Well, I had my monthly appointment yesterday and have mixed news. Despite continued morning sickness everything seems normal in terms of growth. My belly is the size it should be, baby seems to be getting enough nutrients and both his heartbeat and my blood pressure seem fine. The bad news is that I have to take the 1 hour GTT or gestational diabetes screen test. This is something I had wished to avoid.
Apparently, it is recommended to test for GTT if you have sugar in your urine. At this stage in the pregnancy, increased hormone levels necessary for the baby are sometimes hard for the mother's body to process. For some unknown reason, some women develop gestational diabetes. My nurse and doctor both told me not to fail the 1 hour test! My doctor said that if I failed the test I would have to go back for a confirmation test that is 3 hours long. If that confirmed that I have developed GTT then my life will be hell from now till the end of the pregnancy [apparently a monitored diet and weekly tests help to monitor the condition until the end of the pregnancy and it usually goes away once the placenta is expelled].
Scary stuff right? Now I'm trying not to get too concerned until I get the results back from the test [should be a day or two after I take it in the first week of January]. I've done some more research and have found that the 1st test is more accurate than the urine test and can rule a lot of people out right there. Sometimes you find out that you are okay at the 2nd test. My main concern at the moment is how do you pass a test that you can't really prepare for. My nurse told me to cut back on carbs and starches and to eat more protein rich foods. Okay. I thought that I had been doing that. I wondered if it was the occasional piece of chocolate or cookie that skewed the test results but I found out online that this is not the case.
So, I now prepare for a test that really can't be prepared for and hope that I pass. I'm going to have to really watch my diet over the next few weeks and make sure I get plenty of exercise. At least this cuts back on my Christmas chores - I had planned on starting to bake some cookies and treats next week but now I think I will avoid all temptation and leave that for next year.
It also means Don and I have to get it together a bit more and stop ordering take out so often. Now that my crunch time has passed [mostly] and Don is off from work as of Friday I expect this won't be a time-management issue but more of a "get-off-the-couch-and-cook" kind of thing. Or maybe it will be more like a hide-husband's-computer-game kind of thing.
Well - off to work.
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Monday, December 06, 2004
We've come so far...or have we
Last weekend we managed to get out of the house and attend a kid-friendly gathering hosted by Don's friend. We ran into a few people that we haven't seen for awhile [well, a really long while]. It was really neat for all of us to see just how much the kids have grown. Don's friends knew the girls when they were little so it was a big shock for them to see them as teenagers now. Don and I were also surprised at how much their own kids had grown as one had been a baby and the other a toddler the last time that we saw them. They had changed so much - with definite personalities of their own now.
There was another pregnant woman at the party. We shared some stories and some sympathy. However, when she told me that she was 40 weeks along I was both happy for her and a bit dismayed. I thought that passing the half way point was a good thing. It makes it seem as though you are almost at the end. When you meet someone who is actually almost there you have to stop kidding yourself and remember that there is still a way to go. With the morning sickness still making the occasional appearance and the ever growing belly it's not a thought I care to recall.
We've got so much to do before the baby comes that I am glad for the time remaining but I don't expect I'll ever get any joy out of the pregnancy experience and just want it to be over. I talked with one of the other mothers about just how much I expect life to change when the baby arrives and although she didn't say so, I know she was thinking I can't possible realize just how much [and I'm sure she'd be right].
In book club news, the first catalogue arrived last week and I was so excited. I ordered some baby-friendly books about bears, a plush book on turtles and the Polar Express [more for me at this point]. I hope our baby learns to love books too or someday I'll be making one big donation to a school library or daycare. Both of my nieces are big readers so I know that there is hope. My love of reading and Don's overwhelming curiosity about just about everything ought to count for something too. Actually, Don and his Dad are great with all things electronic and technical and my parents are creative and can build just about anything. We may either end up with a kid that breaks everything apart just to understand how it works or one that is able to take all the things that we break and put them together again. It an interesting prospect either way.
I've got a week and a bit to go before my next appointment. I think we will be talking about more tests then - and probably more blood work. The only positive thing that I got out of all that so far is that I know I'm fairly healthy and I now know my blood type. The baby seems to be doing great - I get a lot of movement going on at night and the occasional solid kick during the day. I still haven't had any elbows, knees or feet sticking out yet [something my sister warned me about] but expect that will come when room gets a little tighter in there.
Until next time...I'm off to contemplate the passing of weeks.
There was another pregnant woman at the party. We shared some stories and some sympathy. However, when she told me that she was 40 weeks along I was both happy for her and a bit dismayed. I thought that passing the half way point was a good thing. It makes it seem as though you are almost at the end. When you meet someone who is actually almost there you have to stop kidding yourself and remember that there is still a way to go. With the morning sickness still making the occasional appearance and the ever growing belly it's not a thought I care to recall.
