I mentioned last week that I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. At first this news seemed completely devastating, but that was a pretty selfish reaction and one that was felt mostly I really like to eat and pricking my finger 4 times a day did not sound appealing in the slightest.
After about 3 weeks of playing around with my diet and testing my blood sugar, I've settled down from the disappointment of that diagnosis and I'm looking at it as something that just needs to be done. There is still a lot about GD that confuses me (and frustrates me), but here's what I basically know...
Gestational Diabetes
Again, I'm a PE teacher, not a doctor, but the way it's been explained to me is that GD is a form of diabetes that exists only while you're pregnant, and it's because your hormones from the placenta are not allowing your body to produce enough insulin to regulate your blood sugar and turn it into energy. As long as the GD is controlled, it should not affect the baby. If left untreated, it can lead to high birth weights and the higher likelihood of a c-section and other possible complications during delivery. Untreated GD can also lead to problems for the baby after birth like jaundice, difficulty breathing, low blood sugar levels, and an increased risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes later in life.
When I was diagnosed, my numbers weren't incredibly off, so I have just been diet-controlled. This means I don't have to inject myself with insulin everyday (woo-hoo for that!). Playing around with a diet has been tricky. I love chocolate, I enjoy eating out at restaurants, and I strongly dislike measuring out my food... like figuring out ratios of protein to carbohydrates.
Simply put, what has been working for me is a diet high in protein (eggs have been my best friend), lower in carbs, and almost non-existent in sugar. I found that occasional sugar and carbs are okay, as long as I FUEL UP on protein along with it. My biggest problem has been trying to fit in a night time snack because my morning blood glucose numbers have been high. But I'll get back to that later...
So I've been attempting to keep my levels in check with diet and the way I know how well I'm doing is with the finger pricks. I have to do a fasting check along with a check for ketones first thing in the morning. I'm still not completely sure what the whole ketone thing is about, but I know my number is supposed to be non-existent/low. To test for the ketones, I have to pee on a stick first thing every morning. To test my fasting blood glucose levels, right after I pee, I wash my hands then prick my finger. I prick my finger three more times throughout the day- 1 hour after each meal.
One more thing- exercise are supposed to be helpful. Up until last week, I was still going to the gym every morning. Then I got sick- a really bad sore throat. I couldn't talk, I would wake up all night long, I couldn't drink. I tried to go to the gym once, and it kind of set me back a couple of days and made me feel worse. Here's something important to note- while I was at the gym, I weighed myself. I had lost 4 pounds. Up to this point, I had only gained 20. (I was at the doctor yesterday and it turns out I've lost 2 more, bringing my total pregnancy weight gain to 14 pounds... hmmm....)
Since the baby is measuring a healthy size, I'm going to go ahead and assume that the weight I'm losing is my body atrophying from my lack of exercise. I've been itching to get back to the gym. But again, more on that in a little bit...
Friday, June 1
I was so pumped up for Friday- it was the last day of work, and then I would be home free to continue to work on my projects for the baby! I went to the gym, finally feeling better from almost TWO WEEKS of that crazy sore throat. I sent my mom (and workout partner) a text telling her that my stomach wasn't feeling so hot, so I wasn't going to go to the spin class that we usually do. I was just going to to the elliptical instead. My stomach was just feeling heavy- like the baby dropped and was hunkered down pushing on my pelvis. Not really painful, just uncomfortable.
I was on the treadmill for about 4 minutes when I started feeling more uncomfortable. I decided to stay on for 15 minutes, then switch to walking on the treadmill where I felt like there would be less bouncing. I managed 15 minutes on the treadmill before calling it a morning and heading to my mom's to get ready for work.
At work, I was not feeling my greatest. I felt like I needed to sit down a lot. I couldn't keep up walking fast with my co-workers to get all of our last day papers signed off. I was just feeling crampy and gross. I was thinking that maybe it was Braxton-Hicks contractions. One of my co-workers said that maybe the baby did drop. All I knew for sure was that I was really uncomfortable.
Saturday, June 2
I woke up Saturday not really feeling any better. My mom told me that she was skipping our step class that day (she's been working hard on getting everything ready for my shower that's coming up this weekend) and I agreed, saying that I wasn't feeling up to it anyway. Brian and I had plans to go to Ikea to get a couch for the nursery (which is coming along, btw). He drove and I remember I had to keep stretching out because my stomach was bothering me so much. We had a successful trip and set up the couch that evening while we watched the Kings win another Stanley Cup game. :) Brian did all of the work while I read off directions. I remember leaning over the arm of the couch at one point, and I just felt so uncomfortable. Like, it was hard to breathe. I started googling Braxton-Hicks contractions and early labor. What I was feeling felt a lot like what was being described as early labor, which at 34 weeks, is not such a great thing. We went to bed early- Brian had to work the next day and I was planning on going to my parents' house to help my mom and hang out...
Sunday, June 3
Brian left for work pretty early, so I got up and jumped in the shower. With all of the previous night's googling still in my head, I figured I better start keeping my legs shaved every day and my hair looking nice- you never know when you might have to go to the hospital, right?
Call it mother's intuition or something. I got out of the shower and got dressed, straightened my hair, then went to the bathroom before heading off to my parents... and there was some blood when I wiped.
Immediately, tears came to my eyes.
It wasn't that much blood, but enough to the crap out of me. I put a panty liner on and then headed off to my parents'.
My stomach had still been cramping and it was getting worse on this particular morning. I had to keep stopping whatever I was doing and hunch over. I explained to my mom what I was experiencing. I went to use their bathroom to find that the panty liner that I had just put on about a half hour before was filling up with bright red blood.
