NT Results

I'm happy to report that my test results were great.

For Down Syndrome Trisomy 21:

Avg. for my age: 1-572

My score: 1-8317

Trisomy 13 & 18:

Avg for my age: 1-1012

My score: 1- >10,0000

The nurse said I had the results of a 20 year old...what a relief that my little nugget had such great results.

NT Test

Today Steve and I went to the hospital to get the NT test done. They pricked my finger and took blood which didn't hurt at the time, but after all the squeezing I could barely hold a pen later that day it was black and blue. The ultra sound was amazing, my heart filled with so much love seeing our little nugget, and he/she was soooo cute moving its hands around. The nugget looked perfect! The technician said everything looked good, but we won't know the test results for another week. The heartbeat was 160 and the measurement was below 3mm (I think she said 1.7mm and 2mm), but I'll say for sure next week when I have the results. I just hope everything comes back fine.

After the test we went to Dr. Dobrenis office for our regular check up and were seen an hour late. The person before me had just suffered a miscarriage for the third time. She had gotten a heartbeat two weeks ago and was super excited and today she lost the baby. It really makes you feel grateful for having such an easy pregnancy because not everyone has that. Sadly my boss didn't feel that way and was mad I missed the open and was gone so long. To say I was nervous to go back to work is an understatement but the health of my baby comes first and I'm just so happy I got to see him/her today! I can't wait to hold you in my arms little nugget and introduce you to your big brother!

Ohhh my dear son...please turn around!

So I had my big doctors appointment this morning and finally got to see my son on the ultrasound again. Turns out he is laying posterior, meaning his back is on my back which he shouldn't be. In order to remedy that I'll have to do some daily exercise routines with the hopes that he will turn around.


And this is how he should be positioned:


Most back-to-back babies are born vaginally, but this position can make labour more difficult, particularly if your baby's chin is pushed up rather than tucked in. As a result:

you may have backache as your baby's skull is pushing against your spine
your waters may break in early labour
your labour may be long and slow
you may feel like pushing before your cervix is fully dilated

My doctor said the most likely outcome if he doesn't turn in time is that I'd be giving birth on my hands and knees, it would be much longer and much more painful...I can't wait! I'm going to be mopping floors on my hands and knees and doing my exercises until the cows come home because this mamma does not want to make labour any longer then it has to be.

On a more positive note, my fluid around the baby is looking great, not too much and not too little (usually with GD there is a risk of having too much fluid around the baby). She also said I'm completely closed up, tight tight tight ha! Maybe our son won't be coming early after all. Also, I'm going to cancel our Lamaze class, she said it's totally unnecessary, and she agreed with my sister, that the most important class is a breastfeeding class which I have already signed up for. She told me what to look for so I know when I'm in labor...I guess the waiting game begins :)

First Trip to L & D

Steve and I made our first trip to L&D last night. I had gone to the bathroom at work and noticed that my undies were completely drenched. It didn't smell like pee and so I decided to call the doctor and just get some reassurance. When asked what the baby's movement was, I told her he had been moving less the past two days (which I had told Steve the previous day) and that I couldn't count ten movements in an hour like I used to. I just figured he was running out of room and it wasn't a big deal. The nurse became alarmed and told me to go straight to the hospital to be monitored, which of course caught me off guard and left me a bit shaken.

So Steve and I went, they hooked me up to monitors so they could check Max's heartbeat and movement. Our son was great! They made sure I wasn't leaking amniotic fluid, which I wasn't, and then performed an ultrasound (Steve got to see him) and vaginal exam (which hurt)to make sure he had enough amniotic fluid surrounding him, which he did. Here comes the kicker...Turns out 90% of women who have leakage like I did pee themselves without noticing!!!!!! Yes, I peed myself. She said since we drink so much water, and our bellies are so big now, we can accidentally pee our pants and not notice. Of course my lovely husband won't let me live this one down haha On a side note though, when they were measuring his heartbeat, they also commented on how i was having small consistent contractions...I guess my body is preparing for labor, whenever that may be:)

H1N1 to Hair coloring...

