing the news about the fatty liver diagnosis I took steps straight away to try and reduce my bsl's even more and majorly focused on my diet with trying to cut out a lot of fats. Problem is, now at 33 weeks I am still in pain and it seems to be getting worse, more constant and more painful :( Not sure if the drs are being ignorant but some have said nothing in response, yes thats right, have poked and prodded my liver and then not said anything, some have said its heartburn (I am not stupid, this is not the same pain as heartburn) and others have said its due to the size of my uterus expanding etc. All potentially valid points, except as I have told each and every dr that panadol is NOT helping one bit (nor is heartburn meds) and therfore I am in constant pain and yet, nothing has been done about this. My midwife asked the dr last wk to do a liver function test as I have not had one in a year (the last one came back fine) and unbelievably the dr said no because I was not jaundiced, so therefore there was nothing wrong with my liver - seriously WTF? Wouldnt even fill in the paperwork for a simple blood test!

Just wanted to ask about this and to vent my frustrations at my preg experience because I have been extremely unhappy with the care standards from drs at the hospital I am going to, there have been many other issues that have occcurred that I wont go into here, but believe me, Im in the process of writing a letter of complaint. Also really getting over being in pain :( BUT on the bright side, thank god there is 7 weeks or less to go and I will have my beautiful boy with me :) xxx

[Moe]

Ha ha Ellikus...I reckon a gorilla baby would be kind of cute! I think I might be in for a giant headed baby...everything was measuring in the 75th percentile except for the 90th percentile head! Aarrgghhh. Not sure about arms and legs. Lying on my back was making me so nauseous the poor sonographer just got the essential measurements!

You poor thing - it's horrible to hear tales of the public health system 'gone wrong'. I couldn't fault the service I've received going private but oh my god it's left us out of pocket thousands of $$. If it wasn't for the diabetes and it being a first baby I'd have gone public or at least chosen a cheaper private option. We have a smaller private hospital five mins drive from home (with free parking) and the obs there certainly charge a much smaller preg management fee! not sure how many type ones they come across though.

I'm not any help re fatty livers! Nightmare. I'll admit I've had a very easy pregnancy after the first trimester. Well last night I had terrible reflux at 1 am but that was because I stupidly went out for a giant milkshake after dinner and I think it was just too much for my squashed stomach to handle! Won't be doing that again. But I just desperately wanted something sweet and delicious!

I'm getting worried that baby will recognize the 'beep beep' of my meter more than the sound of my voice! My meter must be the sound it hears the most.

[moose81]

Ellikus,
Weird but I have had a pain under my left ribs constantly from about 18 wks (im now 29wks) I mentioned it to the ob at my 19wk check up and she said she wasn't worried as it wasn't my right side therefore it wasnt liver/ gallbladder etc. I put it down initially to being muscular pain, maybe to do with the way I was sitting /leaning at work but I get it on weekends too so I know it's not that. Mine doesn't seem to correspond to food or the times I'm getting heartburn/reflux so I have no idea what it is! And it's there ALL the time :(
As for fatty liver I don't have one (I know because I'm a sonographer and I checked the other day when I was trying out a new machine and needed a liver model haha) We do see heaps of fatty livers on our patients though, probably on over 75% of people we scan so it's definitely very common!
On a side note the new machine I was trialing had 3d/4d capabilities and it was awesome to see some cute pics of bubs!!

Everything is going relatively well with the pregnancy so far. Bgls have been creeping up so im increasing my basal rates every couple of weeks. Ive used a few sensors with my pump to try to keep a handle on things and that has been really useful in working out my new basal rates. My last scan (earlier this week) showed bub measuring pretty close to 50th percentile with the abdomen up just a tiny bit at 65%. Ive been put on iron supplements even though I haven't had my iron tested yet as the ob was convinced it's so common to have low iron that I may as well take them regardless. And my low lying placenta has moved up so that's no longer an issue :)
My next scan and ob appt isnt for another 4weeks and I haven't had an hba1c done since 19wks (10wks ago) but they didn't want to do another one. I would have liked to see how it was going but they said to wait for next appt....

That's about all from me, getting pretty tired all the time now! Hope everyone (and all their bubs) are well.
Ali K

[Sharalynne]

Hi again, been awhile since I've posted so thought I'd say hi. I'm 18 weeks today and finally over the morning sickness! I'm hoping to get some energy back but seem to be having a few issues with tummy bugs or rather bloating then vomiting and constipation.. like gastro.. anyone else had this, not sure if it's a digestive problem associated with diabetes or just me. It sounds like everyone is going really well with their HBA1C's and keeping things on track. I start back at work full-time (doing 4 days a week at the moment) next week which will be a shock because I've been doing part-time since I returned from maternity leave a year ago but looking forward to Christmas when I'll be off again :-) Hope everyone is going well and really enjoying hearing everyone's stories.

Sharalynne

[Moe]

Hi Ali k,
My obs put me on iron supplements too even though I'm not iron deficient. Her argument was that your requirements for iron go up so sharply that it's hard to get enough iron so you may as well take a supplement before you do end up deficient.
I'vejust been taking 'iron melts' which have 5 mg per tablet and i take two a day. They have some b12 and folate in them too. I guess they just help boost my iron intake rather than treat an actual deficiency.
Moe

[NB]

Hey guys

I thought I would share my little story just incase it helps someone in some tiny way...

On tues 14th aug my Braxton hicks started to get a wee but stronger. Nothing too bothering, just a bit more noticeable. I didn't sleep much that night and just put it down to pregnancy insomnia. At my normal OB appt OB Wednesday lunch time my husband made me mention it to my OB. He checked me and declared me to be in labour. I was 4cm dilated and fully effaced. OOOPS!

So my OB set me to labour and delivery and told me he was certain he would be performing the c-section that evening.

I was 36wks and 5 days. Not ready yet!

I still had a bunch of errands to run and jobs to finish off - all planned for the following week. 

So sure enough, at 6.15pm on 15/08 Hudson was born. A healthy 8 pounds 3 ounces. He scared us a little as he wouldn't breathe for 2 mins, but he was well on track by the 5 min mark. 

