[Baby KERF 20 weeks!]
So far I’ve been really luckily that other than that 7 week scare, things in my pregnancy have gone smoothly thus far. My doctor visits occur once a month (for now) and are pretty basic: weight, blood pressure, urine sample, chat with doctor, heartbeat listen (!), and now, fundal height measuring.
At my 24.5 week appointment this week, here were some of my stats:
Weight gain: 11 pounds (from first appt, more like 13 from pre-pregnancy)
Blood pressure: 92/60
Baby’s heartbeat: 150 bpm
Fundal height: 26 weeks
That last one took me by surprise. I have felt that it took me longer to show than others, so I figured I’d be right on track and definitely not ahead. My doctor said at this point the number doesn’t mean too much. I wonder if I just have a high uterus but not a wide one? Pear instead of apple? Although Wikipedia says give or take 1-3 cm of error.
Curious, but I’ll take the number 26 any day!
Doctor says my weight gain is right on track and blood pressure and heartbeat were good.
A Minor Concern
One question I did have for him: I had a couple of cervix twinges last week. Enough to make me wonder if something was changing, but not enough to worry. Luckily, they went away. But when I brought this up to him, he noted that during my 22 week ultrasound, my cervix was on the short end of normal, so next week I go back for an ultrasound to make sure everything is OK. I’m not worried (since the pains were very brief and mild and because I’m still normal) but I’m glad to be checked out. HOPING to peek at the baby from above too, but I don’t want to be too pushy : )
Honey, Suga Suga
Coming up: my glucose test. [Which means I am so close to the third trimester!!!] It’s a walk-in service, so my doctor told me to do it about a week before my next appointment, so 3 weeks from now. I’m really only nervous about the needle part. And just maybe feeling sick from drinking the juicy juice. I talked to my RD friend Caitlin about gestational diabetes because she ended up having GDM during her pregnancy last year, and she said that she hadn’t been too active in her pregnancy. After her diagnosis though, she really stepped up workouts and her blood sugar was so much more under control with regular exercise (more than diet). So I’m hoping that since I’ve been active almost daily over the past 6 months things are OK in the blood department. But we will see!
I didn’t read the paperwork until I got home and it says in two places: THIS IS NOT A FASTING TEST (although …"it is recommended that you go at a time when you have not recently consumed a large meal or sugary snack”). I called my doctor back and asked for a more specific recommendation. Should I go at 8am before breakfast or should I go maybe at 11am, 3 hours after breakfast? And maybe I should have fewer carbs at breakfast that day? I want the test to be accurate and don’t want to cheat or anything for the health of the baby, but I also don’t want to give myself an unnecessary reason to fail the 1 hour.
The nurse said to have something before I go but just not something too carby. I guess there is a concern about too much glucose on the empty stomach making people woozy. I asked her about yogurt and a little bit of fruit and she was wishy-washy about the fruit and recommend eggs and toast instead. I talked to Lynsie about it and she said she had a hard boiled egg (at the recommendation of her midwife) and brought peanut butter crackers to snack on right after the test. I think that’s what I’ll do – and eat more when I get home if I’m still hungry!
I also came across this blog post about alternatives to the fake-orange liquid. Wouldn’t it be so nice if we could just have a measured amount of real food glucose instead? I called my lab first, and they said they had never heard of this request and would need a written note from my doctor. So I called there next and spoke with the nurse and she basically said no. I know I could refuse the test or be more assertive, but it’s really just one bottle of gross soda-like substance, so I don’t really think it’s going to do any harm. I can see why they want to have everything completely standardized for an optimal test result. But still, I would much prefer to eat banana, bread and juice! (Or ice cream or cake with buttercream or anything more palatable!)
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