I had my doctors appointment this morning...it was the first time I saw her since I got diagnosed with GD. Maximiliano is measuring 31 weeks which is right on target. He seems to be of average size which is great and my blood pressure and pee were fine as well. She said my numbers definitely showed I have GD but that I'm doing great, and just have to keep up the good work and really watch what I eat. I went in with several questions today...and this is what she said:

Questions:
Whats her opinion on the H1N1 flue shot, and should i get it?
Answer:
Absolutely YES. She highly recommend Steve and I both get it. She said she usually isn't a flu shot freak, but thinks this year it's very important and sees no risks whatsoever. So we will be getting one, so the antibodies can be passed on to Max.

Question:
What will happen when Steve and I move to Greenwich next month and I go into labor...will I have enough time to get to the hospital?
Answer:
Absolutely. First baby especially will be much longer and I will have hours before my first contraction and the birth of Max. What a relief!

Question:
Can I color my hair...I'm in dire need of it!
Answer:
Absolutely

Question:
What is her rule on inductions, how far past my due date would she let me go before she would do it.
Answer:
Not far, probably not even a week since I'm a high risk pregnancy. That is great news since I know he will come around my due date now.

Question:
How is Max positioned in my belly right now?
Answer:
Head down, his butt to my upper left side, and feet to my upper right side...he is curled up.

Those are just a few that I had...I'm relieved everything is looking great. I weighed in at 145 pounds which puts me at having gained a total of 26 pounds so far. My next appointment will be in two weeks.

High Risk Pregnancy

I have officially been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes and am therefore classified as a high risk pregnancy. My pregnancy has been sooo easy up until this point, it just had to be too good to be true. To say I'm upset is an understatement...after a few tears I'm ready to tackle the issue and deal with it head on. I was informed I must see a Nutritionist within 24 hours, however they couldn't fit me in after work and so I'll wait until Tuesday to see the center. Here is a bit of info on what I have.

Diabetes is a condition where sufficient amounts of insulin are either not produced or the body is unable to use the insulin that is produced. Insulin is the hormone that allows glucose to enter the cells of the body to provide fuel. When glucose cannot enter the cells, it builds up in the blood and the body's cells literally starve to death.

Diabetes in pregnancy can have serious consequences for the mother and the growing fetus. The severity of problems often depends on the degree of the mother's diabetic disease, especially if she has vascular (blood vessel) complications and poor blood glucose control. Diabetes that occurs in pregnancy is described as:

Gestational diabetes - when a mother who does not have diabetes develops a resistance to insulin because of the hormones of pregnancy. Women with gestational diabetes may be non-insulin dependent or insulin dependent.
Pre-existing diabetes - women who already have diabetes and become pregnant.
What is gestational diabetes?
Gestational diabetes is a condition in which the glucose level is elevated and other diabetic symptoms appear during pregnancy in a woman who has not previously been diagnosed with diabetes. In most cases, all diabetic symptoms disappear following delivery. However, women with gestational diabetes have an increased risk of developing diabetes later in life, especially if they were overweight before the pregnancy.

Unlike other types of diabetes, gestational diabetes is not caused by a lack of insulin, but by blocking effects of other hormones on the insulin that is produced, a condition referred to as insulin resistance.
What causes gestational diabetes?
Although the cause of gestational diabetes is not known, there are some theories as to why the condition occurs.

The placenta supplies a growing fetus with nutrients and water, as well as produces a variety of hormones to maintain the pregnancy. Some of these hormones (estrogen, cortisol, and human placental lactogen) can have a blocking effect on insulin, which usually begins about 20 to 24 weeks into the pregnancy.

As the placenta grows, more of these hormones are produced, and insulin resistance becomes greater. Normally, the pancreas is able to make additional insulin to overcome insulin resistance, but when the production of insulin is not enough to overcome the effect of the placental hormones, gestational diabetes results.

Treatment for gestational diabetes focuses on keeping blood glucose levels in the normal range. Treatment may include:

special diet
exercise
daily blood glucose monitoring
insulin injections

Possible complications for the baby:
Infants of mothers with gestational diabetes are vulnerable to several chemical imbalances, such as low serum calcium and low serum magnesium levels, but, in general, the major problems of gestational diabetes include:

Macrosomia - refers to a baby that is considerably larger than normal. All of the nutrients the fetus receives come directly from the mother's blood. If the maternal blood has too much glucose, the pancreas of the fetus senses the high glucose levels and produces more insulin in an attempt to use this glucose. The fetus converts the extra glucose to fat. Even when the mother has gestational diabetes, the fetus is able to produce all the insulin it needs. The combination of high blood glucose levels from the mother and high insulin levels in the fetus results in large deposits of fat which causes the fetus to grow excessively large.

