Wednesday, April 28, 2010

31 weeks 3 days

Hi all!

Just sitting at the airport waiting for my flight to Brisbane so thought I might blog to you all. Have done 1 week of blood sugar level (BSL) monitoring and have been pretty much spot on with my levels except for 2 readings over 7.0mmol. Getting used to pricking my finger to get some blood. It hurts, every time.. I just have to keep doing this for another 60 days or 240 times! *LOL* I call it the Big Baby Test, because if I get a high reading then I could have a big baby! Mates at work have been really supportive. When I have to test my BSL they have a comp to see who can guess the closest to the actual number!!

I'm feeling quite fat at the moment, out of breath and tired. All normal preggo symptoms. Only 5 weeks 2 days until I finish work which I can't wait for. I can't even imaging how I'm going to feel at 37 or 38 weeks!!

Weight is going up again. Now 103.9kg. Baby is gaining around 150g/week now.

Ok well thanks for reading :) have a good rest of your day!

LBG xx

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Dianosis: GD

Yep. Looks like i've developed myself a case of gestational diabetes. I had a couple of risk factors for it:
1. I have PCOS
2. I'm overweight
3. I have a couple of family members that have type 2 diabetes

I'm a little disappointed I must admit. I thought I was doing some things right by eating small regular meals and taking in some exercise a few times a week. But nope, not enough. So what now? Well tomorrow I have a meeting with the diabetes educator and dietitian to talk about my diet. I wonder how many pregnant GD women with a lap band they see? Shall be interesting.

I also have to start monitoring my blood glucose levels after every meal. Yep, every meal. That's going to suck because I didn't want to tell many people at work and I'm going to have to do this at work.

And of couse will be back to my obstetritian for close follow up in 2 weeks and then every two weeks after then until I give birth.

Have made a commitment to do some form of exercise every day whether it be a short walk around the block or a 45 min swim or a 30 wii fit session. Apparently exercise helps control blood sugar levels.

Ok that's all from me. Enjoy the rest of your week

LBG xx

Monday, April 19, 2010

30 weeks 1 day

I'm hanging out at the pathology collection place doing my 2 hour GTT (glucose tolerance test) to test if I have gestational diabetes. I've only been here 20mins and already the chair is making my back sore. I'm feeling slightly ill from the drink too. And my heartburn is really acting up today as well.

Visited the maternity ward yesterday where I'll be going to give birth. Talk about a total reality check. Trying not to think about giving birth and standing in the delivery suite with a few stains on the ground made it all hit home. Will go back to trying not to think about it until I absolutely have to. At the moment I'm just enjoying feeling my little man moving inside me with his massive kicks and stretches.

Anyway, that's it from me today. Happy Monday!!

LBG xx

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

My little man


Isn't he just the cutest little thing ever? So well developed, it's amazing technology these days... I could stare at this photo for hours :)
Scan went well. I have 2 small lipoma's on my abdominal wall. They shouldn't cause me any problems for the pregnancy but may have to have them removed later on in life if they start causing me problems or get too big.
Other than that, Rupert was amazing to watch. He is just so big now... and wriggling all over the place. He did a big yawn for us during the scan, that just melted my heart... He is doing just perfect... and we did confirm again that he is definitely a HE! :)
Now for my GTT next Monday.
LBG xx

Monday, April 12, 2010

29 weeks 1 day

Hello fellow bloggers!

I'm in the 30th week... almost on the home stretch now...

GTT
Just to explain about what a GTT is. GTT stands for Glucose Tolerance Test. It's a screening test for diabetes... or in my case, gestational diabetes which is diabetes that only happens during pregnancy. I took a one hour GTT (which is the typical screening test that all pregnant women have done at around week 28). I failed that... which means that my results came back too high. That is, the glucose levels in my blood were high because my pregnancy is masking the effects of insulin which is the hormone responsible for converting glucose in the blood to energy for my muscles. As a result, too much glucose in my blood means that there is too much glucose in my baby's blood as glucose can cross over to the baby through the placenta. High glucose levels (or gestational diabetes) can result in the baby growing too big. For the mum it means that she has a 30-50% higher chance of developing diabetes later in life. If the baby grows too big I'll need to deliver early .. perhaps 2 weeks earlier. There is also a risk that the baby will be jaundice (yellow), have funny blood glucose levels for the first few days of life and have some breathing difficulties due to the baby arriving early. Nothing too major to worry about, but if it can be prevented this is important too!

So, I failed my 1 hour GTT by "just a smidge" so I have to go back and do a longer GTT for 2 hours. I did this 2 hour GTT back in september and my results were perfect... so at the moment I'm not too worried.

Tomorrow I have another ultrasound which I am super excited about. It's actually to look at a small hernia / fibroid I've developed on my upper abdomen, near my port actually. Should be interesting as I'm sure the scan will pick up where my port location is but also the tubing connecting my port to my band. They will also have a look at the baby to see how he is developing. I am going to ask the tech to check the gender of the baby again, just to be 110% sure... and also see if the tech can get a good 3D shot of his face. We're so excited just to see him again. I can't wait.