I called my mom into the bathroom and showed her. She just looked at me and said, "We got to get you to the hospital."
I called the labor and delivery department just to make sure and they told me yes, to come in as soon as possible.
As soon as I got there, they hooked me up to a bunch of monitors. The first one was the doppler and I could hear the baby's heartbeat- to my immediate relief. They kept taking my blood pressure (which was high). They determined that the cramping I was feeling was actually contractions. Like, real ones, not Braxton-Hicks. They also figured out that I have a UTI which could have been brought on because I was dehydrated. (Which could have been because of my sore throat- it was really hard to drink that whole last week and a half.)
After about 3 hours of sitting there with my mom, they released me with the instructions to drink A LOT more water and make sure I have a low salt/sodium intake. I was in preterm labor (any labor before 36 weeks is considered preterm). Because my blood pressure was so high, they were worried about preeclampsia, so I have to make sure I'm watching for other symptoms. I had to get antibiotics for the UTI, so now I'm taking those with breakfast and dinner for 5 days. Oh, and the worst part- BED REST.
They wanted to write me out of work, but I proudly told them I was done for the summer. So they were like, perfect, and you can't do anything else either. I was like, "But it's okay for me to take the dog out, right?"
Nope. No walking the dog, no shopping, they didn't even want me up and cooking for myself. They literally want me sitting/laying down at all times unless I get up to go to the bathroom. That made me cry. It was like a reality check- this is serious.
My mom kept Brian updated about the whole situation. He was able to get home a little earlier than planned that afternoon and he was very good about helping me.
We headed to bed around 9:30 and the
Brian started timing these contractions- they were only a minute apart and lasting for a minute. It was miserable. They were one right after another. I couldn't fall asleep, I couldn't get comfortable. And after we timed them for a little bit, we decided to call the hospital again to see what they thought.
Sure enough, they told us to come back. We got there around 10:30. We were there until after 2 am. I was hooked up to all of the same machines. The same doctor was working and she said she thought I might be back before the night was over. My BP was still high so they were monitoring that the entire time and making sure there weren't any signs of preeclampsia. They had me click a button every time I was feeling a contraction (which was often). They did a cervical examination and the doctor said again that I was definitely in preterm labor- my cervix was shortening. She said "hopefully we can get another week out of you."
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They re-emphasized that I need to be on bed rest because we want the baby to stay inside of me for as long as possible. Scary stuff. Definitely not what I was expecting from this week.
Brian and I were talking about how unprepared we felt- I still wasn't done painting furniture yet. We didn't have the car seat yet- how would we even get her home?? We haven't done our big house cleaning yet or fully prepared
We went home that night a little scared, very overwhelmed, and extremely tired.
Monday, June 4
Brian took Monday off, partially from being tired (2:30 am bedtimes are not easy to recover from when you have a 5:30 am wake up call) but mostly because the baby could come at any moment, I was miserable, and he wasn't comfortable leaving me yet.
I was up off and on the entire night with contractions. When I woke up, (after my usual pee on a stick and take my blood routine) I went downstairs so I wouldn't bother the boys with my moaning. I did manage to fall back asleep- curling up on the couch has proven to be far more comfortable for me than sprawling out in bed right now. Brian woke me up in time to get ready for my regularly scheduled doctors appointment.
This particular appointment was with the sweetest midwife who was extremely easy to talk to. She already knew about my whole debacle from the day before. Again, my blood pressure was high, which worried her. She also wanted to do a Group B Strep test. When she did that, she told me she was pretty sure that I was losing my mucous plug and she wanted to do another cervical check.
She determined that I was about 80% effaced, 1 cm dilated, and at 0 station.
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She said reiterated that I need to be on bed rest, think only happy thoughts, and that my goal is to make it to week 36. That would be next Wednesday, June 13th... still an entire month before her due date.
After each appointment now, I have to meet with a GD team that goes over my numbers and is there to support me. Because my fasting numbers have been high, they wanted me to go on a pill (the last step before insulin) to see if that could help my fasting numbers... one more pill to take.
Because my blood pressure was still high, I had to go back to labor and delivery for the third time in 24 hours. I was hooked up to the same machines and asked all of the same questions. Brian has been so patient throughout this whole thing. He made phone calls to the moms to let them know what was going on. I sat there patiently, reaching out to me every time I groaned in discomfort.
After drawing more blood (the results can back normal) and watching the baby for a bit, they determined that I was ready to go home.
It was around 4:00 that Brian and I were in the car. (My appointment was at 11:10)
I was still having contractions pretty much until the time we went to bed. Throughout the night, I woke up maybe 8 times with contractions.
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| Kevin has been taking very good care of me |
Today has been better though. I have been mostly off of my feet- which has been a very difficult task for me. I hate being bored and I hate depending on others, so this isn't easy. Pain-wise though, I feel better today. I get a dull pain low in my abdomen, but with the baby that low, it makes sense. My back hurts occasionally too- which I've been warned can also be a contraction- but all in all today, I've maybe only felt light contractions about 4 or 5 times. This is like heaven compared to how I was feeling yesterday and Sunday.
So for now, I'm taking it day to day. Work ended at a perfect time because they wanted me to take off work now anyway- especially once they discovered I teach PE! I'm hoping to make it until at least next week for the baby's sake. If I can go even longer, obviously that would be ideal. I just want her to be as healthy as possible.
Sometimes I feel selfish because I want to be able to eat whatever I want again, and I want to be able to go shopping or work out or even RUN! These last couple of days or weeks will be a true test of my character and how selfless I can actually be. It's definitely been a learning growing experience for me. I'll be back with updates whenever I can!
It will be the first of many selfless acts now that you're going to be a parent...I think you'll do great :)
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