October Mommies-2-B Club!!!!

[TammyS]

Hi Ladies!!!
Acapulco:So sorry to hear your news. You've been in my prayers.

Rinnie:So good to hear from you. You will be starting again, soon, right?

Rio and Katie:Congrats on your baby boys!!!

Gecko:The 12th isnt too far away now. You're right it will be interesting to see how many hunches are right. My DH and I are both feeling a girl. Although, this changes all the time. LOL

Loopie:I have had 2 flutters now. So exciting. I am doing okay, thanks for asking. When do you get to find out the gender?

Jomae:I hope your headaches get better soon. Mine seem to be getting better a little bit now.

Rio:I hope you are having a wonderful trip. We will have to make a list of everyone's dates for finding out what they are having and what it is.

I cant wait to find out. I am scheduled for May 30th which is my 40th birthday. DH and I have been feeling girl for a few weeks now. They looked at last Tuesdays ultrasound, but couldnt tell yet.

I have been having quite a few problems already. I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes in my 13th week. They started me on a special diabetics diet and pills. They up'ed the pills to double doses and then triple doses and I am now on insulin. It has been really hard, because I have almost cut carbs out completely to try to keep my sugar down to not hurt my little one. I was spilling ketones in my urine last Tues visit, because I was restricting my carbs too much...and still getting high levels of sugar. I lost 6 lbs in the last 2 weeks. I now do insulin 3 times a day, and poke my finger 4 times a day. Just when I thought I was done with shots.

They are also setting me up with a Fetal Echocardiogram Ultrasound specialist around my 20th week to look for heart abnormalities. I am quite nervous that they will find something. So far their hunch to test me early for diabetes..was right on. So makes me think they have a reason to think there is something going on with the babies heart, since I just had an ultrasound on Tues. They told me it is something they do with patients diagnosed early with gestational diabetes, however after reading up on it...I see they also do this if the family has heart problems, which we do. I have a heart murmur and go back to the cardiologist this Tuesday myself. They told me they want him to do another EKG on me and to have him send them all the reports on it. I am wondering now if they saw something at the regular ultrasound that they arent telling me till they know for sure.

The baby already weighs over 5 ozs and should only weigh just over 3 ozs at this point. They arent concerned about this yet, but of course it worries me...cause I know that 4 weeks ago...the baby was 3 days behind on fetal growth. 2 weeks later ...the baby caught up to my due date. 2 weeks after that...the baby is 4 days ahead in fetal growth. I know that it is due to the sugar...and I am doing everything I can to get it down and nothing is working. I have been on the insulin 1 1/2 days and it has come down a little bit, but not enough. I have to call the nurse every other day to read her my glucose numbers and I do have to go back again, this Tuesday to be checked again.

The doc has already informed me that I will probably be put in the hosp on bedrest the last couple of months and will probably deliver early. So I am trying to get as much done now, as possible. I have all my prenatal classes scheduled up till July 12th. I asked the doc if we did the baby shower on Aug 10th would that be early enough...and he chuckled and said, "I have seen many girls have their baby showers at the hospital."
My neighbor had the exact same high risk doctor and pregnancy as me (so it seems) and was put in the hospital at 27 weeks and delivered at 32 weeks. 27 weeks for me would be around the 3rd week of July. She also told me to be sure to take my packed bags with me to every doc visit around that time. I guess this doc is known for hospitalizing early. So if I disappear...you know where I am. I am gonna do my best to beat her and have this baby no earlier than 37 weeks. I hope and pray.

As soon as we find out on May 30th...my 40th bday...whether it is a girl or boy...we will paint the room and fill the nursery with pink or blue. We are gonna go away on a baby moon on May 26th (our first year anniversary) to a resort/lodge for a few days to celebrate everything and to relax and swim.

I cant wait to go baby shopping. We had a huge neighborhood yardsale last weekend and literally got rid of everything we havent used or seen in the past year...and made $750!!! Woohoo!

