Pregnant or TTC

[Ali G]

You would be about 1 hr now from the arrival !!!

Hope everything is ok and look forward to hearing all the news, best of luck to the three of you!

xo

Thank you all, ladies, you're such a huge support! I'll do my personal replies (of which there are many) when I'm at home, though I'm not sure when that'll be. Yep, you guessed it! I'm back in the hospital. Again. Though this time I have part 1 of a great story to tell. Part two is scheduled to happen tomorrow! ;) Any guesses? ;)

I've been on meds to stall labour for days, because NICU has been chocka. Still is really, but you can only delay the inevitable for so long.

It had it's advantages though - I essentially got a trial run of the insulin/glucose infusion while on stand by for the possibility of an emergency c-section. Turns out the dose scale my Endo worked out was perfect for me! Just as well I learned that because when my D nurse came to visit a few hours ago and I told her to pass on that it worked so well and really put my mind at ease... She said "Oh! I'd better go and change it back then, that must have been scale 4 I just told them that wouldn't be enough for you and put you in scale 6." So I'm glad I had the experience in time to feedback before the D nurse could accidently wreak some havoc by over-riding my Endo's decision. Phew! That could have been scary!

Anyway, to cut a long story very slightly shorter... I'm scheduled for surgery - c-section - on May 1st at 1pm NZ time. :) That would be less than 12 hours time (guess who can't sleep? lol).

Wish me luck, ladies! The best of luck back to all of you too. :)

[Ellikus]

Hi all

Congrats to the mummas that have given birth or are about to very soon! And congrats to mummas that have recently found out also! Sorry I havent done individual responses, I havent been on here for quite a while and there have been tonnes of responses since my last visit!

Today I apologize in advance, this isn't too much of a D related post, just a bit of a pregnancy vent in general! 1stly, I am exhausted, I am only 17 weeks but can't believe how tired I have been for the last 4 weeks, I've just had a blood test which I think may have checked my iron levels but am hoping they can find a reason to explain this sudden onset of tiredness. It's been hanging around for a month now and I have been feeling sore all over, like I have run a marathon yet have not really done anything to cause such muscle pain? Also have had a sore throat which tends to come and go but again no big cold, sniffles or anything, just random soreness every now and then, Im not exactly a happy pregnant lady atm, I kinda wish everything would just go away right now :(

Next topic to have a whinge about is my partner. I feel like he is completely unsupportive of the pregnancy, me and the baby. He doesnt seem interested in coming to appts and has asked "can't you just bring me a picture home?" instead of wanting to actually see little nugget moving and kicking around. I bought him a book when I first told him i was pregnant, its called "dummies guide to pregnancy for dads" or something along those lines. Its not so much about the birth or looking after the baby, just a way for a man to prepare for all the changes, written from a mans point of view and explains ideas like how to support your partner through preg. I got him this book with the hope that it would maybe make him realise that I need a little support from time to time. He hasnt read a single page yet and when i discussed this with him recently he seemed to think i was being silly and that he doesnt need to read a book.

He still expects me to cook, clean, and all the rest, regardless of being sick, tired etc I am still expected to do everything, if I ask him to help either he says yes he will do it and doesnt, or argues it out until I end up doing it. Im finding it abit of an endless stuggle just to live atm. I am trying to support me, the baby, support him emotionally and feel like diabetes with pregnancy is a full time job, not to mention i already have a full time job. He has also not been dealing with the pregancy very well and been quite emotionally abusive at times, criticizing me, putting me down, calling names etc and in general behaving like a 3 yr old having a tantrum.

Next issue: I work from 7.30am-4.30pm every day with only a half hr break for lunch. This is fine with me and I love my job but the problem is that we live in the gold coast and i work in brissy. It takes me an hr and half each way to and from work. we can easily afford to relocate closer to my work, he can easily get a job in brissy no worries but doesnt want to. I on the other hand have stuggled for over a year just to get work in general and the only place i can get work is brissy, the gold coast has very little available to me. If you look at it all up I am leaving the house at 6am and not returning till 6pm. I dont see how this is fair on me, we dont need the money but he had whinged black and blue about me giving up work just because of transport issues. I also dont want to give up my job because I love it but am just stuggling so much with the length of my days and cant understand why he wont put me and the baby first just for a short time and allow me to stay with a friend in brissy for a few months? (my job started early feb and finishes next wk as i am on a contract) we have discussed this several times and the conversation keeps going round in circles with the result being nothing changes and i remain here on the gold coast travelling three hours every day.

I have suggested counselling but he refuses to go and thinks there is nothing to change and our relationship is "great". hmmm or not?? Arghh sorry for the vent, just needed to get it all out of my brain! Im sure this amount of stress isnt good for nugget :( any suggestions or advice is much appreciated, or just ears to listen would be great! really struggling with everything atm!!!!

[Ali G]

Today I apologize in advance, this isn't too much of a D related post, just a bit of a pregnancy vent in general! 1stly, I am exhausted, I am only 17 weeks but can't believe how tired I have been for the last 4 weeks, I've just had a blood test which I think may have checked my iron levels but am hoping they can find a reason to explain this sudden onset of tiredness. It's been hanging around for a month now and I have been feeling sore all over, like I have run a marathon yet have not really done anything to cause such muscle pain? Also have had a sore throat which tends to come and go but again no big cold, sniffles or anything, just random soreness every now and then, Im not exactly a happy pregnant lady atm, I kinda wish everything would just go away right now :(

Hey Ellikus

Sounds like you arnt having a very nice time :( Maybe the blood test will shed some light on this for you.

I know for me personally I didnt feel "normal" again until about 25w and then its gone again this week! (30w) I used to walk in the door at home at 6pm and go straight to bed, couldnt funtion any longer!!
I had the sniffes as well but they never turned into a cold, I read that us preggy ladies can just get extra snot!

Next topic to have a whinge about is my partner. I feel like he is completely unsupportive of the pregnancy, me and the baby. He doesnt seem interested in coming to appts and has asked "can't you just bring me a picture home?" instead of wanting to actually see little nugget moving and kicking around. I bought him a book when I first told him i was pregnant, its called "dummies guide to pregnancy for dads" or something along those lines. Its not so much about the birth or looking after the baby, just a way for a man to prepare for all the changes, written from a mans point of view and explains ideas like how to support your partner through preg. I got him this book with the hope that it would maybe make him realise that I need a little support from time to time. He hasnt read a single page yet and when i discussed this with him recently he seemed to think i was being silly and that he doesnt need to read a book.

He still expects me to cook, clean, and all the rest, regardless of being sick, tired etc I am still expected to do everything, if I ask him to help either he says yes he will do it and doesnt, or argues it out until I end up doing it. Im finding it abit of an endless stuggle just to live atm. I am trying to support me, the baby, support him emotionally and feel like diabetes with pregnancy is a full time job, not to mention i already have a full time job. He has also not been dealing with the pregancy very well and been quite emotionally abusive at times, criticizing me, putting me down, calling names etc and in general behaving like a 3 yr old having a tantrum.

Hugs hun!! not advice here expect I would have slapped him by now!! Was he onboard with trying for a family at the start? Does he feel left out now as you are just trying to get through each day??

Next issue: I work from 7.30am-4.30pm every day with only a half hr break for lunch. This is fine with me and I love my job but the problem is that we live in the gold coast and i work in brissy. It takes me an hr and half each way to and from work. we can easily afford to relocate closer to my work, he can easily get a job in brissy no worries but doesnt want to. I on the other hand have stuggled for over a year just to get work in general and the only place i can get work is brissy, the gold coast has very little available to me. If you look at it all up I am leaving the house at 6am and not returning till 6pm. I dont see how this is fair on me, we dont need the money but he had whinged black and blue about me giving up work just because of transport issues. I also dont want to give up my job because I love it but am just stuggling so much with the length of my days and cant understand why he wont put me and the baby first just for a short time and allow me to stay with a friend in brissy for a few months? (my job started early feb and finishes next wk as i am on a contract) we have discussed this several times and the conversation keeps going round in circles with the result being nothing changes and i remain here on the gold coast travelling three hours every day.

