Information Overload!

To say I came out of my doctor's visit today relieved would be a lie. The ultrasound showed that Alli is right on target with her weight. She shows she should be 30 weeks 2 days. For some reason there is some confusion on my due date. They aren't sure if my due date is July 15 or July 22. So I could be 30 weeks or I could be 31 weeks. Either way, Alli is right where she should be as far as weight is concerned...her position is another matter. Every ultrasound she has been buried in my pelvis! She doesn't cooperate very well for pictures because she is so buried. She also likes to lie on her stomach! If this wasn't complicated enough, she also prefers the breach position. The last two ultrasounds if not all 3 (can't remember) shows her breach through the entire ultrasound. I hope this doesn't become her favorite position!

The doctor over the Perinatology group talked with me after my ultrasound about the diabetes. He will be the doctor following my diabetes while Dr. Riley follows the rest of the pregnancy...confusing...I know. They are setting me up with a dietitian at Centennial to discuss my new "diabetic diet." My levels were high but they think that they aren't high to the point where they couldn't be control simply with diet. If by some miracle I'm already eating a healthy diet, then we will try insulin pills. If they insulin pills aren't strong enough then I will have to get insulin shots. So this is the game plan. Next week - meet with dietician and start eating on the diet. 3 regular size meals plus snacks in between to keep my sugar from yo-yo-ing. I will check my blood sugar every morning when I wake and 2 hrs after each meal. So 4 pricks a day! Then 1 week after I've started the diet I will meet with the Perinatology group and review my sugar levels over the last week. If they are where they should be, then diet alone is good enough. If they are not where they need to be, then we will try to tweak my diet to correct it. If diet cannot correct then we will start with lowest dose of insulin pill and keep monitoring. So I may see the Perinatologist weekly to keep an eye on the sugar levels. He also wants to do ultrasounds every 4 weeks to keep an eye on baby weight. So I will have another one at 34 and 38 weeks. There biggest concern is baby weight because the excess sugar goes to the belly and shoulders and arms...all the fatty areas. Once the head is delivered, if the shoulders are too big to be delivered then the causes complications of a possible injuries to me and the baby during birth and ultimately C-section.

Here is how he explained to me what is happening. My body only produces a certain amount of insulin. So far for me in life I don't have a need of insulin greater than what I produce but now that I'm pregnant, my need for insulin exceeds what my body is able to produce. So this is why they have to supplement my insulin production. Once the baby is delivered, the hormone that causes the need for more insulin should be gone and my need for extra insulin should go away. I am now though at a 50-60% greater risk for developing diabetes later in life. Basically, I need to stay as close to my ideal body weight as possible if I want to keep this from happening. This is all so foreign to me since we really don't have a family history of diabetes. But the reason my chances increase so drastically is because my insulin production threshold is so low that with weight gain my body may require more insulin than my body produces (like now when I'm pregnant).

I have some cute pictures though from the ultrasound but I will post those in another blog because this one is getting long. Now you all have been exposed to my information overload from today!