We've got so much to do before the baby comes that I am glad for the time remaining but I don't expect I'll ever get any joy out of the pregnancy experience and just want it to be over. I talked with one of the other mothers about just how much I expect life to change when the baby arrives and although she didn't say so, I know she was thinking I can't possible realize just how much [and I'm sure she'd be right].
In book club news, the first catalogue arrived last week and I was so excited. I ordered some baby-friendly books about bears, a plush book on turtles and the Polar Express [more for me at this point]. I hope our baby learns to love books too or someday I'll be making one big donation to a school library or daycare. Both of my nieces are big readers so I know that there is hope. My love of reading and Don's overwhelming curiosity about just about everything ought to count for something too. Actually, Don and his Dad are great with all things electronic and technical and my parents are creative and can build just about anything. We may either end up with a kid that breaks everything apart just to understand how it works or one that is able to take all the things that we break and put them together again. It an interesting prospect either way.
I've got a week and a bit to go before my next appointment. I think we will be talking about more tests then - and probably more blood work. The only positive thing that I got out of all that so far is that I know I'm fairly healthy and I now know my blood type. The baby seems to be doing great - I get a lot of movement going on at night and the occasional solid kick during the day. I still haven't had any elbows, knees or feet sticking out yet [something my sister warned me about] but expect that will come when room gets a little tighter in there.
Until next time...I'm off to contemplate the passing of weeks.
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Much better thanks...
Well, so far this week has been much better than last week. I'm taking the anti-nausea medication again even though it makes me sleepy. I think I've finally gotten the timing down right though and if I now stick to my schedule I manage to make it through the day without any worries of suffering from the effects of morning sickness. At last!
I've discovered that the chocolate thing extends to all things chocolate. The little one really seems to love the stuff. I'm doing my best to stay away from it though because I kind of want to keep the illusion that we are going to have the best behaved kid in the world for just a while longer (a lovely picture as we deal with the many trials and tribulations of raising two teenage girls). It's pretty hard to keep that image when he's doing somersaults and kicks just from me taking a bite of chocolate. I'm looking into sugar-free recipes now because I think I'm going to need them.
As we wrap our minds around the concept of having a boy, we have all sorts of wonderful things to consider. My doctor asked me what I thought about circumcision and I can honestly say I had really given it no thought. I've been doing a bit of online research and quite frankly I've already told Don that if we do decide to do it, I can't watch. I always thought that I would not have a problem with being the one to take the kid for needles. I remember being with my sister one time when she had to take my niece in and thinking that she was taking it worse than the baby. Now, well now I know it makes all the difference when it's your baby that is the one getting the needle.
We (well, me, really) have been having fun doing some shopping for baby clothes. I'm trying my best to stay away from buying things just because they look cute. Friends have told us that they grow quickly and not to buy too many of those really small outfits. That's pretty hard to do but I've been trying to stock up on a range of sizes so that we can be ready when the growth spurt hits.
We've decided to start furniture shopping in January. It is pretty hard to resist but the girls are anxious that we will forget Christmas if we start shopping too early. In fact, if it were left up to Desiree, we wouldn't start shopping until after her birthday [February]. I told her that we could do that but if the baby came early she would be the one to share her bed, dresser, room, etc. She almost agreed [she must want something big for her birthday] but quickly reconsidered.
Well, off to work now. I may have more news after my appointment mid-month.
I've discovered that the chocolate thing extends to all things chocolate. The little one really seems to love the stuff. I'm doing my best to stay away from it though because I kind of want to keep the illusion that we are going to have the best behaved kid in the world for just a while longer (a lovely picture as we deal with the many trials and tribulations of raising two teenage girls). It's pretty hard to keep that image when he's doing somersaults and kicks just from me taking a bite of chocolate. I'm looking into sugar-free recipes now because I think I'm going to need them.
As we wrap our minds around the concept of having a boy, we have all sorts of wonderful things to consider. My doctor asked me what I thought about circumcision and I can honestly say I had really given it no thought. I've been doing a bit of online research and quite frankly I've already told Don that if we do decide to do it, I can't watch. I always thought that I would not have a problem with being the one to take the kid for needles. I remember being with my sister one time when she had to take my niece in and thinking that she was taking it worse than the baby. Now, well now I know it makes all the difference when it's your baby that is the one getting the needle.
We (well, me, really) have been having fun doing some shopping for baby clothes. I'm trying my best to stay away from buying things just because they look cute. Friends have told us that they grow quickly and not to buy too many of those really small outfits. That's pretty hard to do but I've been trying to stock up on a range of sizes so that we can be ready when the growth spurt hits.
We've decided to start furniture shopping in January. It is pretty hard to resist but the girls are anxious that we will forget Christmas if we start shopping too early. In fact, if it were left up to Desiree, we wouldn't start shopping until after her birthday [February]. I told her that we could do that but if the baby came early she would be the one to share her bed, dresser, room, etc. She almost agreed [she must want something big for her birthday] but quickly reconsidered.
Well, off to work now. I may have more news after my appointment mid-month.
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