Pregnant or TTC

[eitak]

Thanks ladies, it's comforting knowing you also felt twinges and twangs! I'm feeling a little more relaxed now. I visited the GP anyway before the weekend just to out my mind at ease but of course they say everyone is different. I've moved my scan that was booked for Tuesday to Monday anyway, so will feel better once I see the baby is all OK.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!!

[Julie]

WOW! Cassie those 3D pictures are absolutely amazing!!!! It makes it so much more real and so worth all the hard work!! You must be rapt with them!
Thanks for posting them for us to share. Eitak, I hope everything went okay with your scan today. I'm sure it'll be perfect but it's always nice to get that reassurance.

Everything is going along okay with me. I had another scan last week (8 weeks) and couldn't believe how he/she has grown. My eating has settled down considerably, I'm not feeling the need to devour everything in sight which is nice! And after a huge sob to my husband, we managed to get my sugars looking better over the weekend. I was testing so much and correcting and hypoing and on a bit of a yo-yo. I told my ob that I'm finding the second time more stressful and she said that's completely normal because this time round we know what's at stake and how important everything is. I'm also finding it harder to achieve the same level of control as last time and my endo said it's much more 'real life' second time round. I think with having a toddler, I get very easily distracted and have to really remember to test. I'm counting down the days to my 12 week scan...

Good luck to everyone ttc..... I hope this is your lucky month.

[Lolly]

Welcome to the new posters, Bels and Gen.
Gen- your HbA1C is great, and congrats on the twins! We’re all deferring to Lucia for twins info..
Bels- I was advised that an HbA1C under 6.5-7% was best for conception, but that stable control without too many hypos to get that number was more important. Good luck with the April 2012 goal.

Oooh, Cassie_B your pics are amazing!! Soo detailed. And your package is fabulous compared with Sydney prices. Hehe, let me know if you try the baking soda test. I’m still 3 weeks away from the morphology scan where we can find out the sex, and the wait is killing me!

Katie, I also get twinges and aches occasionally but am reassured that its normal as your abdomen expands and stretches. I especially get a twinge when I roll over in bed without keeping my knees together for some reason- ridiculous. And lucky you, getting a 3/4D scan for the nuchal translucency!

AliG- my fingers are crossed that this month’s little egg is THE one.

And good luck for the 12 week scan Julie- gosh how the time flies.

I’m now 15w,1d and have just bought a BellyBelt as my pants were getting too tight. And I was down to 1/3 my usual insulin dose but in the past few days I’m noticing my BSLs starting to creep back up again, so I guess now it’s going to start going the other way..

[Gen]

Hi everyone

Thanks for your reassuring words. Not feeling quite so alone anymore.
Cassie - what beautiful images! You must have got a lump in your throat when you saw them.
Lolly - thanks for feedback on the HbA1c - I thought 6.3 was o.k and but you get so much conflicting information. I just stumbled across NDSS's movie "Having a Healthy Baby" which helped to put my mind at ease as well.
Goodluck to everyone TTC. My naturopath told me ovulation/pregnancy strips are much cheaper on eBay and come in a big pack if that helps anyone.
No doubt I will be back in touch with questions soon!
Have a good day
:-) Gen

[Ali G]

Hi everyone

Thanks for your reassuring words. Not feeling quite so alone anymore.
Cassie - what beautiful images! You must have got a lump in your throat when you saw them.
Lolly - thanks for feedback on the HbA1c - I thought 6.3 was o.k and but you get so much conflicting information. I just stumbled across NDSS's movie "Having a Healthy Baby" which helped to put my mind at ease as well.
Goodluck to everyone TTC. My naturopath told me ovulation/pregnancy strips are much cheaper on eBay and come in a big pack if that helps anyone.
No doubt I will be back in touch with questions soon!
Have a good day
:-) Gen

'

If you are after ovulation strips on ebay oracle fertility is the place for them! I think I own a few hundred lol!!

Spoke to quite a few people who have been TTC and they say they are the best on the web - very simple to use as well!!

Cassie, those pics are amazing!!

Iam so getting some if I ever get UTD!!

[LuciaL]

Hi Gen - Snap! I'm also pregnant with Type 1 and with twins, much to our surprise, much like you described. I have posted a fair bit here, and in other threads, so wont go over my experience again ... and there is also someone else who popped in who is a bit ahead of me again so that's at least 3 of us currently pregnant with Type 1 and twins. Have a little hunt around the forum.

I looked into the Women's but decided to fork out and go private to get the continuity with the one obstetrician - it's shitty that the only way to get that is to pay, but them's the breaks and I don't regret it so far - I am seeing Michael Rasmussen who was recommended to me as good at Type 1 diabetes, and then turns out coincidentally he does a lot of twins (and he has twins himself so is a wealth of knowledge!).

I've always been advised a1c under 7 is the target for pregnancy, and as others said weighing this up with risk of major hypos - mine have been 6.8 and 6.6 so far and everyone very happy. I would think at 6, the cheer squad should be out for you too, and not a cause for concern but have a chat to your endo as soon as you can.

Good luck!

[jennat]

Wow, so much has been happening over the last few days,

Cassie the photos are absolutely amazing, you must be so pleased with them,

Katie, I tend to get twinges etc every few weeks, just started getting them again now, for me I'm pretty sure its because bub has started to run out of room so my body is adapating to be able to fit her in, its amazing really that it can do that when you think about it,

Welcome Bels, good luck with TTC and from memory I used to become a lot more insulin resistant in the week before AF arrived, having to up my dose by a couple of units.

Welcome also to Gen, wow another set of twins huge congratulations to you and I reckon your HBA1C sounds fantastic, as lots of people have already said 7 and under seems to be the magic number and if you have good control in general I think even if you are a bit over thats not too much of an issue either

Julie thats great that your sugars are settling down and you aren't experiencing quite so many fluctuations, I can only imagine what it must be like managing the Diabetes and the pregancy whilst also looking after a todder, it sounds like you are doing a fantastic job

quick update from me, not a lot has happened in the past week or so, insulin requirements are still creeping up have had to add another unit onto each injection and I officially can't see my feet anymore!! Quick question, how long is everyone planning to work for? I think I'm being a glutton for punishment, I'm due just after Christmas and I'm carrying on working until 9th December! this only really gives me 2 weeks before she is due but I would just much rather spend the time after she is born rather than sitting around the house before

Jenna

[eitak]

What a hive of activity this thread has been over the past few days!

