Home Stretch

Things have been going well.  My insulin-to carb ratios have been going up, up, up... but with only 9 weeks left, I'm in the home stretch.  It's not so bad seeing those doses climb knowing that, by sometime in August at the latest, they'll come right back down to normal (or even lower, for a while!).

Things are really about to get busy...  Up until now, I've had an appointment with my OB about once every 2 weeks (plus occasional drop-ins just to get weighed), an appointment with my endo once every 2 weeks, and a total of 3 appointments with the prenatalist.  Now, those appointments with the OB will go up to once a week, and we'll be adding in twice weekly non-stress tests and a weekly bio-physical profile at her hospital.

Jeebus!!!  So much for keeping some vacation time saved up for maternity leave.

Most women do get a little more attention later in the pregnancy, but I have so much because it's getting close to the point when the placenta could start breaking down due to my higher than average glucose levels.  (We are, however, starting it a couple weeks later than my OB would normally start since I've been well-controlled.)

C-section was a big topic of discussion at the last appointment, too... and it didn't have a lot to do with my diabetes/placenta.  It had to do with the fact that this kid is breech.  My OB didn't discourage me getting into positions that make it easy for him to turn and she said she'd probably be willing to do an E.V. at 37 weeks (though she has some concerns about it since there's potential to hurt the placenta), but she did tell me not to get my hopes up too much.  He's never been in a totally-head down position (that we know of from the ultrasounds), and he's been head-up for quite a while, which makes her suspect he's pretty determined to stay where he is.

And yikes, I can testify to that! He has some favorite places to kick or head-butt, and he stays there and does it so often I swear I get sore from it!  When he starts working away on my right side, sometimes he's like, POW! and I jump and yelp.  I'm always torn between applying pressure to encourage him to move a little more toward the center, or just tolerating it in case he's trying to do a somersault and turn head-down!

I certainly hope he flips so we have a shot at a vaginal delivery (my OB said breech = automatic C-section at her hospital, which is pretty typical), but I'm reminding myself that the important thing is that he arrives safely.  I also find it slightly easier to tolerate the idea of a C-section now that it's for some reason not related to the big D.  This is something that could happen to any mother and baby, and there are very few OBs left who are OK delivering a breech baby without a C-section (though midwives assist in this all the time, so a C-section isn't really always necessary).

In any case, we've also started doing some of the fun preparation for baby's arrival: putting together big items from the baby shower and filling in the gaps by buying essentials we weren't given.  (We certainly never expected to be given every essential, but we simply waited until after the shower to see what we'd still need to spend money on.)  This also means spending yet more money on top of medical expenses, so I've been doing a ton of comparison shopping.  I managed to find a great used breast pump for an awesome price on ebay, I downgraded from the nice and super-cutesy baby bottles to plain and boring but highly-rated and inexpensive bottles from the same manufacturer.  I've also created a "shopping list" on Amazon that we'll print and take with us for price-comparison when we go to Babies R Us to take advantage of the 20% off deal you get on any items from your own registry.

Phew! Baby-having is hard work even without having to watch your blood glucose like a hawk!  Thank goodness decorating the nursery is more fun than bolusing...