Lots of Blood Chat and it’s nothing to do with Halloween!

Pregnancy has lots of ups and downs and unfortunately for me this one has had more downs than ups! A few months after I had Miss C I had to get my gall bladder out and when I went for my pre op check up they discovered Antibodies in my blood. I was told there was nothing to worry about and all it meant was that if I needed a blood transfusion that I would need very specific blood. Thankfully I didn’t need any transfusions and I put it to the back of my mind.

Skip forward a few months and I go for my booking appointment and get bloods done. I put the antibody thing so far to the back of my mind that I totally forgot to mention it to the midwife! I then got a frantic phone call from her to say that they had discovered antibodies in my blood and I would need to go back and get more taken. I then explained that I was aware of the problem and was told there was no need to worry about it. I asked if it would cause any problem with the baby and was told there was still nothing to worry about.

I went back up a few weeks later and had more bloods taken and this time the antibody was missing. I was so relieved that there was nothing there so put it to the back of my head again. The midwife said they would keep an eye on it and check me again a few weeks and when they did the wee bugger was back! I asked again if it could cause an issue and was told not to worry, that I was being monitored and would be seen by the Consultant.

Skip forward a few weeks and I was back in to see the midwife and Consultant. The antibody was still showing up in my blood and I sat and had a really good conversation with the consultant about what it meant and what the options were. I was totally taken aback because she told me that it could lead to complications which had never been expressed to me before.  She told me that if the baby didn’t have the antibody in their blood then effectively my blood would start to fight theirs and if this was the case then the baby might need to have blood transfusions.  At first I seriously thought that she meant once the baby was born, oh how naive am I? A good 5 minutes went past until I realised that she meant in-utero. Then she hit me with the bomb that if they went through that and it didn’t work then they might need to induce the baby prematurely. I’m not usually lost for words but this time was an exception. I honestly had no idea and was so shocked that it took me a few minutes to talk! (That also never happens).

The Consultant was informative and very supportive. She told me to try not to worry and assured me that there was nothing I could do to change it or fix it so just to stay calm and relaxed. Easier said than done but thankfully I’m not usually one to panic until I’ve got something to panic for. I went home with lots of information and an action plan which helps I do like to have a plan to work to! My bloods will be taken every few weeks to check if the antibody is still showing up and I will get a scan in a few weeks time to see what’s going on in there. Amazingly if my blood is attacking the baby’s, then the baby knows to push more blood up to the brain to protect themselves. Pregnancy is fascinating and I’ve always been in awe of what happens during it, but this is simply amazing that the baby knows what to do to keep itself safe 🙂 Poor Mr B hasn’t gotten out of it either, he’s having to give blood samples too so the consultant has full information to make a decision on how best to go forward if we need to.

There is always the possibility that the baby has the same antibody as me and all will be fine and none of this will be necessary so we are praying and hoping that this is the response we get in a few weeks and not the scary stuff but if it is then we will deal with it. At least I’m informed and feel I now have all the information that I need to make decisions. Lets just hope it doesn’t come to that

Cx

 

You know what they say about buses…

When Mr B and I talked about having children we decided that we would want to have our babies close together. When Miss B was born we always planned to have a small age gap. Unfortunately I was made redundant when she was 21 months old and we simply couldn’t afford to expand our family then. Fast forward six years and we decided to have another baby and we were fortunate enough to have Miss C with no issues. Now, with her first birthday approaching I am happy to announce that we are going to be a family of five in the new year.

Cx

Size Matters

When I went to my booking in appointment at 12 weeks I had a chat with the midwife about previous pregnancies and we discussed Miss B, her delivery, size and weight etc.  She was 6lbs 12oz and very long and has stayed that way. I must admit I was really surprised when the midwife wanted to refer me to a consultant because she was worried I might be having a “tiny” baby, nobody ever told me that Miss B was under sized or concerning so it didn’t make any sense.

A few weeks later I went to see the Consultant who was really bewildered as to why I had been referred because Miss Bs birth weight was perfectly normal.  She was more than happy at her weight and my history but told me I could get a growth scan at the end of the pregnancy to put my mind at ease (I would like to point out that I wasn’t worried in the slightest)!

Then skip to Week 29 where I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes which I blogged about here and the midwives were worried about me having a bigger baby.