Just wanted to check in to say I had my scan Monday and everything was fine. It was a huge relief and from reading here the past few days, twinges and twangs will be a regular thing from here on in. I am looing forward to being able to feel the baby as it may put my mind at rest! Scan was amazing, so much detail for such a wee little thing. Its easy to forget the baby is only 7cm when lookig at the screen!

Julie, I think it's challenging just dealing with T1, pregnancy and daily life, let along with a toddler. I think you're a star! Sounds like you're doing a great job.

Lolly, I had to buy some bigger jeans a few weeks back, so I think you're doing great guns at 15 weeks to start with the belly belt! I am looking forward to hearing if your bi-carb trick worked, once you have the sex confirmed!

The ovulation strips online are a great idea - Iwill let my TTC friends know that tip.

Jenna, I am hoping (at this very early stage, which I guess may change) to work up until about 36 weeks, assuming it will be game on at 38 weeks which will give me a couple of weeks at home. I have an office job so find it more tiring on the weekends than at my desk!

Luck & bubydust to the TTC'ers...

[Julie]

Hi girls,

Just wanted to share my very proud news of 5.9 for my hba1c!! Very pleased with myself!!! :)

I also wanted to ask if anyone else was offered the Cystic Fibrosis test at around 11-13 weeks? I had never heard about it until now but my obs seems keen for me to do it. Were any of you offered it? It's a test you do to see if you are a carrier, then if you are they test your husband, then if you both are, they test bub. My obs has said it's a risk because two healthy parents could be carriers without knowing it and without any family history. I don't think she has concerns for me having it personally, she's just concerned in general. I'm happy if people aren't keen to share whether they chose to have it or not, but I'm just curious to see if it's a common occurence now or just something my obs is into. It has to be organised and paid for independently (not part of any public medicare type thing).

[jennat]

Julie, thats a fantastic result, huge congratulations, its such a weight off your mind when you get a result like that for the HBA1c, it makes all the worry and the effort worth it :-)

I haven't been offered a cystic fibrosis test at all, its never even been mentioned to us and I didn't even know it was possible, keep us posted on whether you decide to go ahead as I'm interested to find out more

Jenna

[lexyjane]

please think happy thoughts for me guys. in the final stages of the final 2ww before we give up for the year. I am trying not to jinx it by saying I have a good feeling because I have had a good feeling before. I have had a pretty good month of not thinking / stressing about it at all because had such seriously awful bsls (like 28 while on 250% basal rate) at the time of ovulation due to the medications that I doubt anything babylike would have lived through it but now that it is coming up to AF time I cant help just hoping a little bit. If I am I will be so frreaked out because of the bad bsls but some little part of me still has hope.

Julie - in terms of CF, I guess the question is if the baby was positive would you terminate? If the answer is no then don't test for it. Just another thing to stress about.

[eitak]

I've been meaning to check back in with you Lexyjane to see how you're going. Did you manage this cycle on clomid after all? Will bekeeping everything crossed for you....very best of luck Let us know how you go x

[Julie]

Sending you allll the positive vibes I can Lexyjane! I'm crossing every finger and I hope this is your month. You more than deserve it. And don't stress too much about sugars in the very early days because I'm not sure but I don't think baby gets much of our stuff until a few weeks later (don't quote me but that was my understanding).

Good luck!!!! :)

[lexyjane]

I did have the clomid but it turns out that 3 days before I ovulate it makes me severely insulin resistant so I am not going to take it again as it defeats the purpose - I ovulate on time but have disastrous control over the ovulation period which is contraindicated. They haven't been able to work out why this happened yet as it is counter intuitive - I should rise after the ovulation with the onset of progesterone but... I always have enjoyed being a bit unique. lol. I am a bit scared that this might be the same with IVF drugs because they are meant to trigger eggs for harvest as is clomid so I am worried this might happen when on IVF too, we won't know until I try it though.

Julie - I'm hoping that too but my diabetes in pregnancy team were pretty cross. I actually got the grand poobah Dr to hang out with me for an hour last week because I am now classed as "interesting". I have also told them I am not coming back unless I am preggers or starting IVF because there are people at the pregnancy and diabetes clinic who started there after me who already have kids and that is doing my head in.

We are looking at buying some chickens this weekend so maybe I can start exploring the option of having "fur kids" or in this case "feather kids" if I start posting photos of my chickens dressed in little outfits you will know the clomid hasn't worked out this month and we are onto IVF. I am feeling really a bit trapped at the moment, I need to stay in my job so I can access mat leave and my 600 hours of sick leave but I am not sure if I can go through IVF while working with other people's children. At least my job is well paid and has very flexible working conditions so could be a lot worse.

[LuciaL]

Hi gals - Ive been thinking about the work thing lately too. My original plan was to stop at Christmas which is 28 weeks and with twins I'll be full-term sized at 30. Work have asked me to keep working in January (when I'll be huge!), should be able to do it at home mostly, and I asked my ob who said that was fine by him (if I really wanted to!). Chatting with some other mums this week, they reminded me you need doctor's approval to work anything more than 6 weeks before your due date, so working up to 36 weeks you will probably encounter that. It's tough balancing up the money issue and I was worried about getting bored too but there's a real chance we'll be so tired and not sleeping well (and managing D in the later stages when doses are going up constantly is time consuming), so I'm thinking I wont really get bored between trying to get the sleep bank up, probably have weekly ob appointments in later stages, and I have plenty of hobbies and jobs round the house to keep me entertained, and am looking forward to relaxing things like swimming - that said, the best laid plans, we could do with the cash so I will probably work as long as I physically can but try to negotiate as much as I can from home. Good luck everyone.

Julie - I wasnt offered CF test specifically but there was a very long list of things they were testing with the blood test and the scan at 12 weeks, so it may have been in amongst there. Even my ob this week, without any prompting, commented that I was "very thoroughly investigated" (was a bit of a dig at my endo/other doctors) but made me laugh given my top question for him was about how I wasnt wild about my pregnancy being so medicalized, he read my mind and is pretty low-intervention in his approach, so I expect I didnt have anything prescribed but the known risks of which CF isnt one for me at least I dont think. Ciao.