Other than the diabetes problems...which is causing dizzyness, blurred vision, headaches, irritability, etc., I am doing really good. I still can not go back to work and dont expect to...until maybe next summer. I am finally starting to sleep a little bit at night...perhaps it was the sugar causing the insomnia. My restless legs problem seems to be a little bit better too. Well enough about me...I want to hear more about how everyone else is doing. I miss you all and plan to write more often again. If you dont hear from me again...yell at me... LOL cause I am actually here and reading...just been too lazy to write anything.

[geckogirl]

Tammy - I am sorry to hear about the GD. I was also tested early at 6 weeks and failed the 1 hr glucose test and then had to do the 3 hr one which I passed. Unfortunately my fasting glucose is 92 and the cut off for GD is 95, so I will probably be positive for it when they test me again. My doctor said they would test at 24 weeks instead of 28 weeks because of my age and family history. What is the diet like? I am a carb fiend and know that my eating is going to change drastically! I am sorry that the oral meds didn't work well for you. Are the insulin shots like the fert med shots we took with the little needles? How inconvenient is it to test blood sugar during the day? What sugar levels do they want you to be at?

I didn't know they could do fetal echocardiograms, but that makes sense. I am sure your baby is fine, and if there is a problem, it is good to know now so that you and your doctor are prepared when the baby is born in case he/she needs any extra medical intervention. I am praying that all is well.

Bed rest doesn't sound fun either, but at least you have time to prepare for it. Do you sew, crochet, or cross stitch? That would keep you really busy while resting. I think perhaps that should be our mission! Think of fun things for Tammy to do while in bed!!! Come on girls, there has got to be great ideas out there!

Hang in there Tammy and be sure to let us know how you are doing.

[TammyS]

Hi Gecko,
My first fasting one was 229. So they didnt even retest me they immediately started me on meds that very day. If I were you I would even request to be retested a little sooner. It came on for me...sooo fast. I have never yet, even with insulin had a lower fasting number than 109. They want your overnight fasting numbers to be between 60-90...and after meals to be 120 or less. It has been sooo hard to do...even with eating less carbs than allowed. Yes, the insulin shots remind me of Lupron shots. It is very inconvienient to test all day long. Thank God I am not working now...there is no way...I could test and eat every couple of hours with my job.

I usually get up at around 8:30 and test and take insulin. You have to wait 1/2 to an hour to eat after taking insulin. Then I eat around 9ish and test again...at 11ish (2 hours after eating). Then I eat at 12ish and test at 2ish. Eat at 3ish (no testing). Take insulin around 6ish and eat around 6:30ish...test again at 8:30ish. Snack at 11ish and take overnight insulin before bed.

You have to stick to a strict schedule and not miss any meals at all. I feel like I cant even leave the house. I have done shots in the car, already. I am sure when I call the nurse this afternoon to check in... that she will add another dose of insulin in there ...cause my numbers are still high in the evenings and mornings. If you know anything about Dr Atkins diet or Weight Watchers....the diet is similar to both of them combined. It isnt hard once you figure out what you are allowed to eat. I have a brochure with the most common foods and their points...which makes it easier. It is all about watching the carbs.

I will have to have my aunt show me again ...how to crochet and cross stitch. It has been 20 years. I already asked if I was allowed to have my laptop at the hosp, if I have to be there, and they said no. I dont know how the bills will get paid. LOL It is all online...and DH dont know how to use the computer. Guess I will have to set them all up ahead of time....or tell him too bad ...he has to learn now. I am the type to get bored really easy, too. So bring on the ideas, girls.

[geckogirl]

Tammy- Thanks for the info. I have been on Weight Watchers since last June and lost 45 pounds. I was told if I lost weight it would help with implantation. Seems to have worked! Anyway, I am trying to stick to the essence of WW even pregnant - even though I did add more carbs after becoming pregnant. If I have to do something similar for GD, it will be ok.

When I did the three hour test my fasting number was 92 and then one hour after drinking the glucose my sugar had dropped to 119 and two hours it was back in the 90's and after three hours it was back to 92, so they figured that even though my fasting number was on the high end, I was processing sugar at an excellent rate. I doubt that they will test me earlier than 24 weeks unless they find excess sugar in my unine test at my regular ob/gyn appt. or something strange on my anatomy u/s. I am pretty sure it is going to get me at some point though. I just don't know how I will handle doing sugar checks and insulin shots in my classroom! I will just have to do what I have to do I guess. That schedule you keep sounds very difficult. But at least you know it is temporary and for a very good cause!