I would be staying with a friend in Bris, its to dangerous to drive while you are that tired. Even if you just stayed the Tues/Weds night it would take a huge amount of pressure from you. You need to think of yourself and the baby and what is best for you and right now it isnt doing the huge hours that you are. Can you go part time at work??

I have suggested counselling but he refuses to go and thinks there is nothing to change and our relationship is "great". hmmm or not?? Arghh sorry for the vent, just needed to get it all out of my brain! Im sure this amount of stress isnt good for nugget :( any suggestions or advice is much appreciated, or just ears to listen would be great! really struggling with everything atm!!!!

More hugs for you!!! Stand up for yourself and nugget and do what you need to do to look after the both of you.xo

[Moe]

Hi Ellikus

Well I second everything Ali says! Regarding the counselling perhaps you could go without your partner? Tell him you'd love it if he came but if he won't you're willing to go on your own to get some relationship advice. You may still find it helpful and it'd show him that you see counselling as valuable - maybe after a couple of sessions he may join you!

A year ago my husband and I thought seriously about the lifestyle we wanted if we were to try for a family. It meant that we've moved closer to both our jobs (he walks to work and I get 15 min bus). Yes it was a pain to do and we live in a smaller place but it's been worth it. I don't think we realised how much stress a difficult commute can place on a relationship and energy levels. Things are more relaxed now and I'm sure it's contributed to falling pregnant easily and enjoying a relatively stress free first trimester. So put yourself and your health first! Easier said than done I know but even a few small steps could make a big difference.

On another note - I had an obstetrician visit this morning and the waiting room was full of babies and toddlers and I found them so annoying and noisy! I'm not sure how the transtion from inner-city DINK to patient mother is going to go!

[Ali G]

On another note - I had an obstetrician visit this morning and the waiting room was full of babies and toddlers and I found them so annoying and noisy! I'm not sure how the transtion from inner-city DINK to patient mother is going to go!

I thought I was the only one who felt like this! There is two of us now! I thought once I got pregnant I would want to hold babies etc but still nope - dont even try and pass one to me cause I wont take it! Not sure how I will go once Pebbles is here!! Hubby is one stand by to take extra time in case things dont go smoothly! He know the "real" me! lol! Everyone says it will change once its yours but not feeling any shift in that area yet! 12 months ago we were not having a child as I didnt like the idea of it, case of bourbon later and light bulb moment that cant be switched off!!

30 weeks yesterday and my insulin levels have gone mental! My carb ratio is now 1unit insulin to 4 grams of carbs which sounds extreme to me, going through almost a 100u a day and still constantly hitting the 9-14 blg mark. Not good when we are approaching the "explode" weeks. Going to the DE on Friday so hoping she can help to tweak things as its getting very hard to do it alone.

[Jacqueline]

Please welcome to the world... Twins Elin and Jana born at 34 weeks 4 days. :)
Elin Arielle 7lb, Johanna (Jana) Skye 5lb 6. Both in NICU but doing well. I'm pretty shattered, but wanted to take a moment to check in from my phone. ;) Story coming when I'm home. :) Once again, Thanks so much for all your support, ladies - You've been great!

[Julie]

Hi girls, I'm freaking out a bit at the moment. I've just had my scan today (I'm 36 and a half weeks) and bub is measuring over the 95th percentile...... Aaarrgghhh!!!!! I'm nervous and really just want the next week and a half to hurry up! I am so ready to have this baby, I'm excited and scared and a million feelings in between!
It looks like it's going to be a caesar on Monday 12th May. My ob says it's too big to try and break my waters and try natural. I think I'm feeling safer and happier with that to be honest.

I also had a chat with the lactation consultant who showed me how to express and store my milk from 37 weeks on. She says to do it 3 times a day but that it can bring on labour! She said to stop if I start feeling contractions. Holy smoke!! I'm feeling completely overwhelmed. Hopefully after a good night's sleep I won't feel so emotional.

This huge baby thing is stressing me out but with hb's in the low 5's my endo says it's all genes, not, as the scanner wants me to think, obviously due to my control.

I'm thinking of all of you ladies and really want to write personal messages. Hopefully I'll get a chance soon. Good luck to everyone in all your various stages. :)

[Ali G]

Please welcome to the world... Twins Elin and Jana born at 34 weeks 4 days. :)
Elin Arielle 7lb, Johanna (Jana) Skye 5lb 6. Both in NICU but doing well. I'm pretty shattered, but wanted to take a moment to check in from my phone. ;) Story coming when I'm home. :) Once again, Thanks so much for all your support, ladies - You've been great!

Huge congrats on the birth of the girls!!! They are a good size for 34 weeks, little fighters! best of luck for the transition to home with them! xo

Julie, I so hear you on the caeser part, I am going one all the way.. Makes me feel a bit more in control of the situation unlike having stupid D!

How many weeks will you be on the 12 May??

Funny how we all get told different things! I have been told to express from 34 weeks with the plan that she will be arriving around 38 weeks. Hand express twice a day and the handout I was given states that there is no evidence that this will induce labour!!??

I have had a real bitch of the last 24 hours, couldnt get my levels under 15 no matter what I tired, site change, new insulin, lines etc... was just starting to think about a trip to the hospital as ketones were on the rise. decided to try and rest and at 3am was still sitting at 10bgl.. again new site and everything and this morning at 6am was back to a 7.7. Finally some progress!!! not sure why it happened but it has been the first time that I really got the guilts over my levels. I do get highs but manage them very quickly but this time I couldnt so was super frustrated seeing we are also at the business end and the issue of grow is on my mind daily. Not sure I will be able to manage these last 8 weeks, poor hubby has no idea what he is instore for!!!!

rant over - deep breaths now!

[Gen]

Hi all

Congrats Jacqueline! Wonderful news!

We had a wonderful surprise on the 30th of April with our twin boys Atticus and Jarrah being born at 3.10pm. I actually went into labor and ended up having an emergency c-section at 4cms dilation. They were fighting the contractions while doing the c-section. All went well and we have just come out of hospital today leaving the boys (who are both well and stable) in special care for another week or so - a bit tough but I know they will be home soon enough. Will write more at some stage. Thinking of you all and sending you best wishes.

Gen

[ErniB]

Super duper mega congratulations to Jacqueline and Gen - what beautiful names you have both chosen for your little ones!

[Julie]

A huge congrats to you Jacqueline and Gen!!!! What an effort you have both gone through, you should feel extremely proud of yourselves!!!! I hope you are getting lots of support and much needed rest, if that's even possible with twins! You are both super stars for carrying them for so long and for working extra hard to manage twins, let alone pregnancy itself! Well done :)
Jac I'm sorry my previous post didn't acknowledge your birth at all, I must have been writing it at the same time as you posted. Sorry I definitely would have mentioned it and not been all about me me me!

Gen, I'm really going to miss you at the hospital but I'm so over the moon for you! You looked amazing when I saw you, so relaxed, a real natural :)

Well I'm on the home front now. One week to go and counting! We are all set to go now (poor hubby doesn't know what's hit him with all the housey things I've been getting him to do before baby!) I'll be 38 weeks when I go in for the cs.

All the best to everyone girls!

[Julie]

Well girls, after a looong 38 weeks and two particularly long appointment sessions this week, I'm finally approaching the finish line...! About 60ish hours to go I think. I'm going in at 6am on Monday for an 8am CS. My nerves, emotions and excitement are mounting by the second! Please wish me luck girls...I just hope everything goes okay.