[Yasmahne]

Hi ladies
wow so much happening with you all - I haevn't been to RC for ages - I have been struggling with massive tiredness and feeling unwell.
I will be 12 weeks on Sunday and I am hoping I am breaking through this 'unwell' feeling (don't want to jinx it though as I said that a week ago and WHAM - I felt majorly crook last Sunday!).

In regards to Julie's query I was sent for blood tests that pretty much screened for everything possible - I think there was about 9 viles of blood taken. My Mum has Lupus - and I know CF was also on the list for screening. All came back good for me. Also congrats on your Hba1c :-)

Hoping the insulin sensitivity will back-off a bit soon, I pretty much have to make sure I keep snacking every 2.5-3 hours. But that has worked well as when I feel unwell it is usually easily overcome with a yummy biscuit!

Wishing you all great health and lots of baby-dust

Yasmahne

[Gen]

Hi everyone

So great to read all your posts and realise that there is a support network out there!

Jules: Congrats on your HBA1c!! Fantastic. I haven't heard anything about the cystic fibrosis test but I'll ask my doctor when I see her next Friday.

Lucia L : Thanks for your message! Sounds like you are going really well. I'm afraid I am a bit vague on the whole private/public health insurance system thing but am trying to learn quickly. I have private health insurance but was advised to go through Dr Jennifer Conn at the Royal Womens who I think is public??? Anyway I am going for my first appointment with the dietitions, endos etc on the 9th of November so I guess I'll find out a bit more about it then.

Eitak: Congratulations on your scan result - fantastic. I can't wait to go to the 12 week scan to see if everything is o.k.

Lexyjane : Keeping EVERYTHING crossed for you. I also work with kids and know it how tough it can be when you are TTC. I think you have to do what feels right for you. If it means having a day off to look after yourself - do it.

I am going pretty well apart from a hypo during the week where I woke up in a pool of sweat at 3.5?????? I usually feel hypos coming on and felt completely out of it when I woke up - a bit scary. Trying really hard to test every 1/2 hour and 3 times over the night to keep everything on track. I have worked out I only feel nauseous and morning sick when my blood sugar is dropping.

Have a great Cup Weekend if you are in Melbourne.

Luck and babydust to all those TTC.

:-) Gen

I

[LuciaL]

Hi Gen -

That's funny; I see Jenny Conn too. I was just telling her this week that there were 3 people on RC pregnant with twins; I'd love to see her face when she discovers she's got not one but two of us under her care! At least you know she'll be fresh on her twins knowledge having been through it all very recently with me!

I'm not sure why you would be unequivocally advised to go public. It's your choice surely. For me, the problem with going public is you don't see the same obstetrician, or endocrinologist for that matter, through your pregnancy. My understanding is that you see whoever is available in the clinic when you go, and then whoever is on call when you go into labour etc delivers your bubs. Not that they aren't good - you would presumably go to a specialised diabetes and pregnancy clinic so see people who know their stuff but some continuity was important to me, so they knew me, even though the cost is not a lot of fun but is has turned out to be not as much as I thought as my obstetrician is very kind with his fees compared to many others, and my endo has put on some clever Medicare stuff so the last two appointments have been free. Lots of people do it but I am glad now with the twins plus diabetes plus a few other things that have cropped up that I have had a chance to get to see the same obstetrician and endo through the journey so far; and mine both make themselves easily accessible between appointments which has been really important - I would be checking in on how that process works in the public system as, you know what it's like, things always go wrong, or you always have a burning question outside of business hours! One small thing is I have found it quite annoying to coordinate them all when being private; but I'm not entirely sure if it would be that different/better/more coordinated in public; maybe someone else can comment.

Sounds like you are really on top of everything. That is a huge amount of tests you are doing, wow, every half hour. I was so proud of myself (as was my endo etc) for doing one every night; but three every night, gosh. I would be bloody exhausted but great if you can manage it I suppose. Jenny has this spreadsheet she'll probably get you to fill out and some tricks on how to track and respond to trends which has been really useful for me. She didnt seem to think I needed to do more tests than I was doing to be able to detect the necessary trends etc; but that said she may have just been being supportive as I've been seeing her for donkeys years and she would know that I don't take well to being 'punished' or chastised.

Good luck with it all ... I hope it all goes really well at your first appointments on the 9th. Let us know. Ciao.

[ErniB]

Well, after approx 6 mths of going great with my pregnancy, my last clinic appoint showed some mild symptoms of Pre-eclampsia (pre-pre-eclampsia, you could say). I'm now destined to clinic appointments every 2 wks..... a bit of a pain in the bum, but I am happy to know it's not being swept under the rug and not monitored properly. A friend of mine had a mutant form of P-E, and delivered her little boy about 6wks early via emergency Csection. She was on hospital bedrest for 8weeks leading up to that. I certainly don't want that to happen. And, if it came down to it, I would have to stop work early and rest at home. I would feel terrible leaving work early (I'm a nanny for a 2yo girl, and they truly have no-one else to look after her - which I do get is their problem, they should have a Plan B or C, but I still feel bad). I'm sure all it would take is a letter from the Doctor, and the threat from them that I could be in a hospital resting if I can't prove that I can rest at home.

I had elevated Blood Pressure; protein in my wees; oedema in hands, feet and lower legs (mild, but you could see they're swollen); and to tep it off, some mild headaches starting as well as the 'runs' every now and then - these last two symptoms rang alarm bells for the Dr's, as they are part of the puzzle too (I had no idea, I am a regular headache sufferer anyway, so I thought it was just my 'normal').

So yeah... despite that, my Insulin resistance is kicking in - I'm still using less than what I was pre-preg, but only a little less. I've literally had to triple my basal, almost quadruple it! eeek! I've also had to change my I:C from 1:15 down to 1:10, and I still don't quite think that is enough - I'm riding a little higher than what I normally do, or like to do, and I am spiking a double digit number almost everyday now :( I'm saddened by this and concerned, but I know stressing about it is not going to happen - I just need to be pro-active and just correct them as soon as I can, or add a little more to my boluses. That's the best I can do!

Hope everyone else is getting there, and going well.