Hang in there!

[TammyS]

I forgot about the urine test showing sugar. The weird thing is...I had my urine tested the day before...and there was no sugar in my urine. My doc had no reason to test me...he just did. Thank God. Sounds like your processing sugar just fine, then. That is great. Hopefully, you wont have to deal with it at all.

[waitingforMia]

Hi girls.

Tammy - that stinks about not having the laptop!!! I would go crazy!! And how would you post to us??? Can you sneak it in?? And what is their reason behind not letting you use it?? Maybe it would be a good time to scrapbook, if you can sit up. IF you have to lay down I would get those books on cd. My friend had bedrest with a tilted pelvis, and her arms got tired of holding books, so books on cd were the next best thing!

Gecko, What is DES exposure??? How are you feeling??

I spent yesterday in the hospital! I went to a clinic b/c I had bad chest pain that wouldnt go away for 4 hours. My pulse at one time was 140. SO after consulting a bunch of ppl I went to clinic and they did ekg heart was fine - BUt dr was worried I might have a blood clot in lung! SO I got sent to ER and the doc right away was like it is prob acid reflux! I was like for 5 hours straight?? I have had acid reflux and this was not it! So he have me some damn GI cocktail and of course it didnt help! All the tests and chest xray came out fine - WHat we think it is is pularysi (sp?) inflamation of a membrane in the lung. They ususally treat it with steroids, but cant since I am pg, said it will go away eventually on its own! ugh. So thankfully everything is ok. Dh is out of the country, so I was worried since he was not there with me.

Good news: I finally told my family. They were surprised, upset? that i didnt tell them sooner. We had a mother's day get together today and for gifts for my gma, mom and sister I got them coffee cups that said best aunt in the world, great grandma 2008, and rgandma to be again. It took them awhile to figure it out! I ended up telling my mom yesterday bc she met me at the hospital and she would have heard me tell the doctors. But everyone is happy and nieces were thrilled. They have been ebgging for a cousin for years!

I am also considering doing a home birth - or at least using a midwife. I found one online I like. My mom had homebirths as did my sister, so we'll see. I found out that the hospital were my beloved ob delivers has the highest infection rate in the city! yuck. So I am considering using someone else. ANyone here thinking of alternative birthing options?? I am also researching on water births. I just want to deliver in a calm environment where I can eat and not birth the baby on my back. SO just starting some research.

Hope everyone is good, and over their first trimester sickies! I am eating much better now.

MP

[weezie]

Stacy- I'm very sorry about your m/c. I know that it must be very hard on you and DH. Please keep your faith and let us know how your next cycle goes.

Rio/Katie- ConGrATulaTIoNS!!! on the boys!!!

Jomae- How are your headaches? I hope by now they have gone. I'm sure you have tried tylenol, but if they are too bad get your OB to give you some pain meds. I know its not the best solution, but how long do you plan to suffer? Get well soon.

Tammy- I'm shocked to read about all the troubles you have been having with this pregnancy. I can relate. I know that in the end it will all have been worth it. Chin up. And what a great b-day present?! That's cool.

Gecko- The 12th is almost here. You must be excited.

Mia- I'm soooo glad you are finally eating. And I bet you feel so great now that you were able to tell everyone. I hope you get to feeling better soon.

Loopie- what's up? Flutters, huh? I bet it was so awesome!

Well, DH and I are leaving Thursday for our cruise. I'm excited. I need to get out of this house. I am having my level 2 u/s tomorrow and I'm nervous as hell. Let's just say after the u/s where I found out one of the babies died, I've become a bit apprehensive to having u/s. Up until today I always said it was a girl and DH said a boy. Now I am beginning to think it is a boy. We'll see tomorrow. I will also ask the peri if he can check out my gallbladder. I have been suffering for 2 weeks with a terrible pain in my right rib cage and last week when I called my OB he seems to think I pulled a rib muscle. Well, I'm still suffering and it hasn't gotten any better. So I will talk to the peri tomorrow. Tomorrow can't get here soon enough. I'm very nervous.