[ErniB]

All the very best Julie! Can't wait to hear your news, but after you've rested of course :D

[larap]

Huge congrats Jac and Gen! So glad it all went well
Julie - fingers crossed - Im sure it will all be good.
I am in hospital at the moment - 2nd time this week with contractions. They now think i have an irritable uterus (who wouldnt with a baby in it!). Just had a scan and bub is measuring 45th percentile which is good. Im waiting for week 34-36 when its tummy is meant to explode.
Sugars have been a nightmare to control - whatever I eat just shoots me up and then come crashing down (thank gd for my cgm)
How is everyone else doing?!
For all those who had bubs as well - how long did you have to wait to see bub after cs? I am hearing mixed reports on special care
thanks xx

[eitak]

Congratulations to you both Jacqueline and Gen! I take my hat off to you both carrying & delivering twins. You've done a spectacular job!!

Good luck Julie - I'm sure you'll be just fine however I know how nervous I was going in for the CS. I was most anxious about the spinal block but I needn't have been. The whole experience was much better than I had worked myself up for. One piece of advice - make sure you have some super granny undies for afterwards! I got high cut brief ones but had to send hubby out to get some Bridget Jones over the belly button ones! Looking forward to hearing your news soon.

Larap, when Summer was born I saw her come out of my belly and she was checked over immediately my the paediatrician in the theatre room where I was. I could see her and my hubby got to be right next to her and trim the cord further. She was then placed on my chest for about 20 mins while the ob finished sewing me back up. Summer was then taken to the special care nursery to get her sugars checked and weight taken and was gone for about half hour. My husband was with her the whole time she was away from me. She was brought back to me in recovery and she then had a little formula (her BSL was 0.9) followed by a breastfeed (whatever may have been there!). She stayed with me from there on in despite being officially admitted to the special care nursery, aside from a few hours the first night when the midwives took her to give me some rest as I was a little drugged up. Perhaps ask your ob/midwife the usual procedure for the hospital you're going to.

[Gen]

Hi everyone

Thanks so much for your support. We are all home now and getting into a routine. Keeping museli bars close by when breastfeeding!

Julie best of luck for Monday.I will be thinking of you and know you are going to be just fine. You are in the very best of care.

Time to go and feed again!
Gen

[jennat]

Big Congratulations to Jacqueline and Gen on the birth of your twins, I hope you are recovering well and are enjoying time with your gorgeous bubs

Larap, when Chloe was born, I had a bit of a marathon birth session that ended in a CS, as soon as she was taken out of me she was taken to the side of the operating room with my partner, they got her breathing (she had some gunk in her lungs!!), my partner cut the cord and they immediately tested her blood sugars and did the usual newborn checks, she was about 2.6 I think, the paed was happy with this so they gave her straight to me and she didn't leave my side from then on. The Nurses then checked her blood sugar every 3 hours for the next 24 hours to make sure she stayed above 2.5 which she did thankfully.

Julie, I know I'm a bit late but I hope everything went well today and that you are enjoying cuddles with your little one.

Quick question to everyone that has already given birth and is breastfeeding, just wondering how everyone is going with their sugars? When I first started breastfeeding it was crazy I was on so little insulin and could eat pretty much anything, but as my body has got used to the feeding I've started having to inject more and be more careful with carbs again - just wondered if anyone else was finding this, and also anyone thats done this all before did you notice any changes when you stopped breastfeeding - I'm only planning on BF for 6 months so only about 6 weeks to go?

[ErniB]

For all those who had bubs as well - how long did you have to wait to see bub after cs? I am hearing mixed reports on special care
thanks xx

Hey there - Savanna was in the SCN for about 42hrs (born with very low bsls and respiratory probs) :( It was very difficult for me to deal with, even though I was able to express colostrum and have hubby feed her and him have the skin on skin contact with her too. But there was a big communication problem between the two floors - my midwives didn't realise bubba was a floor down in the special care nursery; and the scn staff didn't know I still had an epidural in, and couldn't yet walk plus the pain I was in (caesar). What made matters worse was that they were short staffed on my floor, so I rarely ever got to see the same midwife twice. I thought they would bring baby to me, but SCN staff was expecting me to come to them. I was too stoned on all sorts of meds to really put two and two together - so my hubby worked it out after I had a big cry. Then they called an agency to get an extra staff on, especially for me :) (well, that's what they told me anyway lol)

[Julie]

I did it girls!!! On Monday morning at 8.38am we welcomed our beautiful Michael Orlando into the world! He weighed 8.15 pounds (4kg) which made me feel quite happy considering I was expecting over 12 or something ginormous!! :)
He is devine, such a gorgeous little boy and I cannot even begin to describe the relief and joy of now being on this side of the fence. Seeing and holding him just makes every second of every blood test, appt, nightly wake up and all the stress and anxiety all worth it. It is just the most perfect feeling in the entire world. I cried all morning at the very thought of it and during the birth I was an emotional mess! Someone just had to look at me or smile and wish me luck and I was off!! Howling! The planned caesar went so smoothly and my ob and all the other many many staff in the room (and there were many!) were all amazing, so kind and supportive.
I forgot how painful it was the few days after. I couldn't walk or even think about moving for a long time after. It's still very tender 4 days on.
He's feeding very well but cannot stop eating! It's unbelievable, always hungry! I woke up this morning to see my milk had come in and it looks like I had the most extreme cosmetic surgery overnight, I have an outstanding cleavage, no push up bra required, without costing a cent! ;) Hopefully this will soothe his constant hunger.
He was born with a 1.9 and they managed to get three readings over 3 so they were happy. I must say I really struggle to stop feeling the need to test his sugars. I can't handle the thought of him being low but they assure me he's fine.

Anyway, he's up again. Love and best wishes to everyone!

[Ali G]

OMG Huge congrats Julie!!! I needed a smile to brighten my day!!

Love your thoughts on the cleavage!! I am already huge so it freaks me out how big they are going to be!!

Did they give him anything to raise this levels or did you just feed him???

Did you manage your own D or keep your pump for the CS??

Sorry to hit you with all the questions when you should be resting!

We are now at 32.5w and it seems our little girl in constantly in a rush to meet us :(

I have been to the hospital 3 times in the past 10 days with varying issues, we are trying to keep her there a bit longer if we can.. The lastest issue is that a scan showed the cord wasnt functioning correct so now we have ctg's and scan almost 24/7 to keep an eye on here..38 Weeks delivery has been scraped, the Ob said it's looking like a 35w plan if we can keep her there that bit longer!!

I wasnt supposed to be even finished work then and with my job there is a LOT to do before taking leave so I am staring to hit the panic button!!

Wish us luck, I think these next few weeks might test my mental state!

[Cassie_B]

Well done Julie, Congratulations !!!! Love the name, and just reading your post reminds me again how definitely worth it all the testing, stress and worry is when you finally get that bubba into your arms... (I might even be clucky again, already! =O )

also

I must say I really struggle to stop feeling the need to test his sugars. I can't handle the thought of him being low but they assure me he's fine

I did this too! I think it probably took me 1-2 weeks to stop constantly worrying... I wonder if it's partly because when things were uncertain during pregnancy testing SO often was the best (and only) way we had of keeping bub 'safe', and so we learnt to associate the two in our minds (testing/control of bsls = best for bub)? Either way, I know it took a few weeks for me to calm down about the whole diabetes control/associating bub with difficult/dangerous diabetes thing and watching Alex like a hawk for symptoms of wacky BSLs, so you're definitely not alone ;)

Ali, it sounds like you have your work cut out for you! Hope you and bub manage to hang in there superbly through it all. I hope you don't end up hitting the panic button too much - modern medicine is a marvel, I'm sure you're in the best of hands. Definitely wishing you all luck though, and sending lots of positive vibes your way!!