I had a scan three weeks ago and the baby was measuring on the 95th percentile and weighed approximately 5lbs 5oz which was large but not worryingly so. I got some advice from the medical professionals and the Diabetic Consultant decided to start me on Metaformin to help keep the baby on an even keel.  The consultants are still really happy with my diet control but the tablets are just to maintain the size of the baby and to stop excessive growth.

Last week I had a surprise trip to the day clinic when I wasn’t feeling as much movement as usual. I went up to the local hospital and the midwife asked me to wait while they were finishing with another patient and she would get me on the monitor.  About 15 minutes later she came back and sent me through to the Sonographer who was finished for the day and decided to check me over.  There was a very strong heartbeat and plenty of wriggling going on so she was happy but she took some measurements and said it looked as if the baby hadn’t grown for two weeks.  The midwife then put me on a trace and the heartbeat and movement was all fine too so nothing to worry about.  She then called the Consultant at my maternity hospital who asked to see me this week for a growth scan to see what was going on.

I went along yesterday and was scanned again, all measurements are good and the baby is approximately 6lbs 15oz.  When they plotted it on the chart, he/she is still on the 95th percentile and where they would expect at this stage.  The blood flow in the cord was perfect and the fluid around the baby is good and healthy so no worries there, the baby is definitely growing.  The next stage is for me to keep controlling my diabetes with diet and the Metformin then I have another scan in a few weeks where we will review the scans and make a decision about whether to induce early or not, if they do it will only by one week so not the end of the world.

Now we just have a waiting game, I have reduced the stress that I was suffering from thankfully and feel much happier with everything.  I have pretty much everything organised and ready so now it’s time for feet up and spending some quality time with Miss B before our new, possible early arrival.

There’s been a lot of information to take in over the last few weeks, and the midwives have gone from being concerned the baby is too small to now being too big.  All I care about is that he/she arrives safely for both our sakes and I will do whatever I can to help that.

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Here’s a pic of Wee/Big Baby B 🙂

 

 

 

Pregnancy and Gestational Diabetes

This pregnancy has absolutely flown in and I am so lucky that I’ve had no problems or concerns other than a bit of hip pain.  In fact, up until a few weeks ago it has pretty much mirrored my pregnancy with Miss B which was great.

A few months ago at a routine ante-natal appointment my midwife spoke to me about going for a Glucose Tolerance Test since my Bmi was a little high.

I was given an appointment and off I went.  I had to fast from midnight and was sent to my local hospital where I had blood taken.  Well, I say I had blood taken.  My veins are notoriously bad and seem to go into hiding whenever a needle comes anywhere near them.   I told the midwife who insisted that she would get blood with no problem.  She tried from my arm with no luck, then a butterfly needle in the back of my hand, again with no luck then she called over another midwife who tried to  get it from the side of my hand, which resulted in a blown vein.  At that point she was freaking out the girl next to me so also had trouble with her bloods so she called in an expert.  A short wait later, and thankfully this lovely man managed to get all the blood they needed from just above my thumb on his first try.  I was then given a glucose drink and a cup of water and left for two hours to make it do it’s thing.  After the two hours my bloods were taken again, thankfully by the lovely Nurse again, and I went back to work.

A few hours later I got a call from the midwife to say that unfortunately my levels had returned at 8.8 and since they had moved the threshold the day before, I was now to be treated for gestational diabetes.  She told me that I would be called later that day by Diabetic Nurse who would talk me through the next steps.  I was contacted by a lovely girl called Lucy who gave me an appointment to see her a few days later.  I went along and was given a blood glucose monitor and shown how to use it.  I have to admit to feeling a little stupid because I have no idea how it all worked, but Lucy was great and made sure I was happy and comfortable with what I had to do.  I hadn’t had breakfast yet so we carried out my first test and she was happy with my level of 4.7 (my levels should be between 4 and 6).  I was given a sheet with instructions just in case I forgot anything then I was sent off to the GP surgery to get a prescription for needles and testing strips and was given an appointment for the diabetic specialist at the local maternity hospital.  And so it began, I need to test my blood sugar before every meal and then before bed and keep it in a diary.