Are you ladies enjoying your pregnancy? You know how you hear some women say they LOVE being pregnant? Well, I haven't LOVED one day yet. I'm huge. I'm in pain. I wake up every day looking for that "glow". I don't sleep but more than 4 hours a night. Argh!!! I keep waiting for the day I can say, " I love this". But hell, I'm impatient! I want to be one of those happy, glowing pregnant women NOW.
Okay, that was my vent for the day.

[KatieG]

Weezie--Let us know how your appt goes.

Im also sorry to hear about everyone and their sugar issues. Thats no fun!!!

I hope that we all get some rest now b/c its only going to get worse. I bought some clothes over the weekend. I just wanted to have a few things to hang in his closet. It was fun!!!!!!!!!

Hope everyone has good week. Let us know any news!!!!!!!!!!!!

[riogirl71]

Hello from Rio! We bought him some cute clothes already!!! We are so excited about our little boy!
Also the good news on the B/W: we called from here and the Doc said "fantastic" and "negative" so I am incredibly relieved!!!!

Katie- congrats on having a boy also!!!! woo-hoo!
weezie - how did the ultrasound go? Have a wonderful cruise!!! I am not glowing yet
Mia - hope you get rid of that acid reflux I am so glad that you told your family! You are brave doing it at home! I am going the usual hospital - drug me - no pain route!
Tammy - OMG! I am so sorry you have to deal with this, I am glad the doctor caught it so that your baby and you are monitored well. We need to find a way to sneak in a laptop so we can keep in touch with you! Good luck and I am praying for healthy babies all around!keep us posted on the results of the fetal echocardiogram, everything will be fine!
Gecko - also healthy baby wishes your way, good luck on your AFP tests!
loopie - I felt some flutters too, haven't felt them lately but I am not concentrating as much, I do feel a hard large grapefruit size thing moving from side to side and Doc said it was my uterus! Yes, I am in Rio! Good guess!
Jomae - glad all is well with you! When do you find the sex?
Corny How are your little beans doing?
Mellie/Sassy how are you girls and your beans?
Acapulco - I will send you a PM

[riogirl71]

edit - on page 50 now

[geckogirl]

Rio - Great to hear from you! I hope you are having a wonderful vacation! I am so happy to hear about your test results. You must be very relieved. Are you going to go ahead with the amnio or can you now skip it?

Katie - I can't wait to go baby shopping! It must have been fun to get a start on it.

weezie - Have a wonderful time on your cruise. I am glad you and your DH are able to get away and enjoy each other for a while. I love going on cruises! My DH and I have been on several and it is always such a nice time to let go of everything and just play. One of our favorite spots on the ship is the game room where we would have cocktails and play cutthroat games of gin rummy all afternoon. The casino is fun too! Have a great time! I am sure your u/s will be just perfect. Be sure to let us know how it goes and whether or not you find out the sex. Don't leave us in suspense!

mia - I am sorry that you were in the hospital. I have has the same thing once and it really hurts! It does go away, but it takes awhile. I got it in conjunction with a bought of bronchitis years ago and I know I had antibiotics for the bronchitis but don't remember if I took anything else. Try to rest and I hope you feel better soon. How exciting for your family to find out you're pregnant on Mother's Day! I am glad that they are all happy. Good luck with the home birth.....I am having lots of drugs! I have no illusions about the pain etc....

Well, it sounds like lots of us haven't been feeling well. I too am sick as a dog. I caught some virus from my students and am just miserable. I went to the urgent care clinic on Sunday and they said that since it isn't an infection, they can't give me ANYTHING. I can have Tylenol and salt water gargles. Oh, and since I am pregnant, they said it would last longer than usual. I had to call in a sub for today and tomorrow and am at home with a sore throat, a wicked cough, and a head that is about to explode. This sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just hope I am well by next Monday for my u/s. Still haven't heard about my bloodwork but it has only been a week. I will keep you all posted.

Take care, Mommies!

[Mellie_1233]

Stacy - I'm so sorry for your loss and everything you went through. I hope to see you posting with a happy, healthy pregnancy soon.