[larap]

Huge congrats Julie!!! That is fantastic news - so happy everything worked out!
Thanks so much to everyone for your replies - I am going to speak to ob and paed next week to discuss.
Ali - good luck! I feel your pain. I am 32w and been in hospital twice with bad contractions. I am sure they are taking really good care of you and 35w will be a great achievement!
I also was told to start thinking about wrapping up work and have been madly trying to do handovers and get everything sorted - its hugely stressful but i figure at least we know in advance. At the end of the day the only important things are you and your little girl. Everything else is just a detail and nice to have.
Good luck over the next few weeks :)

[Ellikus]

Hi everyone :)

Congrats Julie, Jacqueline and Gen on the safe arrival of all your bubs :) Ali G and Larap I hope you guys are doing well and cant wait to hear more updates on how things are going and when bubs arrives! Moe and Ali G thankyou for your replies in regards to my earlier posts too :) xx

I've officially reached the half way mark now, just had my 20 wk scan yesterday and found out I have a little boy :) I was so relieved to hear this because for two months now I have only had "boy" thoughts and couldnt look at girls clothing or come up with girls names even when I tried, I think if I found out it was a girl it would have been a real shock lol! Mothers intuition was right in this case :)

Bubs is measuring exactly on par, not too big and not too little which is fantastic! I saw my endo today who asked lots of qns about my boys size etc and told me that some mothers have big babies even this early on, I was quite surprised because when I had seen an OB earlier in my pregnancy she had said that babies of D mums usually dont start getting big until after the 6 month mark. Either way I was really relieved to hear this news that bub is all on track because Im feeling quite anxious about the size of bub and how things will progress in a few months time.

Things havent improved much at home with my partner but I am feeling slightly better about things after getting lots of support from my drs this week, finding out the gender of my bubs and also getting to see him on the screen and knowing he is ok!

Hope everyone is doing well and the new mummas are getting some rest between feeds, nappy changes and cuddles xx

[cupcake]

It's kinda amazing how time flies when you are pregnant. It's great to hear about the lovely little bundles that have arrived, and sending good wishes to those who are in my boat, which is heading so quickly towards imminent baby arrival.

I'm on the real home stretch now. 35wks today. I can hardly believe it. I had my last scan on Friday, and I was over the moon to see that the baby has had normal growth during the last interval. As the foetal weight estimate is currently in the 31st percentile, I feel like all the hard work has really been worth it. I could hardly believe that there were no growth spurts or some monster baby at this point of time. So because of this I finally got an induction date from the ob. We are looking at 38wks exactly.

I had the obligatory NICU tour and discussed stuff with the dr in charge there. She hopes not to see us, but we are ordering in hydrolysed formula just in case I can't express enough to store pre-labour. Other than that, it's all just plodding along. My Bsls have been dropping, but nothing terrible. It's great to finally not be struggling as much with the insulin resistance to be honest.

I've got so much to do: the baby's room is still being painted, the clothes aren't washed, I still haven't got a hospital bag packed. Still, it's all fun :)

[larap]

Hi Everyone,
So i am having a bit of a down day. Had a scan today (32w5d) and although bub was 60th percentile - tummy was all of a sudden >95%. I seriously dont understand - sugars have been ok - seeing endo every 2 weeks and she is happy and 2 weeks ago scan showed bub tummy 45 percentile.
I feel so judged and like such a failure!
Hubby doesnt understand- he just keeps saying it doesnt matter but i am really struggling

[Ali G]

Hi Everyone,
So i am having a bit of a down day. Had a scan today (32w5d) and although bub was 60th percentile - tummy was all of a sudden >95%. I seriously dont understand - sugars have been ok - seeing endo every 2 weeks and she is happy and 2 weeks ago scan showed bub tummy 45 percentile.
I feel so judged and like such a failure!
Hubby doesnt understand- he just keeps saying it doesnt matter but i am really struggling

Oh hun I am sorry you are feeling down :(

Sometimes things are just out of our hands *hugs*

Our bub's head is measuring in the 90 percentile but she is well under short for height so it makes me wonder what the hell she will look like when born!! Freaky images keep popping into my head! She is also large around the belly area but I cant remember how big. I am stressing as I have a scan tomorrow which is 34 weeks and I think she has balloned by the way I feel and if so I will then feel like cr@p for not having tight enough control as my levels are insane of late :(

Keep your chin up hun and just do the best you can!

[Julie]

Hi Girls, I've been reading this a lot but haven't had much of a chance to sit down and actually write anything! Thank you for all the wonderful good luck and congrats posts, it was so great knowing that there was a huge group of you (who completely get it!) all offering your support.

I will share my experience of our precious little Michael's birth. We were booked in for an elective caesar at 38 weeks. My ob was very hesitant to go a day over and I was quite happy with that, although originally I really wanted to try to go naturally. By the end of the pregnancy though, I was just desperate for a healthy baby and that was my only concern. I actually couldn't have cared less about how he/she came out. I had previously been induced with my three year old at 39 weeks and it ended in an emergency caesar. Going through an elective caesar this time round was completely different and so much more relaxed.

On the Saturday before the Monday I was due to go in, I had a 'show' (which, for those of you who don't know, I had NO idea!) was a bit of pinkish, reddish stain. Anyway, it was followed by some very mild (but still quite sore!) contractions which may well have just been braxton hicks. I wasn't sure what was going on so hubby and I went in to the hospital on the Sat to have some fetal monitoring. All was good so they said they were happy to wait until the Monday. The anticipation of waiting for the Monday 6am to come was enormous!!! I was an emotional wreck, crying at absolutely everything and anyone. They were definitely tears of overwhelming relief that I had finally made it to this day. I don't know about anyone else but this felt like the longest, most anticipated and drawn out 9 months of my entire life! When we finally got to the hospital and was shown our room and the crib and change table for the baby-to-be, it was an unbelievable feeling. It was just an indescribable feeling of elation and anxiety - I just kept looking at the crib as I was getting wheeling into theatre and my husband was pushing it behind me, thinking, please God, let there be a healthy little baby to come back in there with us. I can't seem to put into words the enormity of how it all felt.

The op itself was calm, the nurses and docs (maybe about 15 altogether) were absolutely amazing. They were all so gentle and kind and reassuring. Hubby was out of the room for the spinal block but he came in straight after and then he sat with me while the pulling and tugging began. It was a bizarre feeling because I could feel everything, there was just zero pain. When they told him to stand up and watch there was a huge amount of tugging and after what seems like a lifetime, there was a big cry and the most perfect, grumpy looking bundle was lifted over to me! He was just amazing. As my husband said 'it's a boy!' he turned white as a ghost and eventually the nurses told him to lie down on the floor! He has a very strong stomach but I think they may have told him to stand up a bit too soon because as it turns out his shoulders got quite stuck and he really didn't want to come out. Hubby thinks it was the overwhelming feeling of seeing the baby healthy and realising that it was a boy. After having a little girl, we just couldn't even begin to imagine we'd be so fortunate to have one of each.

After I'd had a huge cuddle and quite a while of photos and being altogether, my husband went with baby to get weighed and I met them in recovery as soon as they finished stitching me up. It was probably only 15 minutes we were apart. They gave me Michael to feed straight away and sure enough he started rooting around on my chest almost instantly and fed like a little trooper! After an hour they tested his sugars and topped him up on formula as it was 1.9. I was anxious for them to test him earlier but they really wanted the first feed to happen first. They reassured me that this was what they normally did. His following sugars were in the mid 2's then 3's and then they stopped testing. In the first couple of days we gave him a few top ups of formula after his feeds but I didn't get too worried about giving him formula and breastmilk. We had done exactly the same with my daughter and she easily swapped over to breast when she her sugars were okay. I had tried to express at 37 weeks but I gave up before I even began because it was way too sore and I just felt like I couldn't do it. I tried not to beat myself up for it though because I thought we have enough to deal with. They idea of expressing three times a day just seemed like it was going to push me over the edge at that time!