So...the interesting stuff :)

My blood sugars didn't change at the start of my (unknown) labour - So I couldn't use this as a clue things had started

I kept my pump on for the c-section, and the hospital let me self manage things for my entire stay

After Hudson was born my basal backed off to -90% (I'm using an Animas 2020), and 2 1/2 weeks post delivery I'm still on a -70% temp basal 

Breast feeding makes my blood sugars plummet - so make sure you have snacks nearby when you feed!

I have a bit of hypo unawareness and will often drop to around 2.8 before I feel anything 

I still make a point to test, only I can't test as much as when I was pregnant

Anyway - I've babbled and bored you all for long enough. If you have any specific questions just yell out :) :)

Nicola x

[Ellikus]

Congrats Nicola!! :) Well done on the birth of your little boy and I hope you two are settling in ok now you are at home! xxx

Not sure who bought it up about the iron tabs, but seems to make sense. My care from both pulic hospital and my GP has been somewhat "rank" and I havent been tested for iron deficiency and no doctor has bought it up with me as yet however I have been pro-active with it and have been taking iron supplements anyway. From what I have heard iron deficiency is extremely common throughout pregnancy!

Sharalynne - Not too sure if you might have a bug or something but I can say in my pregnancy experience I have had a similar time with the bloating, constipation and also diarhhea and sometimes vomiting. For ages I suspected pregnancy induced IBS but eventually this went away for me. In the first trimester I found I had about a month of awful gas (I finally got my husband back though for all those times he's stunk out the bedroom! :p) but during the first trimester I was extremely constipated too. In the second trimester I had about 6-8wks of the symptoms you are describing but these eventually passed and things went back to normal. Now in the late 3rd trimester I have gone back to being abit more constipated :/ As far as I am aware it is mostly the effects of all the hormones and is quite normal but still best to check out with a GP or at your next antenatal appt, I hope this passes soon for you though, its an extremely uncomfortable time with everything else going crazy in your body too! Good luck with your return to work full time :)

Moose - thats so cool about where you work lol free ultrasound :) You could be right about the pains I'm getting, Ive been doing some research and unfortunately its mega common :( I've also had a recent scan and could clearly see bubs huge feet squashing and kicking all my organs on that side of my body and tangled in my ribs, from the kicks on that side Im pretty certain its just that he favours that side too, hence why I could be feeling the pain on that side.

Moe - So great to hear you are receieving good service where you are! Hubby and I have decided we will def go privately if we choose to have another bub in future :) Hope you are your bubs are doing well, I'm gettting really excited for you as well as for myself lol, its so great to be able to hear other ppls stories and know we are not alone in the crazy pregnancy and T1D journey :)

Polka dot - congrats on ur 20wk scan :) I can totally relate about how you feel after the scan too, I thought each scan or drs appt would bring relief but unfortunately it didnt last long before the worry started again! My partner helped me deal with some of the worry though by constantly reassuring me that I am doing my best to do everything i can for bub, and hes right, if you do your best and give it 100% then there is nothing more you can do, what will be will be I guess but by giving it your best efforts you are already being a great mum and providing a nice temporary home for your bubs :)

As for my update, had my 34 week scan last wk to check on bubs and he is still measuring at 51% (average size) and not a day ahead or behind what he is expected to be at, hes a good weight and size and everything seems to be in working order so the drs have said this will be my last scan because they are so pleased with his growth etc, I am OVER THE MOON :D regarding this news! Funny thing happened though, the us technician said that bubs arms and feet have evened out and are now measuring for the average size they are supposed to be but now his legs are measuring 9 days ahead - WOAH! Lol this made me laugh, but is not a surprise coz Im 6 foot and hubby is 6 foot 5 so we are expecting a long/tall baby :) I keep imagining that he will fit into certain size tops but that he will be one of those kids that will have to wear jeans and pants that are way too big just so they cover his legs lol, I was like that as a kid, mum always had to buy jeans about 2 sizes bigger and have them taken in because i was just so lanky and skinny!

Ive also got an update on bubs due date etc, after a long convo with my endo who explained that there is 5% increase in sudden fetal death after 38wks I have totally agreed to be booked in to be induced, rather than go into labor naturally as I originally wanted. I am having a vaginal birth as far as I know unless complications arise and I may need an emergency c-section. So, for me the new due date is around the 26th sept but is to be confirmed at my appt next week :) I am feeling really excited now about bubs arrival and surprisingly still feeling pretty good all though I am starting to get a bit more tired than usual and having sleeping issues doesnt help much! I will be 35 wks tomorrow and amazingly I have only gained 9kgs so far, as awesome as it may be for my post pregnancy weight loss expectations etc I am starting to wonder if I am ever going to look "really" pregnant :( my bump is still quite small! I wanted to get some nice pregnancy photos done of my bump and they recommend that you get them done between 32-36 weeks but at this stage I think I will get to 38 weeks on my induction day and still not have that beautiful pregnant bump :( Im hoping I have a growth spurt soon and start to look a little more rounder :)

Anyways, I have babbled on for ages, very excited lol, cant wait to hear more from everyone :) xx

[Moe]

Congratulations Nicola on Hudson's safe arrival. It's always great to hear of 'our type' popping out healthy babies!

Ellikus- that's weird you haven't had your iron levels tested at all. I had mine tested by my GP at my initial visit (at about 6 weeks) and then at 28 weeks and my endo has given me a pathology request to get tested again at 34 weeks (I'm 32 and a bit weeks now). Well I'm getting tested for vit D, B12, hba1c etc so I guess she figured adding iron to the request couldn't hurt! Doesn't cost me anything so i'm happy to be tested as often as my docs want!

I can so relate re bump size. I had no bump whatsoever until 17 weeks and even then it was weeks and weeks later before I actually looked pregnant. I definitely look pregnant now but my belly clearly has a lot more growing to go. My belly button is still an 'inny'! My drs say my belly is actually perfect size...but I somehow expected something bigger. I guess I can't complain though....its still pretty easy to get around! I've only put on 4-5kg. My drs are totally unconcerned so I'm not going to worry either. God knows I've been eating lots but this baby just seems to be sucking it all out of me! I was fully expecting a giant backside and a double chin by now! Maybe that will happen over the next six weeks.

