So I'm on week 2 of my life as a gestational diabetic. I'm sticking my finger 4x a day to check my blood sugar levels. Luckily I'm only on dietary restrictions so far. When I stick to the eating, everything responds, so I'm very happy with that. At this week's checkup, they were only a little concerned that my fasting/AM tests were slightly high (but not alarmingly so). The good news is that it should level out over the next few weeks. I've come to accept this bump in the road as "the least of my worries." At first I was devastated by having yet another complication. But now I know it's manageable, so I've accepted it and I intend to keep it in check. Another thing I have to laugh at in order to cope. Another item on my "walking disaster" list.
Baby Z is also doing great. She's progressing really nicely, and we're still not seeing any signs of distress. The opposite actually. She's super active, and is starting kick hard enough to shake things up on the outside. She's also using my bladder as a bean bag chair, which is less fun. During her fetal echo yesterday, they had to chase her around again to get the pictures they needed. She was calming down a little for the scans, but this week she was being a little troublemaker - which was OK by me. I'm happy to suck it up and lay uncomfortably for as long as I have to in order to make sure they get good pictures. If I can't be tough, she can't be either, so I dig in every time.
On Monday we go back to Columbia to see another pediatric cardiologist. I'm anxious about this one, hoping to get more answers and more news on the plan. We're also set up for early January for a couple appointments with perinatologists and neonatologists. Plus, we have a consultation with the surgeon set for closer to the due date. I hope we make it that long. I'm afraid if we get that far, I'm going to be a basket case. We've made it this far though. My doctor says 28 weeks is a big milestone, and 32 is another one. So we'll see where we are from there.
I'm trying to enjoy this time of preparation, but I can't help having the hurt loom over my head. I also need to prepare myself emotionally for the post-birth journey and recovery. The NICU process is going to be tough. The surgery process even tougher. I've felt less fragile the last 2 weeks or so, but I feel like I'm just saving up for the big show later on. Either that or I'm just putting it on hold for now, like everything else.
It doesn't even feel like the holidays. We have our tree up, but it's only wearing lights & ribbon. The ornaments have yet to make it on - they're sitting in boxes all over the place though. It's kind of adding to this unprepared feeling I've been having. That, and our house is basically still a construction zone post tree-strike. Painting is finally happening this week. The contractor said the project would take 4 days start to finish. Painting on it's own is taking that long. Why is it that I still believe contractors after all the stories and jokes? Its a stereotype for a reason!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
It Just Keeps Coming
So far I am about 14 hours into week 27, and it's already been a roller coaster!
Yesterday, I found out my glucose test came back high. Sky high. We don't need a 3 hour glucose test because it's super high. I'm meeting with a diabetic counselor tomorrow to find out how this effects me. Not sure if it means meds or not. I'm half afraid that maybe it's my raging blood sugar that is the secret sauce keeping this baby girl afloat. Mark assures me that's not the case. I know the future can still be bright without Swedish Fish, but I'm a little nervous about having to add any meds to my already complex situation.
My Stamford docs are getting the ball rolling on really transferring my care to Columbia too. It's exciting and terribly scary. It's a great feeling that I'm being referred to some of the best doctors, but it also hits the reality of the situation pretty hard over my head. This is not a simple case, not run of the mill at all. I spoke to a coordinator today who ran down the list of appointments they're going to set up for me:
- Fetal Echo with the Pediatric Cardiologist I saw before
- Baseline Ulttrasound
- Consultation with Maternal Fetal Medicine/High Risk OB
- Consultation with a neonatologist who will prep us for a NICU stay
- Consultation with a Cardiothoracic surgeon who will let us know what we're looking at for post-delivery surgery
Sounds like a big day at the big hospital. Not sure when this day is yet, but we'll hopefully find out in the next day or two!
Yesterday, I found out my glucose test came back high. Sky high. We don't need a 3 hour glucose test because it's super high. I'm meeting with a diabetic counselor tomorrow to find out how this effects me. Not sure if it means meds or not. I'm half afraid that maybe it's my raging blood sugar that is the secret sauce keeping this baby girl afloat. Mark assures me that's not the case. I know the future can still be bright without Swedish Fish, but I'm a little nervous about having to add any meds to my already complex situation.