I have to say that overall, the second time round is definitely easier and in the hospital I kept remembering how hard it was the first time round. The feeding is very sore in the beginning but I knew that would eventually go away. Now, two weeks on, the pain has completely gone, thank goodness!! I can see why people would give up with breastfeeding because it is so sore and quite difficult to learn but it does get much, much easier as the baby and you get more practise and it's well worth persisting. I also forgot the huge surge of emotions and hormones and I was not prepared for my huge meltdown on day 3. The nurses said it was completely normal but on that particular day there were lots and lots of tears! The next day everything was back to normal!

The whole experience has been completely amazing. The sheer relief of seeing this magical little being is indescribable. It just makes the entire 9 months of testing, stressing, going in for a million appointments and waking every two hours throughout the night to test SO worth it!

Also, I was told he was going to be HUGE at every scan, (especially by one of the guys there who I kept having at my appts). He was over the 97th percentile at the last few scans and I just thought he wouldn't even fit on the scales!! Anyway, when he was born he was 8.15 pound or 4 kilos. To me, that was fine. My husband is very tall and so am I so I'm putting it down to genes! My ob didn't seem phased at all and got really annoyed when they told me at every scan he was ginormous!! I felt like they'd see my 'diabetic' label and instantly assume that it was my control. It was very frustrating but I tried hard to focus on what my endo and ob were saying and tried to pay little attention to the others!

On a different note, my ob was adamant that my immediate family get the whooping cough vaccine or don't come near the baby for the first six months!! This caused me a huge deal of stress before and after the birth because there were some people who had and some who hadn't, and some I felt like I couldn't even ask. It's also extremely difficult to bring up with friends who come to the hospital (luckily this time round we didn't have many visitors). My advice to anyone who is thinking of getting their parents or family to have the vacc is to get onto it sooner rather than later. We asked our immediate family to have it done but chose to leave it at that. I didn't want to impose anything onto our friends. It's a tricky one. I spoke to numerous doctors and my ob and health nurse and the paed and there were many, many different opinions. If you look at the national website it offers lots of advice. I just couldn't bare my new born to become infected by a visitor who didn't even know they had it. (the symptoms can be as mild as a runny nose but they can be highly infectious). It's detrimental because young babies simply cannot fight it. Anyway, just some extra food for thought for anyone who is considering it...in case there's not enough to think about!

Best of luck to everyone and especially those whose births are just around the corner :)

[artemis]

On a different note, my ob was adamant that my immediate family get the whooping cough vaccine or don't come near the baby for the first six months!! This caused me a huge deal of stress before and after the birth because there were some people who had and some who hadn't, and some I felt like I couldn't even ask. It's also extremely difficult to bring up with friends who come to the hospital (luckily this time round we didn't have many visitors). My advice to anyone who is thinking of getting their parents or family to have the vacc is to get onto it sooner rather than later. We asked our immediate family to have it done but chose to leave it at that. I didn't want to impose anything onto our friends. It's a tricky one. I spoke to numerous doctors and my ob and health nurse and the paed and there were many, many different opinions. If you look at the national website it offers lots of advice. I just couldn't bare my new born to become infected by a visitor who didn't even know they had it. (the symptoms can be as mild as a runny nose but they can be highly infectious). It's detrimental because young babies simply cannot fight it. Anyway, just some extra food for thought for anyone who is considering it...in case there's not enough to think about!

When a friend of ours had twins in December, we were told that we'd have to have whooping cough injections or we wouldn't be allowed to visit. (As it turns out for one reason and another we haven't been to see the boys yet.) I mentioned it to my GP and was whisked in to see the nurse and have the injection - quite painless. I've also read some horrific things about whooping cough in the Australian Weekend Magazine (?6 weeks ago) and am so glad we've had the vaccine. We are now moving house and will be near several relatives with very young children. I can see why Julie's ob was so concerned.

[Julie]

I forgot to add that I kept my pump on during the CS and managed it all myself. Before the op I was sitting on mid 4s and I think I tested three times in 15 mins because I was so worried it would drop suddenly and be 2 during the op. Anyway it sat nicely at 4 and my ob and all the nurses were more than happy for me to manage it all myself. (which made me feel very happy). For a day or two after the op they wrote down my bsls but then that was it. There were lots of positive comments about the pump, the nurses seemed to love them. There were a couple of silly comments but I just put that down to lack of education.

[Ali G]

Thanks so much for the info Julie!! Loved every bit of it now that our time is quickly approaching!

I am going to discuss the pump issue and us being in control of my D tomorrow when I see the Ob as this is the biggest block for me - I just dont want another line in my hand!

Scan today which was 34 weeks said her belly was in the 70 % but she is -2.3 for length! We are all short so on paper it looks really funny! I have a image of big head, big belly and short! lol

The whopping cough vax certainly opens up a can of worms! We have asked those wishing to visit in the first 6 weeks to please have the shot. My family are on board with it as they know how stubborn I am and that they have no chance of seeing her otherwise.. DH family are a whole another issue!! His sisters are refusing to get the shot which is fine with me but they dont understand that they wont be seeing bub, even if they just rock up like they are planning!!
Time will tell on this issue but I am holding strong - just need hubby to stay the same way once I am in hospital as he is a softie and cant say no to people!

[artemis]

Ali, get your husband and his family to look at this site http://www.chainofprotection.org/videos ... unisation/ It was set up by a HP with a family who lost their baby to whooping cough. It might help your husband to say No if they won't have the vaccine.

[Ali G]

Ali, get your husband and his family to look at this site http://www.chainofprotection.org/videos ... unisation/ It was set up by a HP with a family who lost their baby to whooping cough. It might help your husband to say No if they won't have the vaccine.

Thanks Jane!

[stripella]

Just a post to ALL,

Congratulations to those who are pregnant : )

Goodluck to everyone else trying : )

I'm just putting my two cents in, Come on baby dust,

Luck come at me,

As you may have read I am 17 months into TTC post being on the depo shot.

[Moe]

I had my 20 week scan today and everything is looking wonderfully normal and spot on - not too big, not too small. It was good to see that it's a bit more attractive looking now - looking less like the reptilian alien baby it was 7 weeks ago! A nicer rounder human face. We didn't find out the gender- I haven't really thought about whether it feels like a boy or girl. I often refer to it by its boy name though. I think that might just be because our boy name is one syllable whereas our girl names are three syllables.

I always thought my fingers were supposed to swell during pregancy but mine have shrunk - my rings keep almost slipping off! Yesterday one ring disappeared altogether (found it later in the washing basket). It had me freaked out because I'd been out walking and, being the childless DINK that I am, I'd stopped off for a coffee and the paper so I figured it could have fallen off anywhere over a 2km journey! Lesson learnt - my wedding rings are now safely off my skinny fingers! Perahps they'll fatten up again before too long.

[Ali G]

Glad everything is looking good Moe!! How did you not find out the gender, the suspense would kill me! lol! Actually not knowing yours will drive me nuts.

Can you guess I dont do surprises well??

Please becareful with your rings, I didnt get any swelling until now (35weeks) and being winter you might not get any for a while if any.

take care xo

[Moe]

Yeah, I thought it'd be hard not finding out the gender but it was actually easy. I guess I've just seen this baby as 'the baby' rather than 'boy' or 'girl'...and until the 20 week scan I kept calling it 'it' or 'the foetus' (very motherly of me!). I just kept thinking I'd jinx things if I saw it as an actual baby....let alone a baby with a gender!
I always imagined it'd be such a magic few seconds when the baby comes out and there's that moment of anticipation when they call out 'It's a boy/girl'...I sort of don't want to miss that!
And I just love coming up with boy and girl names!
Would make buying/sewing baby clothes easier if I knew what I was getting though.

