Glucose tolerance results

So i had to fast from last night which was particularly difficult when you cannot even have a heartburn tablet which i have become incredibly dependent on. This morning began with having to drink the disgusting glucose drink which is lemon flavour and really sickly. This has to be drunk exactly 2 hours before the blood test and you must drink it within 5 minutes. The most difficult part is actually just keeping the drink down because if you throw it up you cannot have the test.

I go in to have my blood test at Frimley hospital and realise just what a wimp i am. You would think i could have a blood test without wincing after the amount i have had but no. I am told to go and eat something and come back in an hour. After a not too bad toasted sandwich i go back and am quickly told the test is positive so i must wait to speak to the diabetic specialist.

The specialist explains everything to me and explains that this is only a temporary condition and will stop as soon as I have had my baby. She hands me a very scary looking self testing kit and goes on to explain I have to prick the tip of my finger and process the blood through the machine 4 times a day.

On Thursday I am seeing the dieticien as they think it can be controlled via my diet rather than resorting to insulin shots.

On Monday I will see the consultant again who will review my weeks worth of glucose measurements that I have to log in a little diary.

I have been told that at this stage they cannot say for sure if they will induce me early but they can commit to saying they will not let me go over my due date. The next few weeks they will be keeping a close eye on me and the size of my baby (I may even have another scan) and make a decision on my induction date soon so watch this space.

In the meantime no chocolate for me, healthy eating is a must and 3 meals a day is also a must. I have even substituted the sugar in my tea with sweetener which really doesn't taste the same. The upside to revamping my diet is that by the time I have had this baby I will be used to it and can continue the diet alongside my bootcamp and generally get back into proper shape which I find really exciting.

On a side note I, in no way, see this as an awful thing as I am completely aware that of all the things that can go wrong in pregnancy this is not even close to the bad stuff. I watch one born every minute and last weeks episode was a real reminder of how lucky I am and that I shouldn't moan so much. The episode in question touched upon stillbirths and it was just what I needed to kick me out of my spiralling grump about heartburn, aches & pains, sleep deprivation and lack of most pleasures (alcohol, cigarettes and now chocolate). Sometimes you need a slap in the face like that to realise what you have and how good you have got it.

In Jerry Springer style here is my thought of the day - No matter how bad you think things are there is always someone out there going through worse than you.

Perhaps a change of plan

It has been a busy couple of weeks starting with a lovely long weekend break to Butlins and ending in a worrying hospital appointment.

I will run through things in order and firstly tell you about our lovely weekend away. It was important for us to have a break but more importantly was to spend some quality one on one time with my daughter before she has to share us with her brother. Butlins was the perfect choice and did the job perfectly. We ended up talking an awful lot about the impending addition to our family (bought up by Summer who is really excited)
There were only two downsides and that was that I had to squeeze into a swimming costume - something that no one should see at 33 weeks pregnant! and the walking. Our apartment was so far from the main complex it was a struggle to walk that far for me. I had also managed to throw my back out the day before we left which made for quite a bit of discomfort over the weekend.

When we got back I managed to pick up a chest infection so have been struggling more than usual to breathe and coughing so hard with such a weak pelvic floor brings its own dangers in public. For anyone that didn't understand that last bit you will have to look up the term pelvic floor as I am not going to explain here and embarrass myself any more.

So on Friday I had a 34 week scan thanks to my obesity! It was a bit strange as it was hard to work out which part of the baby we were looking at. It took ages as they seemed to measure absolutely everything. His head was so far down that i had to be tilted practically upside down just to get the baby to move his head. All of his organs were in good order but I did notice that on the computer screen it said my estimated due date was the 19th March which is odd as I am actually due on the 6th April. I asked the sonographer about it and she explained that my due date hadn't changed it was just an estimate based on the measurements that the computer automatically updates.