[Ellikus]

Just a quick completely unrelated diabetes update! As far as I know bubs is going to be induced around the 26th of sept, I know it sounds silly but I am really desperate for him to be here then so we can make it home before sat the 29th, AFL grand final day!! If crows get in the grand final I am soooooooooooo buying little bubs a crows jumpsuit for the grand final and onwards :)

Just under 3 weeks to go now :D I am SO excited and for some random reason have been having massive bursts of energy and going through major nesting periods, honestly, even though he has made no signs of coming early (hardly any braxton hicks contractions, still sitting quite high etc) I am convinced he will be here before my induction date, I really have this feeling he will be here within the next 2 weeks :)

Anyways, bye for now :) xx

[AliB]

hi all,

Firstly congratulations to you Nicola! How did you go with the freemasons? I'm so glad to hear that you were able to leave your pump on and that they let you manage things yourself! Were you and Hudson separated after the c-section at all?

So here's the updated list:
Nicola - due by c-setion 15 August - little boy - Hudson!
Ellikus - induction 26 September - little boy
Moe - 26 October
AliK (Moose81) - due 13 November
Polka Dot - due 26 December
AliB - due 8 January - little boy
Sharalynne - due 29 January

So we've had a terrifying few weeks. We had our 20 week scan the monday before last and everything was going really well until the doctor tried scanning for the heart, she said she couldn't get a good enough picture so she sent us away to walk around and see if bubs would move into a better position. When we came back she scanned again and said that she was hoping that a different position would show a different result. She said our little boy (we found out the sex on the same day) has a hole in his heart. The hole in itself doesn't worry me too much, but we then sat down with her and our obstetrician who warned us that a hole in the heart could be a sign of some other chromasomal disorders. This scared me as I have an uncle who is mentally disabled and i know first hand how hard and frustrating life is for him and those who look after him. Given how far along we are (22 weeks now) termination even if i could bring myself to make that decision would have been very traumatic and we had been told that some of the possible chromosomal problems could mean that the baby was incompatible with life so the options were to interrupt the pregnancy now, or wait until birth and then have a day or two at most with our baby. The wanted us to wait two weeks to have a cardiologist examine the heart again once the baby had grown a bit and also then have an amnio. So we did that yesterday. The waiting for two and a half weeks has almost broken me. I have been a complete mess.

So the cardiologist we saw yesterday said he wasn't convinced that there was a hole in the heart but given how far along we were he suggested we have the amnio yesterday so that we would know about any nasty chromosomal issues sooner rather than later especially given thats what we were most worried about. So thats what we did. It didn't hurt anymore than a normal injection although it felt a bit weird and my husband was there to hold my hand so i just closed my eyes for the whole thing which only took about 5 minutes. Then we got the results this afternoon and we are clear for the top 5 nasty chromosome disorders which is bloody fantastic news! I'm finally feeling a little bit better about everything and have relaxed a little bit. We still have to wait another 10 days until the rest of the amnio results come in for the much rarer conditions but I'm feeling much more positive! It will be really nice to get back to enjoying being pregnant!

Although from now on i get to add trips to the cardiologist to my list of hospital and doctors appointments, i don't mind. I'll do whatever it takes. Everyone seems pretty happy that it isn't my diabetes that has caused the hole if its there, and given that my mum, brother and nephew all have holes in their hearts they seem to be happy to say that its genetics, but i think ill always wonder whether its something i could have prevented. Not sure how given my HbA1c's have all been below 6.4 since before pregnancy and in the 5's for most of the pregnancy, I'm not sure what else i could have done. i guess sometimes you just have to say that not everything relates to the big D, or understand that in my case regardless of my control i was the 1 in a million that it still happened to because of my diabetes and there isn't anything else i can o about it.

Ellikus - here's hoping that your little man arrives in time for the grand final!!!!!

[moose81]

Congrats Nicola on the arrival of Hudson. So exciting, hope you are enjoying motherhood :)

Ellikus, cant believe how close you are now and great that bub is measuring such a good size. Maybe your bump is not so impressive because you are tall and it doesn't need to stick out infront so much? I'm a bit of a shortie and I feel huge, ergh!

AliB, I'm so sorry to hear news about your bubs heart. But it is fantastic that it sounds like its not chromosomal, hopefully the full results will confirm that for you soon. I'm sure you are in the best hands with the cardiologist and it's really good they've picked it up early so you can be prepared for any intervention needed later. A good friend of mine's 8month old has just had surgery on her heart (first op at birth and second one now) and she is doing really well recovering. It's absolutely amazing what the surgeons can do these days and babies are sooo resilient and can cope with so much, it's often the parents that suffer more! I can't imagine the dreadful time you've had waitng for tests and results though :( hope it gets easier from here on for you.

Ive had a cough and cold for a few weeks and been feeling pretty crappy and struggling a but with the bgls. :( I have my next ob appointment and scan next week so I'll pop back on and update then.
Wishing everyone good BGLs and healthy growing bubbas.
Ali K

[Ellikus]

AliB Sorry to hear about bubs heart, wishing you luck for your future appts and hopefully this is something that can either repair itself or at the very least be closely monitored throughout your preg and treated asap! I absolutely cant imagine how hard all that would be on you and your partner, especially when throughout pregnancy there is less control and so much of the unknown to live with. I have heard some very similar stories about bubs having a hole in the heart but where bub has been born happy and healthy so I hope this happens for you too :)

Moose I hope you are recovering and feeling better now from having the cough and cold, there have unfortunately been so awful viruses going around atm! Also good luck with your ob appt and scan this week too! xx Oh and you're totally right about me being tall, bubs has plenty of room to hide away in my belly coz i have such a long torso lol :)

So I have officially been booked in to the hosp for my induction date now, will be going in on wed 26th sept :) this date honestly couldnt come soon enough! Not because Im over the physical side of things or not enjoying being pregnant but I am really starting to feel down about it all and think this is because I have had consistent health issues throughout the preg and more than anything, the emotional toll it has taken on me. It would seem, according to all the drs that most of my problems have been "normal" pregnancy experiences however it being my first time, plus being given a lot of negativity regarding pregnancy and t1D together it has been building to the ever growing amount of concern i constantly have.