[eitak]

I'm a super impatient person so thought it would kill me not knowing the sex of our baby, but it was fine!! I LOVED the surprise when she was born, it was amazing and if we go back for another we won't find out the gender. I think also because I knew the birthdate (c-section) I wanted that unknown factor. Different strokes for different folks!!

I wanted to add my 2 bob about the baby size. I was told our little one was measuring bigger and the fancy scans estimated a couple of weeks ahead for the most part, and a few weeks ahead for abdomen. I had great control through prenancy and hba1c's in the 5's but felt so guilty and stressed when I found out about the size. My ob was wonderful and put it all in perspective assuring me it wasn't going to be a problem and aside from Summer being born a big'n at 8 pounds 15 ounces, she was completely healthy and in proportion. She has continued to be above average in size (now 8 weeks old) and is 'horrendously healthy'in the paediatricians words. I just wanted to say please don't put too much pressure on yourselves with the size estimates before birth, although I know it is hard. You'll have a beautiful baby soon and you'll wonder why you stressed yourself out!!

And Julie - congratulations!! So pleased to hear your news and the safe arrival of your little man Michael.

[ErniB]

Similarly with eitak, my control was next to perfect - at every OB and D appointment, they told me I was their model patient... hba1cs in the 5's too.
Throughout the pregnancy bub was always measuring on teh smaller side (20-30% from what I remember), but her abdo was always 60-80% percentile. At about the 35/36wk mark she was approximated to be about 6lb 8oz... but 2 weeks later when she was delivered by c-sect, she was a whopping 9lb 13oz.... I too felt super guilty, but I was assured that, in general, no matter how good 'our' control will be, most of 'us' will have bigger babies. A few days later, she had lost lots of fluid, and was down to about 8lb 10oz... It couldn't really be genetics as hubby was only about 6lb, and even though I was 8lb, my mum had Gestational D....

Mega congrats to those who have recently had their babes - and super congrats to those that have joined the TTC or Pregnant wagon :)

[jennat]

I'm going to put my 2 cents worth in as well and agree with what ErniB and Eitak have said, so much in relation to bubs size is totally out of our control but I hope what I'm going to say makes you feel a bit better,

I had excellent control during my pregnancy as well with HBA1C in the 5s nearly the whole time, I was very lucky and had an excellent endo and a brilliant Ob who wasn't at all concerned with the scans and the perceived size of the bub, I was even able to go a couple of days over my due date and only actually had one growth scan for bub at about 32 weeks at which point she was in the 60th PErcentile for everything I think, my Ob didn't put much store in the scans as they can be out by up to half a kilo either way.

Anyhow Chloe was born weighing in at 8lb 3oz which I was over the moon about as I had been expecting this massive baby because of everything I had read and heard, but what I found really interesting when I spoke to my mum and my nana was that my Nana when she was born weighed 8lb1, my mum was 8lb and I was 8lb2 and none of them were Diabetic. So basically yes Diabetes plays a part in the size of our bubs but genetics also plays a massive part or it did in my case so as long as your control has been within recommended ranges and your Ob and Endo are happy please please don't worry too much about the size, there is so much else apart from our Diabetes that goes into determining this.

Jenna

[larap]

Hi everyone,
Thanks for the support with bubs size! Calming me down a lot.
I am actually in hospital now - came in on Monday with lots of contractions and apparently a very short cervix (sorry for graphics). The contractions got heaps worse and then have now finally settled. I had 2 doses of celestone which have thrown my sugars totally out of control! Been an absolute nightmare but at least bub is doing well. Had the "show" yesterday but nothing since so looks like its settling - no one can tell me.
waiting for ob to decide what to do - he was of course away and only back today.
i feel like i want to kill almost every midwife here. they are all like its really common for diabetics to have premmies and irritable uterus. Must be because of the control! I genuinly thought i was either going to burst into tears or punch them in the face! one of the two!!!
Anyway just trying to keep sane!
Congrats for all babies/scans and baby dust for ttc :)

[Ali G]

How are you going larap?

Did anyone else have site problems towards the end? I'm barely getting 24 hr before they start leaking and it's driving me a little insane now!

[larap]

Hi Everyone,
So Friday morning at 654am we welcomed Hayley Emma Pack into the world. She weighs 2.74kg and 49cm long. She is doing really well. No low sugars which was great and she is doing great. In special care as she is still pretty small. Hopefully coming out of incubator today or tomorrow.
Experience was hugely traumatic - will write it up when I have more time.
Hope everyone is doing well
xx Lara

[cupcake]

Did anyone else have site problems towards the end? I'm barely getting 24 hr before they start leaking and it's driving me a little insane now!

Yes, i have had this happen quite a bit unfortunately. I have missed it a few times, but the morning i caught the insulin dribbles all down my back from the site was soooo annoying. And the guess work when you're not quite sure just how much you actually did get with that bolus...

It has been better since my requirements have dropped in the last fortnight or so. Trying to put 120+ units through in a 24-hr period must be just too much for the tissues to take. I'm back to well under 100u a day: usually like 80. It means less reliance on reservior refil, which bugged me no end.

Oh my gosh, it sounds like you have had a rather traumatic experience Lara. I hope you and baby are doing well now.

I'm currently stuggling to keep my emotions together as this is my last night before all the craziness starts. Stage one of the induction process is happening for me tomorrow. My husband and i have very different ways of handling our current levels of apprehension. I cry and have secret moments of paralysis. He gets his cranky on and storms around the place. Add to that a dog who knows there is something big happening, who is super-sooky and clingy. I almost can't wait for this bit to be over.

By thursday, i shall have a baby. Fingers crossed, things will be ok and go reasonably well :)

[Cassie_B]

Congratulations larap! Fingers crossed all goes well out of the humidicrib and you get lots of lovely, healthy cuddles to make up for any of the trauma that came beforehand xox - and beautiful name =) Well done!

Thinking of you too cupcake - hang in there, this bit will be over soon enough, and if you're anything like me, looking back you'll barely even remember it happening at all... all the very best for the next few days and welcoming your little addition into the world - I hope everything goes smoothly and the end result is as perfect and as magical as you can imagine =) *hugs*

[Julie]

A HUGE congrats to you Lara, that's wonderful, fantastic news and you should feel so extremely proud of yourself. You did it!!!!!!

Cupcake- good luck!!!!! The night before is definitely nerve racking but you're finally almost there and moments away from holding your precious little baby in your arms. Try to relax and enjoy the ride, happy in the knowledge that the time is almost here! We will all be thinking of you and sending you positive vibes. You'll be great :)

[larap]

