My ultrasound to determine babys size was actually a week earlier than I thought- so at 29 weeks. We got 2 pictures that were decent and he had no problem showing that he's very much a little boy. *Insert sigh of relief*. I had a doctor appointment immediately afterwards which resulted in some good news and bad news.
Good news: He's perfect. He has all the parts he needs, he's growing and his heart rate looks good. I've gained a total of 14lbs which is perfect and I'm on target for about a 20lb gain for the pregnancy. That is pretty much what the baby is going to weigh, plus the fluid, placenta, etc. I should be back to pre-pregnancy weight pretty quickly. My c-section is officially scheduled and in the books. I got the paperwork for my pre admission bloodwork and we're ready to rock. I can't believe this is almost over!
Bad news: He's big. Not just big, but VERY big. 4lbs 3oz at 29 weeks. Typically around 30 weeks they are reaching the 3lb mark. He's at 95+%. Knowing his size and what my glucose tests results were- the doctor told me to cancel the 3 hour glucose tolerance test because it would be torturing myself and I very likely wouldn't pass it. Baby is big for a reason, and especially in his belly which is one of the markers for gestational diabetes. I'm officially diagnosed as a gestational diabetic.
The news hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm not exactly sure why because I knew it was possible but I guess I hadn't really thought about what it would be like to actually hear that everything I was eating was 'hurting' my baby. It's not anything that I could ever control since it's the placenta and the hormones changing the way my body handles insulin- but I was the one eating and giving my body things it couldn't handle. After the shock wore off, I was miserable for a few days. I immediately cut out added sugar, sweets and started to curb my carb intake. I felt like I was starving and had no idea just how much I should actually be eating as far as carbs/sugar.
Yesterday, I met with the dietician and I feel better about it. It's still going to be a big change in my life to have to wake up early enough to eat at home (I usually ate at work) and to eat within an hour of waking up. I'm so not a morning breakfast person that early. I also need to test my sugar 4 times a day (immediately upon waking, after each meal) and eat 3 meals and 3 snacks. The diet as far as carbs go isn't bad, but every single time I eat I need to have a protein with it. That means I have to be eating things I don't particularly like and have to be eating on a fairly strict schedule. I am anemic so this will help in that regard but I don't usually have a ton of protein in my diet so this is a challenge.
If anyone out there has any experience or is in the medical field- maybe you have some advice/suggestions:
I have not yet met my deductible for my insurance, so I'll pay out of pocket for all my testing supplies. They gave me 2 meters for free to find out which ones would be cheapest for me to use. I prefer one of them but the strips are $143 for a 1 month supply. Someone at work told me about a cheaper meter from Walmart called Reli On and the strips are only $20 for a month supply. I bought the meter for $15 and $9 worth of strips. I used it today after lunch and also tested with my preferred meter. The preferred meter gave me a 93, while the one from Walmart gave me a 104. That's only an 11 point difference but what if I'm at the threshold one day and the Walmart monitor gives me a number over but I'd really be under with the more preferred monitor? Does anyone know anything about these monitors? Is it worth the risk? I've never dealt with high sugar before- I've always been hypoglycemic. I can't afford to keep testing with both so I need to pick one and stick with it for consistency. HELP!
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