Take care xo

[Carlz]

Hi All,

Well it seems I'm not so different after all! Just cos it seems to be the trend on here at the moment..... I am also T1 and expecting Twins! I am now 26 weeks and have 2 healthy identical twin girls growing inside me. I'm 28 years old and these will be my first kids, I had a miscarriage in feb last year at 8 weeks so have been s***ing myself for most of this pregnancy as I am double double high risk according to the docs. My girls share a placenta which means they are at risk of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome so I have been and will continue to be very closely monitored. I am seeing the obstetrician every 2 weeks and have also now progressed from 4 to 2 weekly ultrasounds. HbA1c has was 6.4 at conception and 6.4 again at 18 weeks, due for another one this week. Insulin requirements have gone from an average total of 60 units a day to just over 100 (have been pumping for years), but all in all everything's going pretty well so far(other than the usual fun pregnancy symptoms- but you all know what that's like so I won't go there). I would love to hear from the other ladies about when their doctors are suggesting they finish up work, as well as their birth plans. I've been told I will be having a C-S at 36.5- 37 weeks which I am fine with, I wasn't really looking forward to labour/ managing BSL's during etc anyway. I'm just hoping they stay in there for that long. My biggest fear is that they will come too early, as I am told is quite common for twins.

Hope everyone is doing well,

Carly.

[LuciaL]

Ohmylord I cannot believe there are now FOUR of us having twins!!!! That's mental, but great at the same time, gosh. About to dash to the latest line of appointment, just an eye check-up this time but it's never-ending .... so just a quick one to say Hi Carlz! And a couple of things quickly on your couple of questions:

My doctor has said I'll be the size of a full-term single pregnancy at 30 weeks so should stop work before then and I'm 28 at Christmas so that's the plan - except now I think I might try to work from home in Janury so up to 34 weeks maybe? My biggest fear is them coming early too. Re the birth itself, I have (very unusually, but fabulously) an obsterician who doesnt dictate the terms and has beeen saying to me all along that a vaginal delivery is feasible and possible (in fact he said at last appointment that it is still the most likely occurrence at this point) so I have to be prepared for that, and his attitude is to start there and then up the ante as required, if things go wrong etc, not go in with a plan to have caesar or anything automatically. I like that; it makes sense to me, but each to their own, of course. It doesm make it more uncertain and I'm not looking forward to labour if I have to go through it either but am getting prepared - ob made a good point that there's a fair chance I'll go through the first stage of labour in any case if it comes on early, and even if they do decide to intervene with a c-section I will do better if I have had some education on what to do when labour starts etc. Ciaooooo

[Carlz]

Hi Lucia,

Thanks for your reply, if there's 4 of us on here imagine how many more of us there are out there! Are you having identical or fraternal twins? That's great that you have a flexible obstetrician. Can I ask if you're planning on breastfeeding? I'm still a bit worried about how I will manage but am quite determined to breastfeed. There's so much to prepare for, and so many unknowns as to how it will all play out. My "plan", if you can call it that, is to keep the babies inside for as long as possible, i'll be very happy if they stay there until 37 weeks then are delivered by caesar, then i'm hoping for as little medical intervention as possible and nice healthy babies who don't need any extra care etc. I'm going to express and freeze some colostrum so that if things don't go to plan and they need supplementary feeding or are unable to breast feed at the start for any reason they will still be fed by me and not put onto formula. Who knows how things will actually go but this is what I would like to happen!

[jennat]

Hi All,

Carlz, welcome to the forum, thats amazing that there are so many twins on their way and its so good that everyone has been able to find this forum to talk through their experiences and learn from what other people are doing as well,

If we count the twins and all the singleton pregancies I think amongst all of us we must number expecting nearly 15 bubs between us just from this thread!!

Erin I'm sorry to hear your're going through a bit of a rough time at the moment, at least it sounds like they have caught the symptoms quite early on so fingers crossed it shouldnt get any worse and you'll be able to continue on with the pregancy as normal, albeit not doing quite as much as you were before and ensuring you rest a lot, a friend of mine who wasn't Diabetic also developed severe pre-eclampsia at 30 weeks and had to have an emergency c section at 31 weeks, both mum and bub were absolutely fine. Keep us posted on how you go and my fingers and everything else are crossed that it doesn't get any worse for you

ref the blood sugars and insulin resistance I mentioned in a previous post but I'm getting a similar thing and also getting a double digit reading more often than I would like, the thing that I am finding strange at the moment is the time its taking to bring the sugars back down, I'm still on injections but even if I inject when I hit 9 or 10 it doesn't seem to get to work for over an hour which causes a bit of concern, I've also discovered the main cause of me peaking is Bread so I'm trying to cut bread back out of my diet to see if I can stop this happening,

Hope everyone else is going well

Jenna

[Louey]

Just thought I'd comment on the public/private issue. I went to the Women's in Melbourne for all my pre-natal care. My endo - who I was seeing privately prior to conceiving, recommended it. Being able to see the endo, ob, dietitian (I only did that once) as well as have all pathology tests and ultrasounds in one place was brilliant. I also saw the same endo (the same one I saw prior to conceiving and still see privately now) and same ob (who was my ob of choice) every single time. I chose to deliver at Frances Perry House.
One of the benefits of going to the RWH clinic was that in addition to seeing the same doctors, I also saw the same women each visit. One of the women ended up organising a mums' group for a few of us and we continued to see each other after our bubs were born.
And, of course, it was all free! (Although I did pay for the delivery as that was private.)

[LuciaL]

Hi Louey - That's good to hear you were happy with that mix of mostly public and a private delivery. A couple of questions : what did you do if you had a question for the endo or ob between appointments? And how much time did each of those clinic visits take? I know someone who had to drop a day a week at work to sit in the clinic waiting room to see everyone - that put me off - and would have been much more expensive for me than paying the private fees. Thanks for sharing your experience, it's interesting.

Carlz - on breastfeeding question, I have joined ABA, read the books (with all the amazing photos of twin feeding, have you seen them?) and am signed up to do their twins course in a few weeks. I'm going to put my best foot forward but I'm not desperately wedded to it. I am keen to maintain sanity and health for us all so am doing some investigating about how to do a combination of breast and bottle and trying to get a handle on how to know when things aren't going well and how/when to introduce some bottles if we need to. I've seen a few close friends go through horrible times w breast so am prepared for it not to work but doing all I can to get prepared to do it too. I have a twin feeding pillow and hiring a professional breast pump on my long list of things to do before they arrive! Have had a quick chat with my endo about colostrum and she was concerned at the lack of evidence, so I need to discuss that with my ob at some stage and will prob take his advice as he does a lot of both diabetes and twins.