I went along last week to the maternity hospital and was seen by so many different people that my head hurt by the end of it.  I was first seen by a lovely midwife who checked me over and did all my stats, which were all good and we had a listen to the baby’s heartbeat which was lovely and strong.  I was then seen by a diabetic nurse who looked over my diary and checked my bloods and urine to make sure everything was ok, she was happy with what she saw.  Next I saw an Obstetrician who talked me over diabetes and how it can affect your baby and that we would try diet control first before looking at any medication.  Next up was a Diabetic Consultant who talked me through diabetes and how it all worked and how diet control should keep me on an even keel and hopefully, since I only had 10 weeks to go, we might just get away without the need for medication.  Finally I spent some time with a Dietician that absolutely frazzled my head!  When I said earlier that I had no idea how it all worked I wasn’t lying.  She talked me through carbs and how they turn to glucose and what I need to look out for and how to split down what I was eating on a daily basis.  I never eat healthier than when I’m pregnant so was glad that she approved of my food diary and what I has been eating.  She sent me on my way with so much information that my head was swimming but Mr B was with me and he took in a lot more than I did.

For the last week I’ve been obsessing about carbs and sugar contents in food and kept a really strict control of how many carbs I’ve been having at each meal and for snacks.  The first few days were strange but I got in to a pattern and was happy that I had a good handle on it all.

I was back at hospital this morning where I was seen again but the whole list of people above and they were all happy with my control and grasp of the diabetes.  I also got another scan and we were lucky to see Wee Baby B again, however, this time Miss B got to come too.  She has been so excited all week about seeing her baby and the appointment didn’t disappoint.  She was fascinated watching the screen while the Sonographer was taking the measurements and looking and listening to everything.  Miss B was handed the pictures at the end which she carried around like a prized possession, it was very sweet.

After the scan I went to see the Obstetrician again who, after checking all my results over, decided to start me on Metformin as a precaution.  The baby is currently on the 95% percentile and they want it to stay that way, so the medication along with my control of the diabetes should do the trick.

After my appointment I took Miss B to visit my Mum and she very proudly showed her the scan picture, pointing out everything and telling her what she had seen.  “This is my baby’s nose and eyes and you should have seen it wriggling on the screen, it was awesome”.  She is so ready to be a big sister and can’t wait for the baby to arrive, it’s really lovely.

So far we are all organised apart from the final clearing and cleaning of the bedroom but I’m not stressing about it and it will get done over the next few weeks.  Our new crib and cot/bed mattress came too so all I need to buy is an Isofix for the car and we are good to go.

I have been under a lot of stress lately but thankfully that now seems to be under control too so I’m now just trying to enjoy the rest of my pregnancy and get organised for the baby coming.

This is my wee pal, four times a day!

Long time, no chat

Hello everyone

Sorry it’s been so long, there’s been a LOT going on here and my poor blog has been left out in the cold. As well as being seriously busy, if I’m honest, I kind of fell out of love with blogging.  I’ve never claimed to be a writer, far from it but this blog is for me, somewhere to record what’s going on in my life and I just got to a point where I wasn’t enjoying it anymore.  I feel refreshed and ready to start again.

So there has been some big changes in our family over the last few months.  By the start of December we had the decorating in the house finished right on schedule for Christmas.  We had a lovely family time over the holidays and lots of lovely days out too.  In February I became an Aunty to Little E, who has very quickly become a big part of the family and Miss B absolutely adores her. Which is good given that the biggest news is that later this year we will become a family of 4 🙂

Baby B is due at the end of August and we are all seriously excited about it.  So far this pregnancy has pretty much mirrored my last, I’ve had no morning sickness at all which is good and I’m keeping really well apart from tiredness.  I’ve had some hip pain and I had some sciatica which thankfully seems to have passed.  Everyone I’ve spoken to with more that one child tells me that your second pregnancy flies in and so far that’s my observation too 🙂

It was always the plan to have more children so we have kept everything belonging to Miss B so there is very little I need to buy. I needed a new pram because the old one weighted a tonne and wouldn’t fit in my boot, so I went on a mission to find something suitable.  After lots of researching I finally found one that I liked and fit my needs and it’s here and ready to go.  Our spare room is very pink at the moment and my plan was to decorate it in neutral tones for the baby but after chatting with my sister, I’ve decided to wait and see if Baby B is a he or a she before redecorating since Baby B will be in our room for the first few months anyway.

Exciting times ahead and I’m so looking forward to having a new addition to the family 🙂

Things still to get and looking for suggestions for a cot bed mattress, crib, Isofix for car seat and a changing bag.

Cx

Miss B and Little E

Miss B and Tat trying out the pram

Helping me make a Carrot Cake