After the scan I went into my appointment with the consultant who made things much clearer. Basically my baby boy is currently huge! Based on the measurements he is almost 7lbs already but we have another 6 weeks to go (should be about 4-5lbs at this stage). This is most commonly due to gestational diabetes or just down to the fact that some people just breed big babies. Because of my previous diabetes test being borderline negative they need me to take it again. I am doing this tomorrow morning. If it is positive (which i will also find out tomorrow) I will be straight into the diabetic clinic in the afternoon and will begin to discuss options. Hopefully it can just be sorted out via diet. If the test comes back negative I have to go back on Friday to discuss options with the consultant as at this rate of growth it would be too dangerous to go full term.
So it seems that whatever happens tomorrow I am more than likely going to be induced early. That will be strange as they will actually book me in so I will know when my baby is coming. I am trying not to second guess what is going to happen but my gut is telling me I will be induced about 2 weeks earlier than my actual due date. I will need to review a few things such as when I finish work.
I also packed my hospital bag today so I am now officially ready to meet my baby boy whenever that will be.

I will blog about the test results tomorrow! wish me luck.

Under 8 weeks to go

Well I am on the home stretch which is brilliant. The only downside is that I am starting to feel really bad again as in the morning sickness is back.
I have a whole new set of ailments to complain about now. The main gripe is the pain I am getting in my pelvic bones... ouch! I read up and apparently it is just my bones softening and readying themselves for the labour but it just feels like someone has kicked me between the legs and I have loads of bruising. It mainly hurts the most after I have been sitting for too long and try to get up, i walk away from my desk looking like John Wayne. I am in too much pain to even be embarrassed by it!
Also I seem to be suffering from horrendous circulation issues in my legs. I wake up in the night and cannot feel whatever side of my leg I am laying on so have to turn over to regain feeling again. Turning over is a massive struggle in itself as I am just so heavy....
Then we move onto the movements of the baby. As there is hardly any room in there now all movements are magnified and I not only feel it but can now see it. The other day I even spilt some water from the force as I had it resting on my tummy. The motions of these movements actually make me feel a bit nauseous and can sometimes really hurt. On the other side of it though it does come with huge reassurances that the baby is healthy and things are going fine. What I love the most is that the baby really responds to my daughters voice. She sings to him sometimes and he moves erratically every time, it is so special to see and is helping my daughter to bond already.

The swelling in my ankles and feet seem to have stopped so that is nice but the heartburn is becoming quite unbearable. I am living on Tums and am pretty sure I am consuming more than the recommended dose. Someone told me that severe heartburn is a sign of your baby having lots of hair and this was proved right when my daughter was born so looks like I am having another hairy one!

The tiredness is really hitting home now and more so because I am up so many times in the night either with having to lug my huge body onto its other side or just needing the loo as baby is on my bladder.

At my last midwife appointment she did tell me that the baby is head down and very low. I took this to mean the baby is getting into position and I should prepare myself that he could be making an early appearance but I think that may be wishful thinking,

I do feel much more prepared now as we got the cot and changing unit out of the garage and cleaned it all up. The equipment is all set up in Summers room now and I even put the bedding on the moses basket and cleaned up the old rocking chair I had for night feeds with Summer. I have bought lots of clothes, vests, bibs, socks, hats, blankets etc. We have sorted out some of our finances in preparation for my maternity leave also.

I am definitely winding down on the work side of things. I had a client meeting up in London last week which absolutely wiped me out so I have pretty much ruled out anymore client visits now. I have now given official notice of my leaving date and am using up outstanding holiday by working only 4 day weeks from this week which will help loads with my tiredness.

We are off to Butlins this Friday for a long weekend away. Both my husband and I thought it was important to give our daughter just one last weekend away where it is all about her and get that quality time in. It will also do us all some good to get away for a few days and have a change of scenery. My daughter has really turned a corner and has grown up a bit more. She really tries to look after me and is always making sure I am alright. She tries to help me wherever she can and is really making me proud. The other night she slept in our bed and I was suffering with pains in my back so she insisted on scratching my back to try to help me sleep. She is only 4 so to be showing that amount of compassion is pretty incredible at her age.

Next week I think I will pack my hospital bag and that is the last thing on my to do list (other than the birth that is). I just need to remember what I should pack but I am pretty sure I will find helpful lists online.

Until next time
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