[riogirl71]

Gecko - I am so sorry to hear you are so sick, I am sure it is impossible to avoid it working with all the kids. I hope you feel better soon. I am going to get a level 2 u/s on 5/21 and if there are no soft markers, I will skip amnio. If they find any soft markers, I will probably do an amnio. I am praying for awesome results so I can skip it!

[Mellie_1233]

Tammy - I am so surprised at how much work this blood sugar problem is. It sounds like you're handling it really well, though. I hope things get smoother for you. If you're on bedrest at home, one idea that I used during my brief bedrest after IVf was netflix. They have an "instant browse" feature, so you can watch tv shows and movies on demand (thought the selection is somewhat limited) and it's included in your monthly payment. Just a thought.

Mia - Glad everything turned out ok after your scare. The coffee cups sound like a really nice idea.

Weezie - Hope your level 2 u/s went great. Have a terrific time on the cruise!

Rio - Sounds like you're having a great time on your trip! Must be beautiful down there. I think you said that they saw a nasal bone when they did your first u/s, right? What other soft markers would they look for? I think you are right to be feeling good and confident about all of this. It seems very unlikely that anything is wrong. I was happy to hear about your good test results. Next time you update the list, my due date was changed awhile back to October 23rd. Thanks!

Katie - Congratulations on the little boy! My best friend has a little boy (2 yrs) and he is absolutely the sweetest thing! He will be so much fun!

Loopie - Flutters? How exciting! DH asks me constantly when we're gonna feel the baby move. I don't know why he keeps asking the same question over and over -- it's not like my answer is going to change. Oh well, I guess that's good practice for when I have a little one asking the same question a million times

We just got back yesterday from Switzerland. We visited DH's parents and gave them the good news. DH framed an ultrasound photo and put it in a gift bag and gave it to his mom. They are really excited.

The trip was great. We did a ton of walking and just hanging out in Zurich. We ate a lot of good Swiss food -- including fondue! And, I have a ton of Swiss chocolates in my dining room now that we brought back.

I told my boss today about my pregnancy. She was very nice about it. Still, I was nervous. Later this week I'll tell my advisor and probably HR. Glad to get that stuff out of the way.

Actually, as nice as it's been to share the good news with our families and spread the joy, the only time I got choked up was when I told my pharmacist. She's so sweet and about my age. Of course she knows about our struggles b/c she's been dispensing my meds all this time and when I told her we were pregnant she ran around the counter and hugged me. I almost cried.

[weezie]

Add another boy to the list!!!! I'm NOT disappointed, but I just can't jump for joy either. I guess it has something to do with the twin. Was she the girl I was hoping for?? And the peri picked up on my feelings and told me it was totally normal. I absolutely love my peri. He's early 40's and completely through. He must have just sat me down and talked to me for about 15 minutes before we even started the u/s. We discussed percentages for downs at my age, risks of amnio, vanishing twin syndrome, the works. Then he quized me on what we talked about just to make sure I understood our conversation. He also flat out told me he had no idea what my rib pain was and gave me some pointers to look for and discuss with my OB next week. I appreciated his honesty. Then during the u/s my boy was so uncooperative. My uterus is still low and he is breech. We weren't even sure if we would get to find out the sex. But as of yesterday, he saw no soft markers. Everything looks fine. He wants to see me again because he really is not pleased with the quality of the pictures. So even though he saw nothing yesterday, he wants better pictures to be 100%. So I will go back in 4 weeks. And since I have gotten 2 EDD, I think I will stick with my RE and go with 10/23. The date doesn't really concern me. I just figure some time between 10/20 and 10/23.

Mellie- I would love to give you some insight on the soft markers, but the peri rattled them off so quickly and it was all medical terms. I had to stop him. I told him I just trusted him to let me know if he had ANY reservations about anything he saw. I figured, that's why he's the specialist and I'm not. Switzerland, huh. How beautiful. Glad to see you are finally getting to share the good news.

Rio- Sounds like you are having a great trip too. And what wonderful news on the tests!!!!

Gecko- please take care of yourself and I hope you get to feeling better soon.

I hope all of you ladies are feeling well, and have a wonderful weekend. I will be in touch when we return.

~peace