Testing

I had a few tests done today, an ultrasound, non-stress test, and biophysical profile.

In the ultrasound, I had to lie down on my back (so uncomfortable at this point), and the tech checked all parts of the baby and did measurements.  She showed me all parts of the baby, and he is definitely in a snuggly position head down.  Here are a couple pictures of him.... can you see a resemblance to anybody in particular!!  Hint: not me!

Sticking his tongue out :p


For the biophysical profile, the ultrasound technician studied is practice breathing to see how his lungs are working.

The non-stress test, I went up to the OB Triage area, and they strapped me to two monitors, and every time the baby kicked, I pressed a button.  They compared these to his heartbeat, and when he kicks, the heartbeat should go up.

So from the findings, Baby D is in the 78 percentile, which means he is 25% bigger than the average baby, which is a good thing.  Everything looks good on the ultrasound, and he is "practice breathing" just fine.  And when he kicked, his heartbeat went up.  It was a relief to hear these things.

SO as of now, everything is good, and it doesn't look like I'll have to be induced, however, I will be there every two weeks for these tests and they will continue to monitor his progress.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything stays the same!

Small Update

So I saw the diabetic doctor yesterday.  He upped my night time insulin from 6 units to 8 units and added an insulin injection before breakfast since my sugars are higher in the morning.  They were still slightly high this morning, but not as bad ..... I was .2 higher than I should have been.

He said it's not my diet that is affecting the high sugars, but I still think it may be.  I try to eat a variety of grains to see what affects the sugars the most.  White pasta is a no-no (I already knew that but tried it out anyway).  Cream of Wheat doesn't seem to be too good either.  Tomorrow I'm going to test out oatmeal.

I also saw my OB yesterday, and I am now going to go for fetal non-stress tests and ultrasounds bi-weekly.  This starts on Wednesday.  Life is getting busy now between all these appointments and getting the house done, so I have a feeling that time is going to fly by very very quickly!  Let's hope I make it past the shower - at least one week so I can get the nursery ready and bags packed.  Since I'm measuring 5 weeks ahead now, it's a possibility that I may go early..... just a possibility though.

That's all the updates I have.  If I can get a picture of our little man next week, I'll be sure to post!

A few updates

I seem to be doing long blogs lately - sorry for any inconvenience, we have just been super busy, as you will see below!

GESTATIONAL DIABETES UPDATE:

So I had my appointment with the dietitian 2 weeks ago.  She put me on a not so strict diet.  It's really how Ryan and I always eat, just spread out to eating 7 times a day....I have to say I have not eaten this much and I'm kind tired of it!

I met with the Endocrinologist and he started me on 6 units of insulin before bedtime and blood sugar monitoring 5 times a day.  My sugars seem to be out of whack in the mornings and before bed, and the food requirements I eat in the morning and before bed are the same, so I think something has to be adjusted because they are too high. During the day though, everything seems to be right on track.  I see him tomorrow so I will update after on what he adjusts.  My assumption is that he will adjust to more insulin at night and either an insulin shot with meals or adjust the meal plan.  (I hope it is the meal plan for two reasons: eating less and no more needles!)  I know it sound weird for someone who has as many tattoos as I do but it's a totally different feeling!

Some of my supplies

PRENATAL CLASSES

These are going well. Tomorrow is our 3rd class, with 2 more to go.  It's a lot of repeated information that I already know (from reading copious amounts of baby books), but it is also a refresher and based on hospital births, so I like that aspect of them since we are having a hospital birth.  And it's free, so I would like to get all the information I can get!  We did the introduction class, which was kinda boring, last week was about labour and delivery which was good.  Tomorrow is complications and interventions, then there is a breastfeeding class and the last one is caring for baby.  So they seem to get more interesting as the weeks progress.  The class is quite full, about 30 people or so, so I understand why it took so long to get into the class, but I'm not complaining.  With about 8.5 weeks away, it's good to have the information fresh in our heads.

HOUSE

The house is getting done.  The nursery furniture is up and now we are just waiting for the decals to come in to put on the walls.  There is just some window trim to do and finishing of the closet door. After the shower the nursery should be complete.  I still have to get a very cute rug from Walmart to put under the crib, but I still have time for that.  It's amazing how nice the things at Walmart are now.  I really have to stay away unless I absolutely need something!

The hallway is the next project.  It's painted, and the railing is up.  Now we have to do the stairs and get the shag runner installed - it's pretty awesome if I do say so myself!  Ryan also has to do a storage unit as you go up the stairs against the wall.  There was one there originally but it was not very attractive, so it's being redone.  After that, we have a few repairs to do, some artwork to find and hang, and our house should be complete and ready for Baby D.

