Showing all posts by Sherry

My non-stress tests have all been great.  Baby is active, and heartbeat is always strong.  My blood pressure is still low/normal.  My belly is measuring at exactly 33 weeks, right on schedule.  My blood sugar levels are still within the normal range and are fairly stable.  I’m getting use to measuring/weighing my food, counting carbs, eating enough protein and logging all my meals.  It’s time consuming and still very annoying, but I’m getting use to it.

I spoke with a different doctor at my last baby-checkup and she also said that they want me to deliver by 39 weeks.  So, I guess baby’s due date is April 21st.  I didn’t lose any weight this week.  I’m 152, so I gained almost a pound.  Still under my pre-pregnancy weight but at least I’m not losing a lot of weight too fast.

I hope and pray I go into labor on my own this time.  This is my last pregnancy and I really want to be able to experience my body’s natural response to labor.  I don’t want to be forced into labor again.  I read a great article about how a mother’s body prepares to go into labor on its own.  The placenta tells the brain that baby is ready for life outside the womb, and it sends signals to the brain to release hormones in preparation for painful contractions and other hormones to prepare your body for delivery.  When the body is in control, labor and delivery go much smoother and quicker.  When you’re induced, you’re flooded with synthetic hormones to force your body to deliver the baby.  It’s always more painful and it takes much longer.   I went through this with Faith.  31 hours of labor until I finally gave birth.  I want to experience labor and delivery naturally this time.  This is my last chance to have this experience.  I pray that I’ll go into labor on my own at 39 weeks.  I absolutely don’t want her to arrive any earlier than that.  There are all sorts of complications to baby’s health when they’re born premature.

I have been working hard on my big assignments for this semester.  I want to get them done early, before they’re due just in case I’m in the hospital.   I’m so glad I’ve finished my final assignments that are due at the end of the semester.  However, the last big assignment is an oral presentation with a PowerPoint slideshow due on the very last day of class.  I may not be there for the oral presentation, but the PowerPoint presentation is complete and she will just have to accept that if I can’t be there.  I really hope my GPA doesn’t drop if I can’t properly complete the oral presentations.  I have a 3.95 GPA which I worked very hard for.  I don’t believe there is any reason why my teacher can’t accept a video presentation if I’m in the hospital or at home recovering.  I graduate in May :)

33 weeks belly pic…

 

What baby looks like at 33 weeks…

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark (about the size of a pineapple). She’s rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren’t fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don’t entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as her brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

 

I am now going to see the baby doctor twice a week for non-stress tests.  This is when they strap a couple monitors to your belly to measure the frequency of the baby’s movements and the strength of her heartbeat to make sure that she is still healthy and active.  Non-stress tests and check-ups twice a week for the rest of my pregnancy.  It’s getting serious now.

 

 

They want to keep me closely monitored because with gestational diabetes (especially if you have to take medication like I do) there is a higher risk of still birth during delivery and a higher risk of the baby dying during the night when I’m sleeping.  This is very stressful.  When I get up in the middle of the night to go pee, I can’t fall back asleep until I know she is still moving around in my belly.

The doctor said they would probably want to induce me at 39 weeks.  So now my due date may very well be April 21st.  With gestational diabetes, the placenta can deteriorate quicker which means that the baby may lack in the nutrients she needs when I’m closer to 40 weeks.  This, and the fact that still birth is a concern… is why they suggest being induced at 39 weeks if I don’t go into labor on my own.  So…. another long a strenuous labor and delivery for me if I’m induced :(  I was induced with Faith at 42 weeks and it took me 31 hours of labor to finally get her out.  Induction always makes labor longer and harder.   If there are any complications during labor… most likely I will have to have a c-section.  I could refuse to be induced at 39 weeks and just wait the full 40, especially if my blood sugars are stable, and blood pressure stable, etc.  But, I would be afraid to tell them no.  If anything bad happens during my 40th week, I would never forgive myself.

I have so much to think about and can’t help but worry.  A high risk pregnancy, and the fact that I will probably have to deliver her 2 or 3 weeks before the semester is finished is just making me feel so much pressure to try and be prepared for everything in time.  My teacher and some students say,  “Just bring her in to class!”   I’m not going to bring a 1-week old to school, full of germs.  Sorry, no.  And I will be recovering from birth (Hey, I’m 40 years old) and may be recovering from a possible c-section… so I know I don’t want to continue going to class after I deliver.  Accommodations should be made for me to finish the rest of the semester online so I can still get credit for my remaining assignments.  There’s just a lot to think about.

I’ve lost more weight.  I’m now 151 lbs.  I was 155 before pregnancy.  The baby is strong and healthy though, so I trust my body is doing what it needs to do for the health of the baby and myself.

The low-carb, high protein diet is a lot of work.  Measuring out food, counting carbs, making sure to take in adequate protein, etc.  This is an example of what I do with each meal everyday…

For breakfast:

Strawberries – 30 grams – 2 carbs

Cream cheese – 31 grams – 2 carbs

Half English muffin (whole wheat) – 11 carbs

Total carbs – 15

I am suppose to have about 45 grams of carbs per meal but I’ve learned that I can’t usually go over 20-25 carbs per meal without going above the 120 blood glucose limit.  So my diet is even more strict than it should be, but it’s better than upping the medication.

Blood pressure and pulse are still very low and they are happy with that.  Maybe it’s from all the strawberries I’ve been eating.  I read that strawberries actually lower blood pressure! Strawberries, Blueberries May Ward Off High Blood PressureIt doesn’t spike my blood sugar.   I eat a couple with each meal, or sometimes for a snack.

My belly is still measuring exactly where it should be at 32 weeks so that’s a good sign that the baby is not yet overweight.  Also, if I’m induced early, the baby’s weight may be even less than what Faith weighed when born; 8 pounds.

32 weeks belly pic…

 

What baby looks like at 32 weeks…

By now, your baby weighs 3 3/4 pounds (about the size of a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You’re gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. She’ll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

After going through another week of gestational diabetes, I’ve learned that I just can’t control my morning fasting glucose levels.  They are suppose to be under 95 but they have consistently been between 101-116.  So the doctor put me on medication.  I’m on Glyburide 2.5 mg to be taken at night just before I go to bed.  It has helped lower my blood glucose levels in the range they want it to be (below 95).   My morning levels have been in the 70’s.

I still have to severely limit my carbs during my meals so my blood sugar doesn’t spike above 120 – 2 hours after a meal.   I am always hungry for carbs, and I have minimal energy.  What I wouldn’t give for a nice hot cup of coffee with cream and sugar.  That will give me energy.  But I’m sticking to this diet… even after baby is born.

The good news is that my belly is measuring exactly at 31 weeks so the weight of the baby is perfectly normal for 31 weeks.  So far so good.  Hopefully I can deliver on my due date (April 28th)  but I don’t believe they will let me go any later than that because of my gestational diabetes.  So, no overdue baby for me.

The problem I’m going to have is the class I’m taking this semester…  One of my oral presentations is on April 28th (my due date) … and then my final oral presentation is a week after that.  I might still be in the hospital at that time, or the baby might still be in the hospital so I won’t go to class if that’s the case.  I will have to talk to the teacher and see if she will allow me to make a video presentation instead.  This is my very last class before I graduate and I will be furious if they don’t let me pass this class.  I’m doing the best I can.

Baby is moving all over the place right now :)  I’m so grateful that she is doing well and her heartbeat is still strong.  Praying she will stay in my tummy for as long as she safely can.

 

What baby looks like at 31 weeks…

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. She weighs about 3 1/3 pounds (about the size of a coconut) and is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath her skin. She’s probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby’s kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.