Thanks so much everyone!
Ok so here it goes.
I had been in hospital since last monday with contractions that wouldnt settle. They did the celestone steroids straight away as my cervix was getting smaller. Sugars were ok the first day, second day were way higher and harder to control but they did let me do it on the pump rather than infusion which was great!
Wednesday I had a show but no contractions so they decided to keep me there and kept saying sooner ather than later.
Thursday I begged to go home and was told I would have to wait until at least Saturday. Friday morning at 3am I asked for some panadeine to sleep. I was starting to feel a lot more pressure in my cervix and needing to go to the toilet every 15 mins (felt like diagnosis all over again). I also had contractions every time I went to the toilet and very mild discomfort. They did a CTG and found I was barely contracting - but 10 minutes later the contractions became very very regular. I was having them every few minutes and they all went into panic mode. Back into delivery sweet and given adalat to try and stop the contractions. My BP was already low so I was terrified plus I have horrendous veins so of course they send in the moron who cant do anything. Eventually they got a registra who at least used local!
I had 3 doses of adalat in the next hour which did nothing and I was now 3cm dilated. Still not in a huge amount of pain so I couldnt decide whether to do caeser or natural. OB seemed to think caeser. He said once you made the decision just stick with it and also my sugars were a bit out of control at this point from stress. I was taken straight down to theatre and had to wait ages for the anethetist to get there. My waters broke while we were waiting and by this point I was a complete basket case.
Eventually did the spinal (I had been freaking out about this). Have to be honest it really wasnt bad. The local wasnt anywhere near as bad as they made out and the feeling of the spinal was ok. 10 minutes later and Hayley Emma was born. She needed a little oxygen but was doing really well. Quite a chunker for her age. I cant imagine how big she would have been!
My BP then dropped really low (60/40) and I had to have heaps of drugs as I was starting to pass out. The rest is a bit of a blur as I was so out of it from all the drugs. Plus they give you morphine with the spinal that has slow release.
I went straight up to special care. Her BSLs were all above 2.5 and they stopped monitoring after 6 hours. I got to touch her a little as she had been in oxygen and came back 2 hours later for my first cuddle. My BSLs remained failry steady - although endo was all over it. Made nurses call every 3 hours and give her updates and look my basal right down. Also made my target between 5 and 10.
5 days later and my BSLs are ok - a bit all over the place with feeding. Hayley is doing well - although today she started to have some breathing issues and is now on caffeine to help her. Hopefully this will work.
Got an extra day here so going home thursday at this stage.
I have been on oxycontin for first 3 days and now just voltaren and panadol which are working really well. I was up and about the day after and doing much better each day.
Good luck to everyone on upcoming births and TTC
Lara :)

[Sharalynne]

HI everyone

I haven't been on here for ages but am now pregnant (7 weeks) with my second baby, i have an 18 month old girl. Since having my daughter I've gone on a pump (Jan this year) and finding it a lot more technical to change my doeses on the pump as oppose to MDI, I have a great Endo who can help but just wanted to see if anyone else had issues with trying to work out how and what to increase on your pump? The hospital I went through last time don't support pumps so I'm hoping to be able to see my Endo and Diabetes Educator privately during the pregnancy. Did anyone else do this?

Thanks

[schoey]

Hi Ladies, I don't quite fit into your group yet. I am neither pregnant nor TTC but I wish I could. HbA1c is still not good enough and I feel at such a loss with difficulties living 'remote' and not having access to a DE or Endo or DE midwife as much as I would like. Having said that we have come off the pill and my body has REACTED!!! Wow - My BSL's the week prior to 'that time of the month' and crazy high and the week of are crazy low - the only two 'regular' weeks are the two inbetween and the week I'm ovulaing can sometimes get hectic. Been trying to get my head into gear with regards to BSL's and HbA1c but I am so scared of lows because for me they happen with dramatic style and quiet quickly - although I get all the symptoms tingling lips, sluggish limb strength and the brain power of a newt...I feel it coming and then it's on top of me...beside all that we are wanting to start TTC in June but I don't think my HbA1c will be low enough by then - your tips woud be most greatfully received in this. I feel lost and without support sorry - not trying to be depressive or anything - I'm just finally at a time in my life where I want to start a family and all those feelings I had when I first got diagnosed (I can't do this, I wish it happened to someone else, I want to be normal, I don't want to have this anymore) are all flooding back - I've been so upbeat since 2005 when I was diagnosed treating is as a chance to clean up my act and be healthy and not sick even on my wedding day (I strapped Oscar - my pump because when he's not working I'm grumpy - to my leg and walked down the aisle to my wonderful husband without thinking about BSL's) but now - considering what a normal woman goes through in a pregnancy - I doubt myself and think I shouldn't be doign this? ah - I don't know - thoughts on what I could do to lower the HbA1c or 'get ready'????

[cupcake]

Hi all!

Took me a little while, but i thought i would get on here and announce the arrival of my little girl, Eliza. It was a rather traumatic experience, and the pregnancy hormones really have made me a complete basketcase. Anyways, here's what happened with my birth story...

So i was all set to go and start to be induced last tuesday. Just the cervidil, then get home and do the last minute stuff. I still hadn't packed my bag properly, and the ipod had not been loaded with the birthing playlist. How stupid. I got hooked up to a CTG before the gel was to be inserted, and i ended up attatched to one for the next 34 hours. The baby had a non-reassuring trace, so they decided to keep me monitored for a while. Also, my BP was up, so that was also a concern. I ended up transferred to the birthing suites for more intensive monitoring later that evening. By this time, i was getting a little worried. Things were a bit here nor there. I ended up being almost forgotten on a busy night by the midwives, and being connected to the CTG involved holding the sensor in place a lot of the time. So no sleep for me. They finally made a decision to give me the cervidil after all, so after 11pm, they did so.

Next day, there was a lot of fussing about the cervidil not working completely. Another day attached firmly to the monitor. I was sitting there just looking at the heart rate go up and down, and the "tightenings" as they happened. I got a fair bit of pain at times, and they started to pick up in the afternoon. After they removed the cervidil, and started to talk about balloon catheters, i started to get quite a lot of pain. The midwife assured me that they weren't contractions, but it was pretty awful. Next thing you know, they start to prep me for another internal exam, and i find that my waters broke spontaneously. So much for "tightenings", they were nasty contractions that kept on coming so close, i didn't have time to think. Next thing i'm on the gas, and somewhere came the epidural soon after. The gas was evil bad, epidural was fantastic.

Very soon after the epidural, they put me on my side as i had an insufficient block on one side, and that's where it went downhill. The baby's heart rate began to drop. It was so scary to see it all unfold on the CTG. Next thing, i'm being whisked for a code 1 caesar. That also was traumatic, even though i know exactly what that stuff is about. I work in theatres. I arrived to find that they were planning to give me a general anaesthetic, to which i think i wailed about enough that they decided to top up my epidural. My IV access was so bad that it took them that long to get another cannula in, the epidural had enough time to work.

So my lovely daughter was born at 1148pm on the wednesday night. I was lucky enough to make it back to post natal with her those first few hours. Though it wasn't for the best. They finally checked her BSL the next morning, and it was 1.7. So up to NICU she went. She was there for the next 4 days, being tube fed. We had a week all up in hospital. We've had a few problems with feeding, due to her being tube fed. Its been rough. Thankfully, i have had a great time with mobility. Oxycontin for 5 days, and nothing now. Having to make the walk to NICU was a great motivation for me.

Now we are home, and getting settled in together. All together, this whole thing did not go to plan. But once the hormones have settled, i hope to think a bit better about it all. I have my girl, and she is sweet.

[~Lou~]

Cupcake, sorry to hear you had such a traumatic birth, glad everything is ok now. Congratulations on Eliza!

Hi Schoey! Good luck with getting your hba1c low enough, what is yor doctor wanting it down to? I don't really have any tips but I will say that even though it's frustrating waiting it's better to have a healthy bub at the end. My levels were good but not awesome during pregnancy and Miss A was 5 weeks early and 10lbs!

Sharalynne, I don't know anything about pumps but congrats on your pregnancy! Hope morning sickness hasn't set in for you yet :)

[eitak]

Hey Ladies,

Congrats to Cupcake & Lara - lovely little girls and beautiful names in Eliza and Hayley! Am I right in saying that there is yet to be a natural birth on this thread? I know there were a few planned caesers, and a few inductions that have ended in caesers - have there been any natural deliveries?

All the best to the newly pregnant - enjoy the ride! And of course best of luck to the TTC'ers!

[eitak]

Ali, I've been meaning to ask if SUmmer is still your number 1 name? We've had such lovely comments about it from everyone and I just love it! I'll look forward to hearing what you go with!