I know logically that I have been doing my best and been doing a pretty good job of looking after me and bubs but its the little things that keep occuring that are frustrating or worrying me, eg pretty much chronic thrush throughout pregnancy no matter what my bsl's are doing or what i am including or cutting out of my diet. several re-occuring bladder infections with no general UTI type symptoms other than severe pelvic pain, 3 episodes of bleeding throughout the preg, occassionally ridiculously high blood pressure eg monday 160/85 and monitored tuesday back to pre preg levels at 108/70 what the?, a vomiting, cough cold type thing that lasted 3 weeks, chronic constant pain under my right ribs from 23wks till current, fatty liver, and most recently i was hospitalised because i have edema so bad i couldnt walk, ankles are that swollen! Argghhh, bring on the 26th I say! REALLY over the constant amount of worry :( Most of this stuff doesnt bother me for my sake, all I want is a healthy little boy!!!

xx

[Moe]

Oh my god Ali, what a terrifying time you must have had with bub's heart scare. I've got my fingers crossed that things run more smoothly from here on in.

Ellikus - what a cr@ppy time you've had! Sounds like hell so it must be great to see the end in sight. I'm going to make you jealous when I say I continue to have almost no pregnancy symptoms (does trouble sleeping count?). And most importantly for me I've only received a positive response from my drs (I go to a group practice where I can see four obs...not a model for everyone but I've loved it) regarding being pregnant and type 1. They've let me feel like a regular pregnant woman which has been great.

So next week I'll have another scan to check on size and then the following week I've got another ob appt where we'll discuss how things are looking and timing for an induction. I can't believe I could have an actual baby in a month. I almost wish it could stay in there a bit longer....I seem to be good at taking care of it 'on the inside'. Once it's out I suspect my husband and I will just be a bit clueless! I think we'll just try and go with the flow...if that's possible!

[LaurenC]

Hi Ladies,

I haven't been on RC for quite a few years but decided it was time for some support!!! I am now 14 weeks pregnant with our first baby. Due March 14th. It was a little bit of a surprise, we had decided to start trying and woohoo first month and on our honeymoon!!! That'll be a good story to tell the little one when it's older.

I have been diabetic for about 12 years and on a pump for the last 7. Initially the docs were a bit concerned because I had a pre-conception HbA1c of 7.5% so I spent a week in hospital on an insulin infusion and hourly bsl's to rapid stabilise and tweak by basal rate. Since then things are going ok, basal has been steadily dropped since we found out, still having occasional hypos but nothing like the 1.2's I was pulling in the first few weeks. We have had our 12 week screeening scan and all looks good so far. I live in Queensland, up near Townsville so will be having bub in the public hospital in Townsville. Great team of endos and obs!!!!! Up until now I have been having fortnightly appontments with the endo but got a grace period of a month for the next one so I must be doing ok.

I have a very supportive husband, he is a GP who also works in obstetrics (spent last year working under my ob) so he has a lot of knowledge of what is going on... haven't decided if that is always a good thing. I am a nurse too so I have a far idea of the medical ins and outs... but at the end of the day I guess the whole thing will just be take it as it comes and do what's best for our baby.

Hope you are all travelling well with your pregnancies... looking forward to hearing your experiences.

Lauren.

[AliB]

Hi Lauren,

Congratulations and welcome back to RC! Glad to hear things are going well. Its all so exciting! I think my basal rates continued dropping steadily until about week 16 and then evened out... That said though they started climbing again at about eek 19 so i didn't get much of a break! They've been slowly increasing every five or six days since then and I'm now 24 and a half weeks.

Moe - must be lovely to have had such an easy pregnancy! I'm completely jealous, i was sick as anything until about 18-19 weeks and then the scare with the 20 week scan so I'm absolutely loving feeling well and being able to enjoy my pregnancy and feeling him bounce around in my belly! Its such a contrast to feeling terrible all the time! Let us know how your scan went! No one has said anything about the six of our baby yet, although i tend to keep an eye out at the scans when they do measurements and he seems to be spot on for dates so far (the machine produces a due date and gestational age based on measurements and shows it on the screen for a few seconds). I have another scan next thursday with the cardiologist so I'm going to ask the technician if she can tell me how we are tracking for size.

Ellikus - not long to go now!!!!! you must be so excited to meet your little one!!!! I hope everything goes smoothly and you have a really wonderful experience!!! Let us know how you go!

AliK i hope you are feeling better and your diabetes has behaved while you've been sick. Hope your scan went well as well!

We got our final results from the Amnio which were all clear for any chromosomal abnormalities which was great news. Feeling much more relaxed now and really just kicking back and enjoying feeling great for the first time in 6 months!

Updated list:
Nicola - due by c-setion 15 August - little boy - Hudson!
Ellikus - induction 26 September - little boy
Moe - 26 October
AliK (Moose81) - due 13 November
Polka Dot - due 26 December
AliB - due 8 January - little boy
Sharalynne - due 29 January
LaurenC - due 14 March

[Moe]

Welcome Lauren! Good to see another QLDer baby on the way. Must feel great to get past the first 12 weeks and see everything looking good on the scan. In terms of bgl in early pregnancy I found that I noticed a few lows around the 7-12 week mark. Nothing dramatic though, just a few readings in the low 3s that would take me by surprise. I think the hypo unawareness was the strangest thing though. I'd be at 3 and feeling great! Things stabilized nicely until 28 weeks and then I very quickly had to double my doses...which just felt so dangerous at first but has been fine. For the past 7 weeks things have been very stable but I've had to really focus on my diet to make it work so predictably.

I had a growth scan yesterday (35 weeks). Things are looking good but baby is measuring in the 90th percentile (up from 50th at 20 weeks and 75th at 28 weeks). So I've got a 3.1kg baby in me already. But there was nothing to indicate it's size was diabetes related...every measurement was at 90% so is not like it had a fatty abdomen. And the amniotic fluid volume was very normal. I've only put on 6 kg myself and certainly don't look 8 months along. My dad even said 'look at you, where are you hiding a 3kg baby?'.
So I'll see my ob on Tuesday to discuss the birth and timing. I certainly hope an induction is still on the cards. I've worked so hard at my diet and keeping active that it'll feel a tiny bit of a shame if I don't at least get the chance to push this whopper out!

[Ellikus]

Hi all :)

AliB - congrats on your results, thats such great news, much be such a relief for you!! xx

Lauren - welcome to the thread and all the best with your pregnancy!

