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.

Cx

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!