In my news, we had our big anomaly ultrasound this afternoon (19 weeks) and are just thrilled that we got the all clear, so all is looking very good. No problems or concerns at all. And we have two very healthy, active little BOYS on board! Such a relief, and an exciting day. :)

Hope everyone else is doing ok - 15 babies, how lovely! :)

[JuleS]

Hi Ladies,

ErinB, told me to head of over to your thread, so here I am.

I am a 32yr old T1 Diabetic for 15 years and Coeliac for 7 years and currently planning pregnancy no 2. I have also just begun on an insulin pump 2 weeks ago...and also chasing around after a 20month old!!!

My first pregnancy went well until week 35, when i had high BP and protein in my urine I was admitted to hospital, but they couldn't tell me anything except mild pre-eclampsia, then my platlets dropped, so i had a emergency c section, I also had post partum complications, they didn't know what was wrong, so I had another operation and i was bleeding internally due to low platelets, overall the experience was scary as hell, and being in ICU for 4 days. Then back in the maternity for 12 days. My overall pregnancy was good, I had good control with HBA1c between 6 and 6.5 during whole pregnancy, I was regularly consulting with endocrinologist etc. I felt my obstretrician let me down a bit, but I know pre-eclampsia can come on quick and is very dangerous. They didn't diagnose this as HELLP syndrome, but i had similarities to it. I felt like I did everything right, but this was out of my control, and still really don't have any answers. I am grateful for my beautiful child, he was a big healthy 8pd 12.

We would like to have another child and want to try to avoid what happened last time, hence going on the pump, apprarently it is supposed to be good whilst pregnant. I have been advised that I have a 33% chance of having pre-eclampsia again. They also said they would monitor me closely next time with weekly blood tests and urine test from week 30.

Has anyone had experience on the pump and being pregnant, I know you have ErinB how is that going?

Cheers
JS

[Louey]

Lucia - I contacted my endo either by email or on her mobile in between clinic appointments as necessary. And the ob was easy to contact in his private rooms (or after hours service, if required). I also saw the ob a couple of times in his private rooms at his request when I called with concerns.

Clinic appointments were ona Wednesday morning. I always booked early appointments. On average, I spent around an hour and a half in clinic (which included pathology too). For ultrasounds, it would probably be a little longer. I'm not sure if I wasted or saved time (taking into account travel time only once every three, then two then one week).

All in all, it worked well, but I do believe that this was because I knew both th endo and ob before getting pregnant, ao I already had a relationship with them. I don't know that you could expect the same continuity of care if you were a new face.

Good luck - and congrats on the scan today. And two little boys - how lovely!

[Carlz]

Lucia! 2 little boys! How exciting! It makes things so much easier knowing what to buy etc when you know what you are having. Especially when you need to buy twice as much. That said I still have trouble knowing how much of what to buy but I think i've got all the important stuff covered now.

I have also joined the ABA and went to a breastfeeding class run by them a week ago. Warrnambool is not quite big enough to have classes especially for twins, but I am going to go and see the lactation consultant who ran the class to discuss some of the twin specific details more closely. I had already read the book and other literature prior to the class so already knew a lot of what they covered, but got some useful bits of information from it anyway. I also realised you just have to take on board the information that you think will be useful to you and not worry too much about the rest. There were a few ideas put forward in the class that I will not be adopting, but everyone is different and they may work well for others.

JuleS I have been on a pump for about 6 years and have never looked back, I can't imagine trying to manage the pregnancy changes to insulin requirements without it. I think pumps are brilliant, but you also need a good endo/ diabetes educator behind you to help, especially in the early days. I am very lucky that I can upload (to an internet based software program) and call or text my endo or diabetes educator and get them to have a look and tell me what they think at any time. The beauty of the pump is it records all your insulin administration, carb intake and BSL's in the one place (you need to input the carbs and BSL's) so is a great tool for seeing what is working and what needs adjusting. I am also able to utilise the continuous monitoring (the subcutaneous glucose level add on for the pump) if I want, but have managed pretty well without it so far.

Carlz.

[Carlz]

JuleS I just re read your post and saw that you have just gone onto the pump, I'm going to blame pregnancy brain on that one! So you will obviously already know some of the stuff I put in there- sorry.

Carlz.

[LuciaL]

Hi everyone -

Quick question: Did anyone experience increased insulin needs in the SECOND trimester? I'm only 19 weeks and I've got my basals up to 130%, just using a temp rate on pump for now, and think insulin absorption around meals might also be changing as a lot of my post-meal tests are double figures. It's early and wondering if anyone else had this. Trying to work out if it's a blip and things might return to lower again or if it's the beginning of the rising come early. Hearing others stories would help me.

And thanks for all the kind words. It was lovely to find out and then have some happy news to share with friends and family yesterday.

Ciao.

[Carlz]

Lucia I think my insulin requirements started going up at around 18 weeks, have had to adjust basal, bolus and correction rates, am now 26 and a half weeks and have gone from average pre pregnancy total daily insulin requirement of 60 units to currently using about 100 units a day.

[jennat]

Hi Lucia,

I've heard differnet things depending on who you speak to, some Endos say you will need to start increasing insulin from about week 19 or 20 whereas others say its more like week 27 or 28 or anytime in between, As with everything its different for differnt people and I would imagine that the fact that you are carrying twins might affect things in this regards as well.

Personally I had a period at around 19 or 20 weeks I think where I was struggling with my insulin and pulled some inexplicably high sugars but then it went back to normal so I didn't have to make any long term adjustments until about the 28 week point at which point I noticed a marked increase in my insulin requirements.

Good luck with everything and huge congratulations on everything being ok at the 19 week scan and on finding out you are having two little boys

Jenna

[Ellikus]

Hi all

I apologise if I'm just butting into the conversation here but I havent read too many posts on here so not sure if I am posting in the right place or not.. anyhoo, as of today I am 25 and my hubby and I have only "just" started to TTC!

Had one attempt, well, actually, it wasnt exactly planned like "oh you're ovulating - lets have sex!" but more of a situation where it just "happened" and according to my cycle then I am assuming at the point in time that I "was" ovulating, but obviously without ovulation predicting kits etc I will never be 100% certain of that. Anyway.. I have had cramping a week past ovulation and a few days after that have had many other signs of pregnancy. I am slightly freaking out in a nervous/happy/excited way but obviously don't want to get my hopes up in case I/we are wrong and I am not pregnant at all!