Moe - 6kg is nothing WOW! and good luck with your appt tomorrow, will be thinking of you! I had gained only 10kg up until around 36wks and then gained another 10 quite rapidly, MASS fluid retention but thank god this will all dissapear hopefully by the end of this week :)

Only a day and a bit left now, so so so excited to meet my little man! All is going well in terms of bubs health and size and the drs think im on track for a fairly uncomplicated vaginal birth so thats great news! I will be back on whenever I can to update and let you all know how it went, and what name we chose, we are still deciding!!

Elle xx

[Moe]

Hi Elle- best of luck for the birth. How exciting it must be to now be so close to the 'big event'. I'll have my fingers crossed that the birth goes as you hope. I guess regardless of how the birth goes you'll still end up meeting your (perfectly sized) little guy. And you can't beat that!

I'm having mixed feelings about our baby's arrival. This may sound weird but while I can't wait to meet this new little person I also just love feeling and seeing he/she squirm and stretch in my belly. And the look of wonder on my husband's face every time my belly moves is priceless. Sometimes i wish I could be preggers for longer! But that would mean I'd have to wait even longer for Camembert and I don't think I could stand for that!

[AliB]

HI girls,

I hope everyone is well and Elle i hope everything went smoothly for you during this week and you have a beautify healthy little baby to cuddle!!

I just had a quick question. Is anyone considering freezing their cord blood? My husband and i were talking about it last night. I've been thinking about it purely because of my diabetes. Given there is a slightly higher risk that our baby could develop type 1 I'm wondering whether it is worthwhile saving the cord blood in case there are any major developments in finding a cure for diabetes in the future. I guess there is only one shot at gathering and saving the blood and thats now, so while it does cost a lot ( I think between $2-4k) I'm just wondering if you guys think its worth it? obviously there is no cure yet and there is no guarantee that there will be one, but i do wonder whether the cost now will seem so much if it makes the difference between our little man having the chance of being cured IF he develops type 1 and IF they actually come up with a cure.

Anyway just something i've been thinking about and wondering if anyone else has thought about it, done it, is planning to do it or has decided not to do it...

[Moe]

Hi Ali
I hadn't really given any thought to saving the cord blood, mainly because none of my medical team have raised it with me. And the cost would put me off a bit anyway. I'm the only one in my family to ever have type1 so I'll admit I've not given any thought to our little one also ending up with it. I think I've been more concerned about the giant nose it appears to have in recent scans! I thought it was the outline of a foot I keep seeing but maybe it's the nose!

[LaurenC]

Hi Ladies,

Good to hear there haven't been any major dramas recently. I'm tracking along fairly well, nearly 17 weeks now. Haven't felt any movements yet but I'm sure it won't be long!!!!

Finally got through a week with no decrease to my basal rate YAY!!!!! Although I'm sure that means the rises aren't too far off.

Just wondering what everyone has done as far as maternity leave?? How early did you start?? I only work 6 days a fortnight but my job can be pretty demanding and there is some shift work involved (no overnights thank goodness)... Just not sure what to do as far as letting them know what my plans are...

[Moe]

Hi Lauren
I went on maternity leave at about 26 weeks. We were facing redundancies at work (I'm a Qld public servant so not a good time at work!) and everyone was a stressed out mess...so i decided to get out of there and it was the best decision I could have made. I've had a great third trimester and I think a large part of that is being relaxed and having the time to really focus on my diabetes and eating well and exercising. My diabetes was really well controlled while working but I knew i wasn't exercising much or eating as well as I could/should be.
If you do go early just be careful about eligibility for the federal govt Paid Parental Leave...there's minimum work requirements you need to meet. But I suspect it would be quite flexible if you were going on leave due to diabetes.

I'm all booked in to be induced on the 19th....exactly 39 weeks. Only two weeks to go. Yippee! We're both so excited...bit scared but mostly super excited to meet this little creature of ours. I've now started that awkward slow waddle so I know I'm near the finish line!

[polka dot]

Hi everyone! great to read where you are all at, some exciting times ahead for some of us....and still some long wait times ahead for others!! AlliB i hope all has been going well since your 20 week scan, as if the diabetes and all the anxiety it causes isn't already enough on your plate - really hope its been going ok since then and you're enjoying some second trimester energy!

i'm 28 weeks and a bit now. had a scan at 28 weeks and all is measuring nice and normal, the Ob said i was all on track for a nice normal pregnancy! that was nice to hear! at 26 weeks they were worried about some protein that had shown up in some urine tests, but my blood pressure has stayed low and protein levels have not increased so they are happy. I'm seeing the ob and endo fortnightly at the moment and at 30 weeks I'll start seeing them weekly. my last hba1c was 5.0 so i sometimes wonder if all these appointments are necessary, but at the same time, i like being closely monitored! i'll have another scan at 32 weeks and then 36 weeks. insulin requirements have sky rocketed, i now give as much insulin in my basal rate for the day as i used to take pre pregnancy for my whole daily dose! the other day i got a warning on my pump 'max bolus exceeded' - have had to reset the max bolus!! i'm changing my rates probably about ever four days to try and stay on top of it.increased bolus rates, basal rates and insulin sensitivity factor. in addition, it all seems to be a lot less predictable now - i often have readings over 10 that i just cannot explain, where i know I've carb counted correctly, and there's no reason i can find that I've gone high. just have to put it down to hormones and correct and change my rates if it becomes a pattern.

am getting tired again now, was feeling pretty good in second trimester. now it doesn't take much to tire me out and i'm getting bigger and harder to move around, pick things up etc! exciting though. lots more movements and kicks. we are starting renovations in a few weeks, will have no kitchen for three weeks, this will add some challenges to eating well!

Lauren in answer to your question, I'm starting maternity leave next week- i'll be 29 weeks and 3 days... my ob suggested i finish at 28 weeks, and wrote me a letter to say so, and work have given me sick leave until i'm 34 weeks, when i i officially start maternity leave. i'm really lucky to have this situation, i don't know if all workplaces would be so accommodating. i have heaps of sick leave so i thought i might as well use some of it. i feel like i'm leaving really early, and that i could keep working and i'm worried i'm going to be bored - but i'm sure once i stop i'll realise how much easier it is to control my sugars and eating without the stress of work. i just do an office job.

very best of luck to those nearing delivery dates, super exciting - can't wait to hear all about what its like to be a mum! eeeeek! sometimes the obsession with bsl's complely overtakes the fact that there will be a baby in our house in two months time!!!