[Ali G]

Hello girls,

Finally 10 mins to let you know what's been happening!!

Summer Mai was born on the 20 June @ 7:36am!

She was 2926 (6pound 8) and 46 cm short!

We had a planned CS and all was good until she was born and she was blue and required oxygen asap, she was rushed from the room after I saw her for about 30 secs and taken to special care. Once she was set up in the humicrib etc they tested her bgl and I cant remember what it was - will check when I go back on Weds.. it was low and they used the EBM that I had and they were going to iv her as the levels were not improving but before they tired that they tubed her and feed her forumla. Lucky for her this held her levels high enough and I know she bounced from 2.1 - 2.8 for the next 2 days. 48 hrs after birth she was taken off the oxygen and her bgl's were all good she just wouldnt feed nor wake up! I think she was in denial about being in the big wide world! about 5 days after birth she started to feed but not well. All up she was in special care for 8 days.

The worst part for me was that she was born in the morning and I didnt get to see her until 7:30pm that night which was tough, hubby isnt great at pics so he would go into the nursery and take like 1 pic and expect that to be enough. Men!
I think I just got crap nurses as after the shift change another nurse came in and took me to see her, I really didnt bond with her until about day 5. Now I cant stop staring at her.

We are home now and learning her little clues to what she wants - not easy!!

Hope eveyone is well xx

[ErniB]

she just wouldnt feed nor wake up! I think she was in denial about being in the big wide world!

Savvy was the same - very sleepy, would go about 5-6hrs between feeds... nurses would get stern with me to wake her to feed her, but bub wouldn't feed unless she was ready.... I came to trust my instinct then - how can you feed a baby that is just wanting to sleep? I even had the nurses (and my mum!?!?!) trying to force my nipple into her mouth.... it just didn't work! It took a good week for her to really wake up and be more aware..... Savanna is 5mths now, Ali, and I still can't stop staring at her :D

Mega congrats by the way - I've seen the pics, she's super cute!

[Ali G]

Thanks Erin, We think she is super cute as well!!

As she was in care she had no choice but to eat as she was forced feed via the tube for 5 days... I hated to see her quota going up and more food being forced in but they assured me it was the best thing.. I wanted her to feel hungry so she would look for the breast but now I look back there was just no way she could have.. 37 weeks but acting like a premmie baby. One day it just clicked for her and we did 2 breast feeds then a tube for 24 hrs and then totally breast. The nurses kept saying it would work like that but I was keen for her to be out of care and into our room so we could work on getting home.

Forgot to add that I have had no break from D, I ran with my pregnancy levels as they were for 4 days and was still pulling 18's and over - doh!
I have changed the pump back to pre pregnancy levels and that keeps me around the 7 mark, not even BF sends me low. Not happy at all, everyone else seem to have got a break :(
Although I am not taking great, nor any care really with D as time is just out of control as you girls now. I barely remember to eat let alone test for the stupid food!

[cupcake]

Congrats Ali G! What a lovely name :)

I had the same sleepy baby problems with Eliza. It was pretty terrible because they were keen to kick her out of NICU, but i was still struggling to feed her. The two days i had rooming in with her on the ward was hellish, because it was impossible to wake her. We would have to resort to the nurse tickling her, while i was struggling to get my tube-fed baby interested in sucking. There was a stage where we were using wet cloths on her, which went against everything the NICU people had said about keeping her warm.

Three weeks in (tomorrow, oh my gosh that is crazy!) and i still have to wake her for 1-2 feeds in the night. I'm still scared by the 3 hourly feed attitude from the midwives in hospital. The child and family care nurse said that i could leave her 5 hours max, as she is putting on weight, but i get the serious guilts about it.

As for my blood sugars... I had huge BSLs for the first week in hospital, which had me seriously considering mucking about with everything. But the educator told me it was fine. Sure enough, soon as my milk really started happening, it all began to fall into place. I am trending lower now, and it is harder over night with feeding, lack of sleep etc.

One thing i was told was that my hypos would not feel the same any more. I didn't believe that at all, until i had a terrible hypo which took 45 minutes to resolve. The whole time i felt awful. I couldn't believe how long it was taking my BSL to creep back up. Then that morning, after going back to sleep after a feed which a normal BSL, i woke up at 29. Cue massive panic, hungry baby and correction bolus... 2.5 hours later, i was hypoing again.

How long are people planning to breastfeed/managed to keep breastfeeding? Its doing my head in at the moment. I envy my non-D friends. It's just another thing to try and manage, but its a little harder than the art of one-handed clothes hanging. Especially the hypo mother/hungry baby situation. Sigh.

[jennat]

Ali, huge congratulations on the birth of your bub, sounds like you have had a difficult couple of weeks of it, I'm glad you are back at home so can start to enjoy being a mummy, also I don't think you ever stop looking at them in complete wonderment.

Cupcake, I have actually just finished breastfeeding, I always told myself I would feed for 6 months which I did but I was ready to finish by the end of last month, I too found it messed around with my bloodsugars and I am having a lot of problems now that I have finished feeding normalising everything and trying to remember what I was on before I became pregnant,

[Julie]

Wow there's been a lot of activity here lately! A HUGE congrats to you Ali and Cupcake!! What beautiful names and well done for making it! :)

I'm so sorry to hear your birth stories weren't to plan and how you hoped. They both sounded stressful and quite traumatic births and you both sounded like you handled the situations so amazingly and fantastically. Well done for going through all of that, you should feel extremely proud of yourselves :)

I hope you are both at home enjoying the time with your precious little ones and also managing to recover and find the time to look after yourselves. It's very easy to forget about yourself when you're home and dealing with a little baby who is demanding all of your time but I hope you are managing to make some time here and there for you. I say this as I type with one hand and perch little bub in my other arm! I wish there was a thread for new mums and how to cope with newborns...! There's a few of us now and I'm sure we're all just as sleep deprived and in need of settling strategies as each other! Not to mention the crazy blood sugars!

I've never seen so many 20 somethings in years as I have done these last 7 weeks - eek!! It's just too hard sometimes to find the time to test, eat, bolus all perfectly. It's also totally unrealistic to expect the same wonderful readings we were getting during the pregnancy. My hubby actually said last night I need to be a bit kinder to myself and not beat myself up with the higher ones. He said they're bound to happen after being such a perfectionist and testing 3000 times a day! I'm also indulging in LOTS more since the birth. There are so many cereals and carby things that I've discovered and taken a huge liking too lately!

Good luck to everybody and welcome to the newly pregnant girls and everyone ttc. I would love to find our original list and type up everyone's baby names and births...it would be amazing to see! What a clever and unique group of women we all are! :) :)

[Ellikus]

Hi all

I am currently 26wks and 3 days, how exciting and OMG how time just flys! :)

Just a quick qn, I have read on here before about bubs percentile in terms of size and am wondering what this means, eg which is better a high or low percentile and which is normal? I know we cant ask for medical advice on the boards but just a general explanation would be great if anyone has one?

I just had an emergency ultrasound as have experienced some bleeding and there was concern for bubs but all turned out ok and he is healthy and doing well, i read on the report he is measuring in the 52nd percentile so am wondering what that means and hoping that is good? The us technician said that he is the perfect size for his due date etc and the only little thing about him that was different is that he apparantly has hugely long arms lol, I keep picturing him to look like an ape because he also seems to have big feet :)

anyway, any advice or just general explanations would be great thanks and hoping all the mums to be are doing well also :)

take care xx

[Shama]

I'm unable to comment on whether a size is good or not but I can help out with the maths :)

52% percentile means that he is bigger than 52% of babies and smaller than 48% of babies at this age. So about half of babies his age are smaller than him and half are bigger than him.

Hope that helps.