I guess I'm just typing this here to try and get it out of my system as I am soo nervous and excited about next week! why? well I had my blood test done today (period due on monday but all early at home tests have read negative however I have had serious "possible" morning sickness - if not then prob a tummy bug?) and will get the results next week!

Also wanting to know of others experience in regards to TTC, wondering how long it has taken others etc and also for those that conceived, did you get early pregnancy signs, like before your period was even due? And if so what were your symptoms? I am REALLY hoping I AM pregnant because at least then my symptoms would make sense.. otherwise it's a very long, unpleasant tummy bug that I wish would go away!!

Alright well I better stop babbling, lol that happens when I get nervous :p

Thanks in advance for any and all responses!

Elle :)

[Julie]

Wow! What a busy thread this has been lately!! I love reading all the updates, I get so excited when I see there's been new posts added!

Elle, fingers crossed for you! I hope you get a positive result. My situation is that baby number one was conceived the first month of trying, much to our shock and delight. Two and a half years later, we tried for baby number two, quietly confident. It took us 4 months of trying, which, looking back was very short, but it really felt like a long, long time while I was in it. If you read back, I was very stressed, mainly because of the effort involved in keeping great sugars and then the disappointment of getting my period. I have an enormous amount of respect and admiration to the girls who ttc for many months or years. It is an emotional rollercoaster and the strength it must take is enormous.

I wanted to add that I'm also going private through the public system. I see my endo and ob at Royal Womens in Melb on a Wed and will be going back to Francis Perry for delivery. I've found the system to work fantastically and although it can take up to 2 or so hours, I love seeing them 'all in one'. They also talk to each other when necessary about my progress because they are literally in the next room. I get my scans and bloods done there too, in the same appt.

Also, I was wondering if anyone experienced a huge increase of hypos around the 10 week mark? It has been ridiculous this week, I had 4 hypos the other night, from having none in the weeks prior. I've reduced my rates but just wondering if this is common. I will ask my endo at my next appt.

I also wanted to say a big welcome to the new mums to be and the girls ttc. It's a great forum with so many new bubs and twins!! Lots of luck and baby dust to everyone.

[Jacqueline]

Well hiya ladies!

I'm an old member who hasn't posted in absolutely ages. TBH I was a real regular back on the old board, then drifted away not long after the switch (yep, aaaaaages ago!).

Currently 9 weeks 2 days pg. :)

What with the pregnancy, I thought it was time to reconnect with my fellow RCers and hopefully share plenty of good ideas, happy moments and probably the odd much needed vent. ;)

Glad to come back and find this thread - Awesome!

[LuciaL]

This thread really is getting busy. Welcome everyone who's joined recently. It's great but I'm finding it a bit hard to follow. Perhaps I'm just a bit slow, or exhausted!

Jenna - It's exactly that 19-20 week blip that I'm experiencing I think. Did you ever work out the cause of yours? I am juggling between whether it's pump site problems (even though changing evey 2 days) or hormones or something. It's proving hard to work out.

Carlz - really interesting to hear your rise started and continued. That's another possibility for me perhaps - helpful to know it's maybe the answer.

Also - you mentioned you were super keen to breastfeed your twins, but there isn't a twins class where you are. I have heard that people travel from far and wide to go to the ABA classes - the next one in Melbourne is this Sunday, my husband and I are going. When I joined ABA they also sent me a recent issue of their mag that had lots of womens stories of twin b'feeding. And other place I've got good info is from my local Multiple Birth Association - is there one of those where you are?

Good luck everyone. We did antenatal class on the weekend which was ok but I almost fell off my chair when the midwife at one point in front of whole classed launched into a diagnosis and direct advice rant at me about when I'd deliver, and how and how I'd have problems with breastfeeding yada yada yada - she didn't know my whole history or met me one on one, it was outrageous. If I get a spare minute I plan to write and complain. It was useful in some other ways but did assume you were having a perfectly 'normal' uncomplicated pregnancy which was a bit disenchanting at times.

[Gen]

Hi everyone

Wow! I feel like I have been 'missing in action' for the last little while. Great to read all your posts and feedback - particularly about different insulin needs. I thought I would put this link up as there have been a few questions about prenatal testing and I have found this booklet by the Murdoch Children's Institute gives a comprehensive straightforward outline of prenatal tests
http://www.mcri.edu.au/Downloads/Prenat ... ionAid.pdf .


Lucia L : So glad your ultrasound went well - brilliant news. Two boys! How exciting. Thanks for the updates on joining the ABA to attend the twin breastfeeding class. I'll have to get onto that. Sorry to hear the antenatal class was a bit full on. It is bizarre that the midwife would direct her comments towards one person. I have my first session with the diabetes side of things at the Royal Womens tomorrow which I am looking forward to. Congratulations again, very happy for you!

Carlz : Wow! Welcome to the forum. Wonderful to hear about your twin girls. I must say I was feeling a bit isolated until I found the realitycheck forum and found there were others out there with T1 who were TTC/pregnant/having twins! Great to know there are others out there to have a relaxed/informal discussion with. On your question of work - I am lucky in some ways and do contract work so I have been playing it be ear a bit and will do the same right the way through the pregnancy.

Louey : Thanks for feedback on public/private. Looking forward to going in next week and seeing what they recommend

Jacqueline : Congratulations - great news! It sounds like we will be working to a similar timeframe.

Jules : I have also been experiencing more hypos than normal at 10 weeks. I have reduced my basal and that seems to have helped. I have my diabetes appointments at the Royal Women's tomorrow so I'll see if what I am doing is on the right path! Thanks also for your feedback on public/private. I'll enquire about Francis Perry tomorrow. I guess most of that organisation happens at the 12 week scan/ ob appointment though? Hope the pump is going well. I have found it so much easier to manage everything with it.

Elle : Goodluck! My main 'symptoms' were very sore boobs and tiredness but I know it's different for everyone.

ErinB: Sorry to hear you are having a bit of a rough time of it. Good to know they caught the symptoms early though. I would say, even though it's hard and you don't want to let our employers down, you need to look after yourself and put yourself first. Good to know you're being closely monitored. Kaz Cooke's book, "Up the Duff" gives a great link from Australian Action on Pre-Clampsia it's http://www.aapec.org.au/ and has FAQS etc. Hope it's all going o.k. for you.