[AliB]

hi girls,

Polka dot - fantastic to hear that you are doing so well!!! Since our 20 week scan we've had an amnio which ruled out any nasty chromosomal issues and also a repeat echocardiogram (just an ultrasound with a cardiologist there) which has now ruled out a hole in our little man's heart all together which is fantastic!! they'll check him again once he's born but they couldn't find any issues at the scan at 26 weeks so we are very very happy with that!!

Lauren - i'm not planning to start maternity leave until 34 weeks but i only work 3 days a week and one of these is from home. I'm finding that i quite enjoy getting out of the house and into the office on the 2 office days. That said, i'll see how i go in the next month or so and if things get difficult then i may stop earlier. My OB hasn't said anything at all about maternity leave, i'll ask him when i see him next week if i should be stopping earlier or just continuing until I'm finding it too difficult, or 34 weeks, whichever comes first.

I've been diagnosed with SPD (Symphysis Pelvic Dysfunction) which as far as i can tell is basically a fancy name for when the hormone relaxin works a bit too well and the pelvis becomes unstable and painful. My OB has said no long walks and to take it easy and hopefully that will help with the pain. To be honest its not that bad, it hurts a bit if i over do it but otherwise I'm fine. I've done some googling and it seems like other women can get it much much worse and end up on crutches or in wheelchairs! but i guess its like anything else where you read all the horror stories online and the reality is for the most part not nearly as bad.

I'm not getting too tired yet, although i feel it creeping in on the edges more now (27 weeks) and my insulin requirements seem to have stabilised over the past four or five days which is nice although it probably just means that they will do a big jump tomorrow or the next day! I figure as long as i keep on top of it and watch my stars then there isn't much more i can do - i'll just have to go with the flow, do what i can and hope for the best.

Polka dot i know what you mean re the forgetting that there will actually be a baby at the end of all this testing and monitoring! sometimes i have to remind myself that there is an end in sight for the pregnancy and then we will have a baby to bring home! its easy to get caught up in the day to day stresses of diabetes and forget about the end product. Still seems completely unreal to me that we will be bringing another member into our family! We've finally started buying bits and pieces of baby furniture which is nice. I haven't put together the nursery yet although i have most of what will go in there - mainly because i haven't been able to bring myself to clear out my study - the thought of even opening the wardrobe to clean it out is terrifying!! i think that chore in itself will take me a month!! i had better get started!!

Good luck with the kitchen reno! hopefully it goes smoothly and you get all your amenities back quickly!!

Moe - you are getting so close!!!! i'm so excited for you!!! i hope you are feeling well and are as ready as you can be for the big day!!!!

[AliB]

hahahhahah "watch my sugars" not watch my stars!!!! if only star gazing could control diabetes!!!!

[Ellikus]

Hey everyone, hope all are doing well and enjoying the pregnancy journey :)

Just a quick update before the next feed :) I had my baby boy Braxton James on thursday the 27th sept, I was induced on the 26th at 7am and almost 36 hours later gave birth by c section at 5:42pm the next day. Brax was very unwell when born but thankfully he has bounced back and is 100% ok now :D Unfortunately I was put under a general anesthetic so I didnt get to hold him first but hubby did and after I came out of recovery I got a cuddle before he was taken to special care. The first night was all a blur and honestly I dont remember much of it, but I do remember the next day when the special care team bought him to me and those first few days in hospital were just amazing getting to bond with my little guy, feeding and all the rest!

I am currently having MEGA issues with breast feeding but am trying not to stress myself about it, atm we are doing mix feeds, mainly Brax is on formula with a top up of EBM as well. Brax has poor sucking skills and even struggles to latch onto a bottle properly, let alone a breast, combined with having both inverted nipples which makes it even harder for him to latch. I am expressing daily to try and maintain my supply and Brax is being monitored feeding wise and will be reviewed soon as the dr thinks he may need to see a speech pathologist in order to get his mouth muscles stronger and more developed.

Oh and forgot to mention, by some weird miracle I was MORE than cured of diabetes for three days! I was being tested every hour on the hour for bsls and blood pressure and immediately after the delivery I was hypoing continuously despite the fact that I had not had any insulin for almost two days!!! what the?? On the night he was born I had 7 cans of lemonade, 1 every hour, and as mentioned, no insulin at all! I was eventually put on a glucose drip so I could get some sleep and not have to pump myself full of sugar! This continued through the next two days but after that I returned to almost normal. Am now on a lot lower doses of insulin than I was pre pregnancy but am able to get some consistency and have more control now.

Anyways, just wanted to update everyone on my news and best of luck to those of you who are so close now! xxx Ellikus

[Moe]

A big congratulations Elle! Must have been wonderful to meet Braxton at last...even if it was a bit of a rocky start!

It's crazy about the diabetes. I saw my endo for the final time yesterday and she warned me of the same thing happening. No one is sure why you can end up temporarily 'cured'. I think 7 cans of lemonade would have me vomiting though!

Were you surprised by how long the hospital let you continue with the labour before having a c section?

[Ellikus]

Thanks Moe :)

Yes very surprised how the hospital let the labour go on so long! In detail though, I was given "prostin" (the medication to ripen your cervix, to make it shorter and softer and more ready for birth) at 7am. I was told I would be reviewed at 1pm (6 hrs on) to see how it had effected my cervix, if it wasnt "ripe" at 1pm I would need another dose. At 10am I started getting contractions that were 2-3 mins apart and lasting 30-45 seconds each time. MOST horrible feeling ever as Brax was also the wrong way around, his spine was along my spine. For the first hour of contractions I was running to the toilet thinking I needed to do a poo. After this I finally figured out I didnt need to go, these were contractions. I was monitored for the contractions and told I could have panadol and a hot pack, I later reported this nurse for her treatment as she made a very rude comment during her handover and it was made right in front of me, was NOT happy with this woman!