 The storage unit is going on the left where the white drywall is.  This will store our vaccuum, linens and cookbooks.

The stairs are going to be painted a dark brown colour and the runner that you see below is going to replace this beautiful (not) green one you see in this picture. 

Runner carpet

Here are some pictures of our bedroom.  All we are missing is the television on the wall above the dresser.... hopefully this is installed before baby so so I have something to do while nursing! (hint hint!)

The bathroom still needs some work as well.  The shower needs to be hooked up to the water and we have to find some sort of contraption for the shower curtain as it's a very odd shape. We also need a door put up as well.  The important parts, however, are working - toilet and sink, for my 3-5 trips to the washroom per night!!  Pictures to come of the bathroom ;)

DOGS

I am starting to get the dogs ready for the baby too.  My mom is digging out a doll that was bought for me from my Grandma a long time ago.  It's a life-like doll, so I am going to be one of those weird people and carry the doll around and tend to it (not always!) when the pups are around.  I read this is one of the best ways to get the dogs less jealous of a baby coming into the house.  I'm also going to make sure some blankets/clothes are brought home before the baby is so they can sniff and get used to the smells of Baby D.  Other than that, we have to find a balance to share our love with baby and the animals..... wish us luck!

Paco

Lola


PROJECTS

I haven't really been doing too much new.  Still working on the afghan for the nursery for the glider.  It's now half done, so I don't have too much left to do.  I like it and Ryan loves it, but he is a blanket kind of guy!

I'm also working on our Christmas stockings....mine is the last one to do.  And I still have to add the names to the stockings as well, just waiting on that one though.  But they will be done before Christmas, that is the goal anyway.

Paco & Lola's stocking

 Baby D's stocking

Dad's stocking

Mom's stocking (not done but you can get the idea)


I was also planning on making some cute burp cloths, but I just don't have the energy or time to start a new project.  There is still so much I want to do so that may be on hold and I may just register for a few until I have time to make them (like never!!).

"NESTING"

I think I am in that nesting stage.  Or starting anyway..... I find that sometimes I feel this urge to organize something and I can't relax until I do it.   For example, our parents were over for dinner the other night for this AWESOME steak dinner that Ryan prepared for us (thanks babe - it was soooo good!), so she was cleaning our dishes because our dishwasher was out of order (it's back now - thanks again Ry!), so I decided that I wanted to wash ALL the dishes in our cupboards.....yup I know.  Once Ryan realized what I was doing he quietly sat down and let me finish what I started.  I feel SO MUCH better about it now though :)  Also washing the baby clothes, they are now all washed from 0 -6 months (mostly sleepers for the older sizes), and hung in his closet.... super cute.  I think it's the cutest closet in our house :)

I think that's really all I have to say, well I'm sure there is more, but this is a super long post so I should save some for next week!

Next week I'll write about what's going on with the diabetes and some more house, class, and nesting updates.... till then... take care!

And the Test Results Came in.....

So I failed my Glucose Tolerance test and have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  At first I was upset but the more I read and researched about it, the less upset I got.  It's a complication and I'm now considered a high-risk pregnancy, but at the same time, it's the most common complication and is quite manageable.  As long as I follow the diet properly and if needed, take the insulin shots when I am supposed to, everything should run smoothly.  (it still sucks though!!)  I will be having many more doctors appointments (my OB, a dietitian and an endocrinologist).  Plus a bunch of ultrasounds to measure the size of the baby to see if he is growing to fast or not enough.  So I guess that's a positive that I get to see him a little more now before I meet him in person!! (I'm trying to find the positives here!)


Tomorrow I have an appointment with the dietitian at 1pm.  She is going to go through a meal plan and explain to me how to use the blood glucose monitor.  So the plan is to see if I can control my blood sugar with diet, and when I see the Endocrinologist, he will see how my sugars are doing and decide from there if I need insulin shots.

Wednesday I have my next OB appointment as well, and I'm sure I'll be getting a lot of information from him too.  Then Wednesday night we start our prenatal classes.  These ones are only 2 hours so I think Ryan will manage this one a bit better ;)


I can't believe I have only 10.5 weeks left until my due date! That is so exciting to me.  I'm 75% of the way there :)  Baby D is now constantly kicking me and getting a rib once in a while.  The other day it felt like a rib was out of place :s  He has also started to do this clawing thing that feels like he is scraping his fingers along my uterus.  I do not enjoy this feeling and kinda get grossed out when he does this lol.

I have been feeling very tired lately, but at the same time, I can't stop organizing.  I guess this has to do with 'nesting'.... but we will see because I thought the nesting phase came towards the end of pregnancy.   And on that note, it's time for bed for me!

I'll post how the dietitian visit, OB appointment and class went next week.