Yashmahne: Hope you are starting to feel a bit better now you are past the first trimester.

Had a bit of an embarrassing morning sickness moment yesterday when I was going for a morning walk with my dog. I suddenly started feeling very sick and was leaning over ready to go when I heard "Hi! How are you?". It was a lady I used to work with. It can be hard when you are caught in that situation and not telling anyone yet! I took a deep breath. Managed to say hello and scramble past her until I got around the corner. She must have thought I was being very strange!!!!

Goodluck and baby dust to everyone TTC.

:-) Gen

[Ali G]

hey all!

Will be back later to do personals !

Well I have some news for you all... I AM PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Found out last sunday night but really didnt want to write it down just in case, it felt like I was going to jinx it!

I really didnt believe the 10 tests that I peed so wanted to wait a bit longer as most I have read i should be insulin sensitive and I have been the total opposite! really struggling with 10-15 ALL the time so I felt like it wasnt meant to be but Pebbles is hanging on strong. 5 weeks today!

Hoping my levels havnt had to much effect on her (girl until proven otherwise, "it" sounds weird!) might have a complex when born though!!

Tyring to get into the the Endo but there isnt any left on the coast that is private so waiting for the stupid public system to give me a letter!

that is all for now... so tired! LOL!

[Cassie_B]

AliG - YEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BIG HUGE CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!

[jennat]

Ali - wow, that is such good news, I'm so pleased for you :-)

[JuleS]

Ali G congrats on the pregnancy very exciting for you.

Just wanted to let you know I go to Endo publicly on the coast for a few years now, since they are none private anymore.

I am happy with everything, and just converted to a pump and support has been excellent.

Hope your pregnancy goes well. I have to wait for the green light till we TTC for bub no 2.

Cheers
JS

[Ali G]

Thanks Jules,

I am happy to go public but trying to get a appointment is a nightmare.. have been waiting since July already.

Do you see Sundra?

I was seeing Chandra before he sent to Public, so hoping to see him but not fussy at this stage!

[Jacqueline]

Thanks so much Gen! :) You're actually the first (only so far!) person to congratulate me without asking anything medical in the same breath. Everyone IRL has been so serious, it's so exciting to just be able to be happy and clucky! So exciting, so thank you! :) Eeeep! :D

Congrats Ali G! :)

I have a scan tomorrow... Soooo nervous and excited!

[Jacqueline]

Ok, I know nobody has replied since I last posted, but I'm so excited I have to tell someone...

I just had my scan and found out... I'm having twins! :D They're Di/Di twins and both perfect size for dates and healthy. :) Their Daddy is now freaking out about double the costs, but I'm sure it'll all work out somehow. :) Eeeeep!

[Ali G]

WOW - HUGE CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!

What is with twins and diabetic's - its starting to freak me out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bring on the 22 nov for my scan! lol!

Whats Di/Di twins - I am sure if very self explaining but brain power isnt the best at the moment!!

Hoping everything continues well for you!

10 weeks now for you????? I want to know the sex!

[Yasmahne]

Hi girls

Well I am very happy to say I have passed the "sick every night feeling" - yay! I am now 13 weeks 3 days and my energy has also picked up.

I had my 12 week scan last week - I was a bit anxious leading up to it (which I kinda think natural) and I am happy to say all is well and very very low risk of Downs. It was absolutely amazing seeing this little baby moving around (a lot) in my belly.


Ali G- in my first couple of weeks of pregnancy I had some higher than wishes for readings - I think it must be hormones as I was certainly doing my hardest to count the carbs. Just test lots which I am sure you and all of us are doing and that is the key.

Erin - sorry read about your pre-pre-eclampsia, I feel I like I know so much about your pregnancy. I wish you all the best and as others have said the fact they have got onto this so early is going to be a good thing for you and bub.

So happy to read about all of the twins on there - amazing really

In one of the earlier posts (I think Julie) was asking about hypos hitting at about 10 weeks. For me they came on over night almost at about 8-9 weeks and yes not that pleasant. I have made some small changes with my basal and my insulin sensitivity ratios and that has helped so much for me (and how good is it having a great Diabetic Educator to ring with all these changes and questions!). I still wake up most nights (mainly to pee) and test and I pick up if I am going low. I figure better than the disturbance of a hypo an hour or so later. Thankfully they are now less and less.

I am off now to my Endo for my check-up.... hoping my HBA1c is going to be wonderful (I'm hoping for 6).

So is anyone going to the TYPE 1 DIABETES AND PREGNANCY – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW session on the weekend here in Brissy? I hope to meet some of you there if so.

Take care all
Yasmahne

[Lolly]

CONGRATULATIONS ALI G!!! You were in fact the one who started this whole thread, it's thrilling to read that all your hard work has paid off :)

Also congrats to Lucia on finding out that your babies are boys- fabulous! Bummer about the preachy midwife though. Don't you hate it when people generalise that ALL diabetic pregnancies will experience 'x, y and z'? Grr. There is no better expert in the world on your diabetes than you.

Ooh, welcome to the new posters- soo many babies, and my goodness there's a lot of twin pregnancies going around on here. Maybe someone can compile a list of when all these bubs are due?

Just wanted to add to the discussion that I'll be delivering in a public hospital as a private patient, with my own ob.
Lauren

[Ali G]

So is anyone going to the TYPE 1 DIABETES AND PREGNANCY – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW session on the weekend here in Brissy? I hope to meet some of you there if so.

Take care all
Yasmahne

I am ! See you there

[jennat]

Hi Lolly,

you read my mind I just started to do an updated list of everyone, but then work got in the way, hoping to be able to pop back later today with an updated list of where every is at.

Jenna

[Jacqueline]

Thanks so much Ali G! :D

I'm still buzzing! Not quite 10 weeks, but I will be on Friday. :)

Di/Di = Dichorionic-Diamniotic, which means they have seperate inner and outer sacks, etc. Supposedly the 'safest' type of twin pregnancy for the babies. Di/Di twins don't generally get scary complications like TTTS unless the placentas fuse, which is rare. 25-30% of identical twins are Di/Di (which happens if they separate in the first 2-3 days after conception) and all Fraternal twins are Di/Di (because they come from different eggs) - So there's no way for me to know yet if they're fraternal or identical. When I have the 20wk scan if they see different genders then we'll know they're fraternal, but if they're the same gender or one or both can't be seen clearly enough then we will have to wait until birth to know.