Anyways, at 1pm I was reviewed and the dr said nope your cervix isnt ripen at all but told me they couldnt give me any more prostin as it would increase the contractions and make the pain worse. Change over occured at 3pm and finally I was given a birth ball I could bounce around on, a better hot pack, offered towels for a shower and finally at 5pm was offered pethidine. The pethidine lasted maybe an hour but at least it was a break. After more hours of agony I was finally reviewed at 9pm and given prostin again as my cervix was STILL not ripe :( Hubby went home at 10pm to get some sleep and I went back to the maternity ward where I spent the next few hours from 10pm to 3.30am on the ball, the pain in my back and rectum was so bad I couldnt lay down or sit on the bed at all, I needed the special ball to take my weight without placing too much pressure on me.

At 3.30am I went to the nurses station absolutely bawling my eyes out and complained. I was due to be reviewed again at 4am anyway but the nurse on rushed me downstairs to the labour ward again. At the labour ward they reviewed me again and my cervix still wasnt ready, major :( so they gave me pethidine again at 5am. At around 7am I woke up, again in loads of pain. Hubby arrived somewhere between 8 and 9am and between 7 am to 10am I was on the ball the whole time.

At 10am I was examined, I was 5 cm dilated (HOORAY! Cervix finally ready and opened!) I was given an epidural, had my waters broken and given a drug to start the "real" contractions (as most of the contractions i was having before werent actually making the baby drop).
Contractions started more frequently but thankfully I didnt feel a thing thanks to the epidural. During this time I managed to get some sleep, chat with hubby and the midwives and felt alot more relaxed :)

Around 3pm I was suddenly asked to roll over onto my side, with the epidural this was impossible so had to have hubby plus two midwives turn me. This happened a few times and I was told that Braxs heart rate had dropped massively. The drugs to keep contractions going were stopped and Brax had blood taken from his head, believe it or not they scratched his head with a probe through my vagina, weirdest thing ever. And then an agonising wait where the machine delivered results, Braxs lactate score was fine. They test the lactate because basically when our bodies are stressed we produce lactic acid. In babies if they have a high lactate score it means their bodies are breaking down muscle and they are sturggling. Braxs score was fine but as soon as they started the contraction drugs again his heart rate continued to drop suddenly and was becoming very low, it got down to 40bmp where as a normal score is between 120-180bpm I was told.

They scratched his head another two times, each time his lactate score was rising. Eventually at 5pm I was given a choice. Stop the contraction drugs for half an hour and then scratch his head again and play it out, see how it all goes. OR go have the emergency c section immediately. By this stage I was so stressed and well and truly ready to meet my boy that I said yes straight away to the c section. Fast forward to 5.42pm and eventually Brax was born!!

Bad news for Brax, he was born with a BSL of 1.7, couldnt breathe, had the cord wrapped around his neck and also had a knot in the umbilical cord. Very bad start but so glad I didnt wait any longer and chose the c section when I did. And fast forward now, 2.5 wks on and Brax is amazing, sleep deprivation and all, I love every bit about my boy and being a mum :) :)

[AliB]

Hi Elle,

A huge huge congratulations on the birth of Brax what an achievement to come through all of that and be smiling with a beautiful healthy baby boy to call your own!!! And what a great name!!!

Thanks so much for posting your story! I find it so reassuring to hear how it has gone for other diabetic mums. I'm outraged on your behalf that the nurse treated you badly! as if you didn't already have enough going on. I'll never understand people who act like that!!

Can i ask how long Brax was in special care for? and if you could go through it all again, would you opt for an elective c-section? although it doesn't sound like your diabetes had anything to do with the eventual c-section, but we are trying to decide at the moment whether to bother trying with an induction or to book in for a c-section. Thought i had made my mind up that an elective was the way to go for me (given family history with inductions) but the closer i get to the birth the more i find myself wishing that i could be like a "normal" woman and not have to worry about any complications that might arise during an induction...

I hope breast feeding is improving for you!! and i'm so glad you are enjoying every moment with your little boy!!!

xx

[Ellikus]

Hi AliB

Thanks so much for your response, it is an amazing feeling to know I managed through all that!

I got up to the ward at around 7pm after being stitched up and in recovery etc and Brax was taken to special care at around 9pm. He stayed there overnight where they gave him a glucose drip and he was returned to me at around 11.30 the next day after I had the catheter taken out and was able to have a shower and try walking around etc. Special care monitored him until 11.30am the next day as well but he was with me the whole time. The special care nurses were FANTASTIC! and helped way more than any of the regular midwives on the ward. They showed me how to feed, hold, change nappies, burp and cuddle Brax, a lot of things you think might be common sense but the advice was given in a nurturing friendly way and they let me do a lot on my own without treating me like an idiot or just taking over Brax without giving me my own opportunities. I really could not be more greatful to the special care team for looking after Brax :) With the monitoring the special care team would come to my ward and test Brax's BSL and also make sure he was fed and had his nappy changed every three hours. He was on a specific amount of formula too, 45mls every three hours. He had his temp taken every three hours also but all up Brax was under the special care team for around 48 hours before they gave him the all clear and discharged him from their care and into the regular maternity ward.

Also with the next one if we chose to have one, I would not opt for a elective c section. Like you I was determined to go through a "normal" birth and was devastated it turned out this way, but like you and my endo also said, at the end of the day it was nothing to do with my diabetes control! In future I would still opt for a vaginal birth but in future if they suggested being induced, next time I would try and wait until 39 wks instead of 38, Im certain thats part of the reason my cervix was just not ready as I practically had no pre labour symptoms at all before being induced and also Brax was sitting very high and hardly engaged in the birth canal at all, things that are important for labor to progress. But the difference with next time for me personally would be that if they offered me a c section due to problems progressing I would act immediately and wouldnt worry about myself or being cut open i would just want the baby out asap as I now know how important it is. In future I would also ask for pain relief a LOT sooner and know my choices straight away, pethidine, then the epidural, the gas is just nasty and made me feel soooo nauseas!

Hope that helps somewhat!

Ellikus xx

[jennat]

Hi Ellie,

so interesting to hear your story and so glad you are enjoying time with your little boy, they areally are so precious and they grow so amazingly fast!,

I'm not pregnant at the moment but I do have a 9 month old baby girl, with regards to electing for a c section if you have another bub,I'm not sure if you are aware but I have been told from a number of forums that if you have had a c section, you CANNOT be induced during any later pregnancies, you can still have a vaginal birth but they will not give you the drugs to induce you, I think its something to do wih the strength of the contractions the drugs can bring on may cause issues with the previously cut lining of your uterus.