My Stamford docs are getting the ball rolling on really transferring my care to Columbia too. It's exciting and terribly scary. It's a great feeling that I'm being referred to some of the best doctors, but it also hits the reality of the situation pretty hard over my head. This is not a simple case, not run of the mill at all. I spoke to a coordinator today who ran down the list of appointments they're going to set up for me:
- Fetal Echo with the Pediatric Cardiologist I saw before
- Baseline Ulttrasound
- Consultation with Maternal Fetal Medicine/High Risk OB
- Consultation with a neonatologist who will prep us for a NICU stay
- Consultation with a Cardiothoracic surgeon who will let us know what we're looking at for post-delivery surgery
Sounds like a big day at the big hospital. Not sure when this day is yet, but we'll hopefully find out in the next day or two!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Week 26 Recap - Cautiously Optimistic
On Friday we had a follow up with our "local" Pediatric Cardiologist. I say "local" because he is and he isn't. He does practice up in southern CT, but is affiliated at and works closely with the folks at Columbia hospital. We're also working with a Ped Cardiologist at Columbia (going to see her again soon).
The PC did another Fetal Echo, took his time and could see much more since Baby Z is growing. The bad news is her heart is surely enlarged, and there's a small amount of fluid surrounding her heart. Otherwise, he was happy with what he saw. Surprised almost. In fact, he did say he was pleasantly surprised to see my name on the schedule.
The better news is that we're really close to the safety zone. If there are any signs of heart failure at this point, we talk delivery and beyond. This, to me, is the best news. He couldn't give us a time frame other than "anytime in the next 14 weeks." Basically we keep her warm and safe in my belly until she shows us anything that's less than OK. 27 weeks is good, but every week past that point is better and better. Once you hit 30 weeks, survival rate for premature babies hits upward of 95%. The doctor said that kids with heart problems may also do better in the NICU because their hearts are already overtaxed in the womb. It's like shes conditioning in there - her heart is doing extra laps. Once the blood flow to that extra vein stops, her heart may be that much stronger. It's like she's been training for a marathon in there. Which, in a way, she has.
We left the office in really high spirits. Excited, despite her other issues, that we're so far along and things continue to hold steady for her.
The next day was a little tougher, as reality set in and all the new questions start coming up. Do we have to wait until she shows signs of heart failure to deliver? Is it better to deliver a premie with a complication or a premie with a complication AND fighting heart failure? It's a lot to think about, and it's overwhelming.
To get our minds off things, we went to a friends Christmas party. Stayed as long as my emotional stamina would allow (read: not long). It was great to see my friends, but tough. When you're toting around a huge belly - that's all anyone wants to talk about. With our situation though, normal questions become loaded ones. "When are you due?" is relatively complicated now. I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve, so just answering "March" seems like a farce to me. I really want to say "um, any day now. My gut actually feels like 32 weeks, but we'll see how this defect turns out." At least no one asked where I was delivering (I live an hour + away from anyone there, so it never came up).
We face week 27 with seriously cautious optimism and a 4 ton bag of hope.
The PC did another Fetal Echo, took his time and could see much more since Baby Z is growing. The bad news is her heart is surely enlarged, and there's a small amount of fluid surrounding her heart. Otherwise, he was happy with what he saw. Surprised almost. In fact, he did say he was pleasantly surprised to see my name on the schedule.
The better news is that we're really close to the safety zone. If there are any signs of heart failure at this point, we talk delivery and beyond. This, to me, is the best news. He couldn't give us a time frame other than "anytime in the next 14 weeks." Basically we keep her warm and safe in my belly until she shows us anything that's less than OK. 27 weeks is good, but every week past that point is better and better. Once you hit 30 weeks, survival rate for premature babies hits upward of 95%. The doctor said that kids with heart problems may also do better in the NICU because their hearts are already overtaxed in the womb. It's like shes conditioning in there - her heart is doing extra laps. Once the blood flow to that extra vein stops, her heart may be that much stronger. It's like she's been training for a marathon in there. Which, in a way, she has.
We left the office in really high spirits. Excited, despite her other issues, that we're so far along and things continue to hold steady for her.
The next day was a little tougher, as reality set in and all the new questions start coming up. Do we have to wait until she shows signs of heart failure to deliver? Is it better to deliver a premie with a complication or a premie with a complication AND fighting heart failure? It's a lot to think about, and it's overwhelming.
To get our minds off things, we went to a friends Christmas party. Stayed as long as my emotional stamina would allow (read: not long). It was great to see my friends, but tough. When you're toting around a huge belly - that's all anyone wants to talk about. With our situation though, normal questions become loaded ones. "When are you due?" is relatively complicated now. I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve, so just answering "March" seems like a farce to me. I really want to say "um, any day now. My gut actually feels like 32 weeks, but we'll see how this defect turns out." At least no one asked where I was delivering (I live an hour + away from anyone there, so it never came up).
We face week 27 with seriously cautious optimism and a 4 ton bag of hope.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)