[jennat]

Hi All,

I got a bit bored at work today so thought it was about time to update the list of where everyone is at, I've had to guestimmate some of the info so apologies if I have it wrong!

Pre TTC
Moose81
Bels

TTC
Kizloe
Lexyjane
Kerrynm
Karin
Cupcake
JuleS
Ellikus

Pregnant
Ali G
Jacqueline - Twins
Carlz - Twin Girls Due Feb 2012
Gen - Twins
LuciaL - Twin Boys - Due March 2012
Yasmahne - Due May 2012
Graciejg
Lolly - Due Apr 2012
Amber1987
Lou
Julie - Due May 12
Eitak - Due Apr 2012
ErniB - Girl - Due Feb 2012
CassieB - Girl - Due Jan 2012
Jennat - Girl - Due Dec 2011

I hope I haven't missed anyone off, I can't believe how many of us there are :-)

Jennat

[Gen]

AliG CONGRATULATIONS! Awesome news :-)

[moose81]

Ok I havent posted on here in ages but i have lurking and trying to keep up to date on everyone!
Wow Jenna, amazing work with the progress chart! Great way to see at a glance where everyone is at.

Congrats to all the recently pregnant!! especially Ali G seeing as she started this tread! well done! and huge congrats to all the ladies with twins, crazy how many of you there are! its an epidemic... watch out ttc'evers!!
And good luck to all the other pregnant ladies, you are all amazing the way you are juggling life, pregnancy and diabetes!

Lexyjane how are you going?? havent seen a post from you in a little while... any luck with the clomid and your last cycle of the year?

Sooo, the latest story with me... even after my best ever HbA1c of 6.6 in august we've had to put TTC on hold :( We got one month of trying ending with a bfn, which was just as well as I hurt my back and it turned out to be worse than I thought.
I've ended up having to have a back operation 4 days ago to fix the disc protrusion (micro-discectomy) and what with the xrays, MRI and surgery i guess i'm really lucky that i didn't fall pregnant straight away. Really crappy timing but im just going to concentrate on my rehab and working on my bsl so that in a couple of months i will have another awesome HbA1c and be allowed to TTC again!

Keep up all the good work girls! xx
Ali K

[lexyjane]

Hi Ali - I was thinking about you the other day... Sorry about your back. Good luck for you to TTC ASAP.

Clomid was REALLY bad for my diabetes I'm into IVF. I'm waiting until Jan though because I want to have a bit of party time over Christmas. If IVF works then I might have a baby by next Christmas!!!

Oh and for any TTC'ers who are up and down I discovered a solution to mine. My team had me correcting down to 5 all the time. Now that I'm prob not going to conciebd naturally ive relaxed a little and changed my correction to 6. Amazingly now I am pretty much flattened right out. Haven't had a bsl over ten all week and only one hypo. Just by giving myself a little cushion I've stabilized so much.

[Ali G]

Awesome work on the bsl Lexyjane! Maybe I need to try this as I am like a yoyo at the moment.. lots of 6's would be better than the 15's I am getting!

I think its good plan to have a break over Christmas and just cut lose for a while, amazing how much this can improve ones outlook on life - I did that last month and feel mentally a lot better now just to be normal for a while!

I really have my fx crossed that you will have a baby under the tree before christmas so you can enjoy the smiles!

[Carlz]

Hi All!

Lucia thanks for the suggestion about the twins breastfeeding class but I think one class will do me, I'm going to go and see the lactation consultant once I finish work. I'm really sorry to hear about your experience with the midwife, it sucks how much we are pigeon-holed as "difficult". I'm just hoping we can prove people like that wrong!

My latest update- Endo appt yesterday, apparently there's one problem- i'm going to put him out of a job! HbA1c 6.7 which was a bit higher than the last few, but considering I used to always be around the 9-10 mark is still excellent, and with my hugely changing insulin requirements i'm pretty happy with and the endo was stoked.

A bit of a realisation yesterday was something that I hadn't previously thought about to much- the next big issue for me is going to be the delivery/recovery period. Apparently the usual procedure is to disconnect the insulin pump and administer IV insulin. As we know our insulin requirements will drop very significantly after the birth. My problem with this is that a) I can be a bit of a control freak when it comes to managing my insulin requirements myself- I believe that I know my body and needs a whole lot better than whatever doctor/nurse happens to be treating me at the time, and b) I'm going to have to make all the adjustments to my pump rates when I go home anyway so why not do this while i'm in the hospital with the support of a medical team around me? I would rather work with them to manage my insulin/bsl's than surrender control to them and whatever they think is best. Unfortunately my endo will most likely still be on holidays when I deliver, and my DE doesn't work out of the hospital I will be delivering in. Goiung to have a chat with the DE as I can always upload from the pump and get her to have a look and manage my rates via phone. Anyway the endo is going to have a talk to everyone involved and see what he can sort out for me. It's good to know that he's on my side and confident in my abilities. Will let you know how it all goes.

To everyone who's recently found out they are pregnant with one or two babies (we're starting a trend here!) a huuuuuge congratulations and good luck with everything!

Oh and one more question- where do you get the cute little pictures showing how far along you are at the bottom of your posts? I want one!

[Jacqueline]

Carlz: Go to http://lilypie.com/ - Cute aren't they? :D

I'm still so excited - Nervous but excited! When I calm down and get my head straight I'm going to have to throw some questions to my fellow twincubator-mummies!

[Carlz]

Thanks Jacqueline!

It's the most nerve wracking news I ever received finding out there were two. Don't worry you do get used to the idea of it after a while. I'm very excited now and can't wait to meet my girls! Feel free to ask anything you like i'll help if I can.

[Ali G]

Just got all my bloods back and all is good!

My hba1c was 5.9 which I am over the moon about as I was a bit scared it would have increased as my levels havnt been super! One less thing to worry about!

[ErniB]

Just got all my bloods back and all is good!

My hba1c was 5.9 which I am over the moon about as I was a bit scared it would have increased as my levels havnt been super! One less thing to worry about!

Well done Ali!!!!