Not relevent for many of you now I know but just something for the future.

Hope those of you who have had bubs are enjoying those amazing new born cuddles and those of you who have yet to give birth, enjoy the time now as everything changes afterwards :-) (in a good way)

Jenna

[Moe]

Hi Elle & AliB

Since you've been discussing induction vs elective c section I thought I'd mention how discussions have gone with my endo and obstetricians. Basically the option of a c section has never been raised...but i've had lots of discussions with my drs about why they're confident that an induction has a good chance of working. So the reasons why are: I'm waiting till 39weeks exactly (drs were very clear that the closer I can get to 39weeks the better), baby's head fits in my pelvis and has been fully engaged for a few weeks now, head is bigger than its abdomen, and I've had a couple of weeks of twinges which drs say is probably my cervix shortening (although no one's had a look!), and I'm in good physical shape. The number one reason my drs keep mentioning is that the baby is normal sized so there's no reason not to give induction a go.
Of course all those factors don't guarantee that it'll actually work but I'm trying to think positively about it all....and I'm constantly saying to my bump 'ok, time to come out now...you've had enough time in there'....I'm sure that'll do the trick!

[moose81]

Wow Ellikus,
Firstly, Congratulations on the arrival of your little boy Braxton!!! And thankyou for giving such an indepth account of the birth. I find it really interesting to see how other people in 'our' situation go and its quite hard to find information like that.

So, i havent updated in a while....
Im currently 36 weeks so getting toward the business end of this pregnancy! Initially they were talking induction at 38weeks, pretty standard from what ive heard as every thing was looking pretty normal and growth was all average. Bub was breech for ages, so we were just waiting for her to turn which she did at 34 weeks so ob was all set to book the induction date. However, my growth scan at 35weeks showed the abdomen has had a huge growth spurt (way above 97%) and now measures quite a lot bigger than the head (around 60%) My HbA1c has been pretty good (6.4, 6.5 etc) throughout the pregnancy and if anything BSLs have been better lately so I dont know whats caused this :(
The ob is now talking about reassessing her size at 37 weeks (just in case the abdo slows down or the head catches up) and if the proportions are still the same ( or worse!) they are talking about doing a c-section later that week (would be 37.5 weeks) She's not yet engaged (only 1/5 of head deep in pelvis) so in view of what Elle was saying (and from what ive heard from others) an induction may not progress well at this point anyway. The ob's concern with the abdo being so much bigger than head is that the shoulders may get stuck which can have really nasty consequences, so as much as i was looking forward to attempting a vaginal birth, if they think c-sec is the safest then i'm happy to go ahead with their plans. I was a bit disappointed when i was initially told this as i was all ready to book my induction date and had just done all my antenatal classes and hospital tour all focused on the fact that i was going to labour vaginally. Just took a little while to get my head around the change...
So I've pretty much got one week until my growth scan and we should know when and what's happening then!!

Hope everyone else is travelling along nicely,
Ali K

[AliB]

Hi everyone

We saw our Ob yesterday and had a good discussion arund elective c-section v induction specific to my circumstances. He basically said that given our bubby is already measuring in the 75th percentile (at 26 weeks) he thinks that he will be a bigger baby. He did say that 75th percentile was nothing to worry about but that there is a fair possibility that he will be big. He also said that given my family history (mum, and both sisters all went to 41+ weeks with natural births and had a lot of trouble when induced - oldest sister has had 1 natural at 41+4, 2 induced one of which ended in c-section, the other with labour that lasted 3 days and had some complications, and her 4th baby was a c-section becasue less than 1 year from previous c-section and her cervix only got to 1 cm after 18 hours; other sister got to 42+6 weeks and had a very long and complicated labour and was induced for her 2nd (last week) which ended in a c-section as her body didnt respond) neither of my sisters are diabetic either. Anyway Ob thinks because of history and the fact that he doesnt want me to go past 38 weeks and thinks my body just wont be ready, plus a big baby, safest option for me will be a c-section.

I tend to agree, especially if our little man is going to be big. He did mention though that once i've been c-sectioned i cant be induced for any further labours and that if we were planning on having more than 2-3 kids then he would suggest trying the induction as there can be some complications with future prgnancies after multiple c-sections (he said this is only a problem if in subsequent pregnancies i had placenta previa as the placenta on rare occasions can adhere to the c-section scar and cause a lot of bleeding which can in even more rare circumstances lead to an emergency hysterectomy). Given i think i will be hard pressed to talk my husband into anymore than 2 babies im not too worried about this, but i did think it was interesting.

So the result of our conversation is that i have been booked in for a c-section on 24th December - its still early days but he said better to book it in and cancel than leave it too late especially over the holiday period. He did say that if baby ends up looking like he will be smaller and /or i change my mind and want to try induction he will fully support that decision. All i really want is our baby to come into this world in the safest way possible and it\f that means a c-section then im fine with that. But if the risks for an induction arent high for me then i think i would like to at least try. So i guess we will just see what happens now.

AliK - good luck with your growth scan next week! i hope it all goes well!! if it makes you feel any better my Hba1c's have all been in the 5's with the exception of 1 in the low 6's and our bubby is measuing big as well. i think sometims it has absolutely nothing to do with our control and is just nature giving us big bubbies to cuddle!

[Moe]

AliB- sounds like a c section is a good option...and how lovely would a Xmas eve baby be! Actually hospital food on Christmas day may be a bit cr@p but I'm sure you wont care!

I've only got a day and a bit to go....aaarrrgghhhh. I'm so excited. It's like I'm a three year old counting down till Xmas. I thought I'd be more nervous but I feel like I've been pregnant forever and just very ready.
I had my last obstetrician appt yesterday which was nice and reassuring. Always good to hear that strong little heart beat! The good news is that things have already started dilating...not by much but it's a good sign anyway.

[ErniB]

Hi Moe, just wanted to touch base....I've come in late with this thread, so I apologise if I've missed anything major! Are you having / or have you just had bub ?? THinking of you, and wishing you all the best :)