Bjay's
(Diabetic Mommy's)
Pregnancy and Birth Story
Part
3
Finally
Finding the Right Team Members
Luckily, around
this time I was referred to an excellent diabetes educator. She
really put the fear of diabetes into me. We met, and she looked
at my labs and asked about my medicine, exercise, and diet regimen.
I got a million sheets of paper and a half-dozen tools and booklets
and a meter to keep. She explained my glucose levels were way out
of control. I was informed about the higher risks of birth defects
and complications and how my glucose levels were related to that.
I learned I had to have very tight control. Most importantly, I
learned that I could have caused some harm to my little baby.
I was just
about done with my first eight weeks of pregnancy. This is the critical
development period where the baby's organs and systems are forming.
It is important that everything be just right for the baby to develop
correctly. There needs to be the right nutrients and enough of them.
Your body chemistry should be in balance including being at the
right glucose levels. Insulin is a hormone and hormones from seemingly
different systems seem to be related and interconnected. When one
of them is out of whack, the rest of them can be too. My last HbA1c
had been 8.5, which means my average glucose was over 200. Even
scarier was that this measurement had been taken before I stopped
my oral medication, and my glucose levels had gotten much worse.
Even scarier
than that, was that my "diet" had caused me to have a
lot of ketones in my urine. The educator explained that because
I was starving my body for food it was feeding off my muscles and
the ketones in my body could also hurt the baby.
My little baby
was being formed from millions of cells and each of these were forming
complex organs and systems that he would have to rely on for the
rest of his life. I wanted every finger, every vessel, and every
single neuron to be perfect. He was developing rapidly and was relying
on my own body to provide him with the tools and environment needed.
What had I done? I was petrified.
At the end
of our visit, she recommended a really great endocrinologist she
worked closely with as well as a group of perinatologists who were
highly recommended. She warned me they might want to hospitalize
me because of my high blood glucose levels.
On October
4, beginning my 9th week of pregnancy, I went for my first visit
with my high-risk perinatologist group called Tucson Perinatal Services/Obstetrix.
These people who had plenty of experience with high-risk diabetic
pregnancies pleasantly surprised me. Our first visit was with Patty,
the nurse midwife. We both absolutely loved her. She made the whole
process interesting and exciting.
This group had a sonographer on site, and we got to have an ultrasound
and get a printout. Our little baby was just floating around. He
was so small and had a definite form. He looked like a little bug.
We call this picture "The Spawn of Chad." Take a look
at the sonogram below.
Patty, the nurse midwife, spent a long time with us in that visit
(and at every other visit too) - must have been about an hour. She
went into detail explaining my pregnancy, what was happening, and
what we needed to do. I was told my due date -May 16. She even took
the time to explain the history of diabetes and how much advancement
has been made. Of particular interest was the way they used to diagnose
diabetes in the old days - they would make you taste your own urine
to see if it was sweet! Yuk! Three cheers for technology!
I was starved
for the information she was giving me. Much of it was burned in
my memory and I think about things she said often. In fact, many
of the things I say to my web site members over and over are things
she shared with me. She made me aware that I could and should know
more about what was happening in my own pregnancy and that it was
fascinating. The seed was planted and from that day on I searched
for as much information as I could about diabetes and pregnancy.
Unfortunately,
she also explained I had to be admitted to the hospital to get my
blood glucose levels under control. On October 7, 2000 I was admitted
to the hospital.
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Index:
Part
1 - We Decide to Have a Baby
Part 2 - Meeting
Dr. Wrong and Getting Pregnant
Part 3 - Finally
Finding the Right Team Members
Part 4 - Going
to the Hospital to Stabilize Glucose Levels
Part 5 - Let
the Appointments Begin
Part 6 - Stomach
Flu - Go Back 2 Spaces, Go Back to the Hospital
Part 7 - More
Frequent Fetal Surveillance Begins
Part 8 - Go
Back to the Hospital - To Have the Baby!
Part 9 - The
Baby Comes!
Part 10 -
Since the Birth
|
Diabetes
and pregnancy, fertility issues, gestational diabetes, parenting, 
