Due Date Fast Approaching...Less Than 6 Weeks

I thought I'd write a bit about my pregnancy today, using this place as a journal for myself to look back on. Time has a way of getting away on us and I know I'll lose track of the details otherwise.

At 34 weeks and a couple of days along, I am feeling truly wonderful.  I may be in better shape this pregnancy than any of the previous.  Thank you, hilly neighborhood and to my husband who helps motivate and gets out there with me daily, for keeping my cardio going strong.  

How fortunate that we were able to get in with an experienced Obstetrician not long after moving here and almost everything along the way has gone like clockwork.

I say almost, because at 28 weeks I did fail my glucose tolerance test (guzzle a sugary orange drink and have a blood draw an hour later).  Next, I was asked to take the longer 2 hour test, which meant 3 blood draws.  Unfortunately, my numbers were a bit high with that one also and at that point one is officially labelled as having gestational diabetes.

As a result, my OB referred me to the gestational diabetes clinic and suddenly I had appointments here, there and everywhere...for 3 days in a row.  First I was asked to sit in on a group session on how to eat to keep glucose levels in a healthy range for baby, the second day I saw the Endocrinologist and the third day I spent a couple of hours with the hospital's dietician, looking over all of my numbers and my food journal.  For several weeks I've had to prick my finger 4x daily and test a drop of blood to keep track of my levels when I wake and after eating.

Over that intense week of appointments, the team of specialists all agree that it is highly unlikely that I actually have pregnancy-induced diabetes at all, if anything, it is just a slight intolerance to glucose during pregnancy.  There is almost certainly a genetic factor showing up, with both type 1 and type 2 appearing heavily on one side of my family history.

Bottom line: my testing numbers are near perfect in my daily routine, my weight gain is spot on, my baby is estimated in the 50%tile for growth (ideal), all my children have weighed 7lb.2oz or less at birth, I exercise daily and there is absolutely nothing to worry about for now or even in my future.

I could look at this clinic experience as a waste of time, stress and energy, but I'm choosing to be grateful for the blessings that have come about from it.  I've had an excellent reminder/wake up call why, with my family history it will always be important for me to keep fit and eat nutritiously and the many possible ways to do that.

Also, I can take comfort  that my lifestyle is already well suited to being and remaining healthy, so there were few changes that needed to take place.  What a relief!

Now that we can rest easy that all is well, it is getting very exciting with each passing day bringing us one day closer to meeting our baby girl.  She is now fully developed and just needs to hang in there a bit longer to keep putting on some cute fatty layers.