Today I had three appointments for baby stuff. My first appointment of the day was the first non-stress test. This is where they strap you up to a fetal monitor (for the heartbeat) and the uterine monitor (for contractions). They are looking for accelerations and decelerations of the heart rate as expected with movement and contractions (if I have any). They also check the amniotic fluid levels using ultrasound. Although miss Isabella was slightly less than cooperative ultimately the results were all good. For the first part she was sleeping so her heart rate was good and steady, but no accelerations (they want to see at least two coupled with movement). Then she started moving for us after I moved around a bit, and kept swimming off the monitor, so we kept missing the accelerations they wanted to see! But fluid levels were good, and we did ultimately determine that she was having the accelerations they wanted to see. Just took a little longer than we might hope for.
My second appointment was the standard prenatal (I'm up to every other week these days). This is pretty much to check my weight, blood pressure, urine, and any other questions or concerns. My weight is holding steady (I think I was down 3 lbs from the last time they weighed me there, which is always higher than when I weigh myself at home) so that was good. My OB is very happy with me for that. Also my blood pressure was down, which was really great news since it was a little high at the last appointment. Of course I was stressed and anxious at the last appointment, so not hard to explain. The only "bad" news is that my blood sugars had a consistent elevation over the past week. I watched the trend happen and even tried to manage my food intake a little better to no avail. But I was totally hormonal last week (I was weepy at stupid country songs nearly every morning in the car), so I am very clear that I experienced a hormone surge which is what is causing the increased insulin resistance. So they have upped my blood sugar medicine to twice a day now. I don't feel bad about that. I know it isn't because of anything that I have done, or didn't do.
The third appointment was the growth ultrasound. Since I have GD and am on medication, they monitor me more closely, and one of the things they look for is an over sized baby. So today we had our growth ultrasound and Isabella is measuring around 5 lbs, which is the 65 percentile for her gestational age. Just above average. No monster baby here! This is good news because if we continue to measure on target, not only will we not have a crazy large baby, but it also means that hopefully we can deliver naturally. They still won't let me go past my due date, but I also don't want to be induced super early. Really I hope Isabella knows that she has an eviction date and will come on her own before then. Make a statement baby girl by coming into this world on your own terms, and not the medical professions! =)
So anyhow today was a good day. I was feeling bad this past week that perhaps I was gaming the system with the GD and was still going to have other issues (like a super huge baby). Today shows me that I continue to do well with this whole pregnancy business and that baby girl is responding just fine. Maybe we only think our families grow monster babies because issues went undiagnosed and since I've been doing my best, we won't have any problems. I hold that idea closely and keep my eye on the prize. Now if only I could be on maternity leave.... =)
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