Birth injury - may occur due to the baby's large size and difficulty being born.

Hypoglycemia - refers to low blood sugar in the baby immediately after delivery. This problem occurs if the mother's blood sugar levels have been consistently high, causing the fetus to have a high level of insulin in its circulation. After delivery, the baby continues to have a high insulin level, but it no longer has the high level of sugar from its mother, resulting in the newborn's blood sugar level becoming very low. The baby's blood sugar level is checked after birth, and if the level is too low, it may be necessary to give the baby glucose intravenously.

Respiratory distress (difficulty breathing) - too much insulin or too much glucose in a baby's system may delay lung maturation and cause respiratory difficulties in babies. This is more likely if they are born before 37 weeks of pregnancy.

3 Hour Glucose Test

Well...yesterday I completed the three hour glucose test which was not fun. It meant being at the doctors office for a good four hours and getting my blood taken four times while drinking a coke like drink that was way too sweet. Luckily my husband was sweet enough to sit with me through it all but by the end of it I wasn't feeling too great. By the time I got back to the office I was shaking and dizzy, and despite finally being able to eat I still felt weak. I'm glad it's over, today I'll be getting the results. To say I'm nervous is an understatement. I blew through the first test with high results despite having not eaten for twelve hours before. I really don't want to be one of the 2-5% of pregnant women who gets diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Whatever the outcome, I'll deal with it. I'll keep you posted once I get the results.

A big fat FAIL...

Just got the dreaded phone call, I failed the one hour glucose test, cutoff is 140, my results were 184...great! Oh, and yes, i'm anemic too. Really not what I wanted to hear and I'm a bit upset/worried, but I need to go in for the three hour exam next week and so hopefully I'll pass that one...i hope.

Glucose Test

Our doctors visit went well, Maxi's fundal height was measuring on target at 28 weeks. Essentially, measuring the fundal height involves the woman lying down (it is not meant to be done with the woman in a standing or sitting position) and her caregiver placing the end of the measuring tape on her pubic bone. The symphysis pubis bone is situated just below the pubic hair line in the middle. The length of tape is then positioned up the middle of the woman's belly with the measurement taken from where the tape reaches the top of her uterus or fundus, giving a fundal height in centimetres (cms). Fundal heights tend to be used from about 16 to 37 weeks of pregnancy, with their greatest benefit believed to be between 22 to 34 weeks.
His heartbeat was measuring strong and she said everything looked great. Sadly I didn't get to see him, but just knowing he is growing on target is great! Our next ultrasound will be at 35 weeks. I had my glucose test, which wasn't so bad since the drink they gave me was cold. I'll get the result tomorrow...just praying I don't fail because I really don't want to go back and take the three hour exam. I also got my second rhogam shot which is hurting this time around. I'll keep you informed regarding the results tomorrow, wish me luck!

BIG Ultrasound...take 2

Turns out our little boy was a bit uncooperative this morning. He didn't want to turn into the position the tech needed him to, even after Mommy jumped, peed, stretched, coughed, drank warm apple juice and laid tilted down on my side for a while. I can already tell he is going to be a piece of work :) The tech was able to get 3/4 of what she needed but not the heart or face...so we all know what that means...yup, we have to go back a third time!!! Only this time I will be hopped up on sugar so Max won't be so lazy and will actually move his behind! I guess he does take after his parents haha The measurments they were able to take looked good, he now weighs 11 ounces and has a due date of dec. 6th.

The BIG Ultrasound...

Today is the day....We are heading to our big ultrasound in a few hours. I'm excited and so nervous. I just want to know our lil one is healthy and has no heart/brain defects.
I am also very excited for Steve to see our baby's sex for the first time today. Last time he left the room because he didn't want to know. Watch them tell us they were mistaken and we are having a girl. Oh man, that would be a shocker. But I doubt that will happen...then again I have seen stranger things occur! I'll keep you posted when I get back!