Mummy Update
I'm doing fine, other than the lack of sleep. My back is starting to get a bit achey if I am on my feet for too long. I can't wait to be able to lie on my tummy again, oh how I miss it! I probably wake every hour now, to either change positions or pee... and I've still got 11 weeks of it to go... even more difficult as I am still working full time up until 37 weeks. It's going to kill me! Never underestimate the value of a mid-afternoon nap! :)
My lap band is still giving me some restriction which I love, but I'm still getting more hungry now. I'm focusing on smaller meals and snacks... fruit and yoghurt, small bowl of cereal with some mixed raw nuts and seeds, a salad and chicken sandwhich, some pretzels etc... The heartburn is pretty crap... but managable with mylanta..
Actually we have a fair amount of chocolate from Easter in our cupboards at the moment - and I'm not really fancying it... which is great! It does give me extra heartburn so I stay away from it. I'm enjoying my strawberry milk drinks just before bed which gives me a hit of carbs and a bit of protein as well so I don't get hungry overnight. I find that if I let myself get too hungry then I start to feel nauseous..

OK, that's all from me. Thanks for reading. I'll let you know how my scan goes and may even have a piccy or two to share tomorrow :)

LBG xx

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Failed!

Dammit! I failed my 1 hour GTT so I have to have a 2 hour GTT. The doc said not to be concerned as 9/10 women that fail their 1 hour test pass their 2 hour test. Also I have a small hernia below my left ribs so I have to go in for an ultrasound next week. So I'll get to see Rupert again which is good.

Brent - it's not a good idea to diet during pregnancy if you're already underweight. Being overweight my doc is encouraging me to lose weight or at least stay the same. The baby will get all that he needs from the mum no matter what the mum is eating.

Off to the gym tonight for a swim. Can't wait! Back is a bit stiff today.

Have a good Thursday everyone!

LBG xx

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

28 weeks 3 days

Hey all

Just chilling at the blood collection place before I have to drink my sugar drink for my gestational diabetes test. Then off to the ob for a quick visit!
Glad to report I dropped 300g since yesterday and was 102.9kg on the scales this morning.
Rupert has been kicking loads over the past couple of weeks. He has definitely turned head down cos I can feel the stronger kicks up near my ribs and the twitches and littler movements down in my pelvis. I still love feeling him move although his kicks are becoming slightly uncomfortable when he gets me under my ribs!! I guess I've got more of that to come eh?
As for me, the heartburn is the worst of it everything else I can handle. I'm even coping with the change in my sleeping positions although my hubby still gets woken up 5 times a night by me either getting up to pee or to change positions.

I've just discovered an application on my
iPhone for mobile blogging, so cool! Now I can update more regularly!

Hope everyone had a great day!

LBG xx

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

28 weeks 2 days

11 weeks and 5 days to go until I get to meet my baby boy. I can’t wait! I must admit, pregnancy is becoming a bit harder now, and I can only imagine what it will be like right at the end when I’m carrying a 3-4kg bub, not to mention the fluid retention, not being able to breath, 24/7 heartburn and lack of sleep… but it’s not forever and there is a very big prize at the end of it!

Hope everyone had a great Easter. I spent mine with my father-in-Law up north. It was painful but had to be done. I only had 1 easter egg (Cadbury crème egg) the entire weekend, but I still managed to gain 400g. Must have been the entire bag of Doritos I ate over the course of 2 days that did it!!

Off to see the OBGYN tomorrow. I’ve gained 1.2kg as of my previous visit 4 weeks ago – which is pretty bloody good considering that the baby has gained 500g in that time also. So if I can stick to 1kg every 4 weeks then I’ll only gain another 3kg. That will put me at 106kg – but if I lose all the pregnancy weight (average of 12-15kg weight gain for most women) then I’ll be back down to my pre-preg weight of 91kg. Which is an excellent place to start on my weight loss once the baby has arrived. Of course, I am going to try very hard to keep a stable weight from now on until the birth. The baby will gain another 2-3 kg in this time… and he can have all the fat he wants off me!!! Hehehe

I am getting heartburn with most meals now. But it’s still managable with Mylanta tablets. The nausea has come back a bit this week, so I’ve got to keep up with my small snacks in the morning. I’m trying to eat more fruit as well to keep up my fibre intake. The band has become tighter since my belly has grown. I’m not sure how much of an issue this is going to be, but I managed a vegemite and cheese sandwich for lunch today with no problems, and my apple is going down ok this afternoon, so I guess I’m not super tight yet!

I also have my gestational diabetes test tomorrow. It’s called a glucose tolerance test. You drink this vile sugar water and then wait for an hour to see what your blood glucose levels are. If your levels are over a certain number then you have to have another test that is two hours long. I had the GTT done just before I found out I was pregnant and it was perfect, so I’m hoping that it has remained the same!

Mum (who just happens to be a midwife) said that the baby was now measuring a week ahead of schedule. So either I’ll have a bigger baby to push out, or he’ll make his appearance a little early. I hope he comes early, I can’t wait to meet him.

Thanks for reading!! I can’t believe I have 105 followers! So cool that you actually are interested in my lil old blog and my somewhat boring life as a pregnant lapbandit!

Take care,

LBG xx