I called my OB's office on Friday about the rash. They said to try Benadryl at night and either Zyrtec or Claritin during the day. Benadryl is only good for 4-6 hours and the others are 24 hour pills. That was frustrating, but I tried the Benadryl overnight on Friday and woke up about the same. I took Zyrtec Saturday morning and not much changed. I haven't taken anything since then. The rash is really weird because the itchiness seems to come and go. I have bumpy skin that isn't noticeable unless you look for it closely, and it does not itch all the time. Of course, when I scratch, it gets worse. I have had it on my hands now, too, including my palms. I still have no idea what it is, but I'm not sure it is bad enough to go to the doctor for it. I guess I'll just wait it out and see if it improves.
My blood sugars have been really weird since the rash started. They may put me on Humulin N during the day, too. That is the one I take before bed that works all night. If I have it right, I would take that plus the ones before meals. What's one more shot when you already give yourself four?
Big day coming up Saturday - I've been looking forward to this one since I was 6. Hope it is a good day - I'm going to eat a big piece of cake whether my doc likes it or not. I don't think that will make the baby huge, and it will be worth it!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
26 Weeks
I have a weird itchy rash on my fingers/hands - so bizarre! I woke up Wednesday morning and my fingers all itched from the middle knuckle to the fingertip. They still itch today and it feels like it moved down into my hand. I am grateful that the rash is not red or noticeable. It affected my blood sugars for sure on Weds - they were all high. The nurse said that if it is an inflammatory immune response it can make your results high.
I haven't called my OB about it yet - not that big of deal - but I hope it goes away soon.
I haven't called my OB about it yet - not that big of deal - but I hope it goes away soon.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
25 Weeks 4 Days
Seems like a lot has happened since I last wrote...this should be most of it.
I met my out of pocket maximum for the year so no more medical expenses for me from here on out - awesome news!
My OB called me yesterday with an update. She wanted to make sure they changed my 28 week appt to be with her instead of the other OB with which I was originally scheduled. She wants to see me herself from here on out. She also said she had an informal conversation with a perinatologist about me and they decided I won't need a hospital admission for steroids. She said they will do it as an outpatient and just notify the endocrinologist as to what is happening. I was kind of looking forward to a day in bed :), but I guess it will be more convenient this way.
Last week they set up a level II ultrasound with the perinatology clinic for my 28 week appt. I will meet with a perinatologist after the test to get the results. That is on a Thursday, and the following Monday I have a regular ultrasound (growth check) at the OB's office and an OB doc appt (now with my regular OB).
Today I saw the NP at the endocrinologist's office. My blood pressure is still low - good news. My A1C went down since last month, which is progress. They will check in another month. She increased my bedtime insulin, but didn't make any other changes. They just increased my mealtime insulin on Thursday, though. I mentioned the steroids to her and she said that when it happens they will monitor me closely and adjust my insulin as needed. She said the steroids will cause my blood sugars to go much higher than usual. I also scheduled all of my appts at their office for the rest of the pregnancy (every other week until the end).
I have been exhausted lately. Still having contractions irregularly - one time I had 4 in an hour, but then nothing consistent after that. I get short of breath pretty quickly. I am almost outgrowing my maternity shorts but I think I can make them work until it cools off this fall. Heartburn/indigestion has been increasing lately - Tums are still working fine for that. A couple of times I have burped/hiccuped while I've been asleep and it wakes me up. Either my throat and/or nose burn or my mouth tastes like vomit - that part of it sucks. Baby moves like crazy most days. My feet are starting to hurt like the end of my last pregnancy - plantar fasciitis. I still wear the orthotics they gave me last time, so not much I can do about it other than wearing those. I think there are some exercises - I'll have to dig out the handout they gave me.
Still waiting for Ben's company to decide about his job - don't even get me started on it.
Ben and I went to Omaha the 14th through 17th. On the drive there, I went through a ton of baby names with him, and we think we may have narrowed it down to the two posted on the blog. I change my mind a lot, so you may see them change, but this is the first list on which the two of us collaborated. We had a great time just being tourists. We did a lot of fun things and had a break from Hadley and Allie. However, it sure was challenging having diabetes and eating out for four days in a row. Restaurant meals can be very high in carbs!
The only bummer about the trip was our friends had their twin boys while we were out of town - at 33 weeks...surprise! I finally got to visit today - mom is doing great, but I'm sure she is overwhelmed with double the duties. How could she not be?! The babies are still little, but Hadley was early and about their size, so I know it won't be long before they catch up!
I met my out of pocket maximum for the year so no more medical expenses for me from here on out - awesome news!
My OB called me yesterday with an update. She wanted to make sure they changed my 28 week appt to be with her instead of the other OB with which I was originally scheduled. She wants to see me herself from here on out. She also said she had an informal conversation with a perinatologist about me and they decided I won't need a hospital admission for steroids. She said they will do it as an outpatient and just notify the endocrinologist as to what is happening. I was kind of looking forward to a day in bed :), but I guess it will be more convenient this way.
Last week they set up a level II ultrasound with the perinatology clinic for my 28 week appt. I will meet with a perinatologist after the test to get the results. That is on a Thursday, and the following Monday I have a regular ultrasound (growth check) at the OB's office and an OB doc appt (now with my regular OB).
Today I saw the NP at the endocrinologist's office. My blood pressure is still low - good news. My A1C went down since last month, which is progress. They will check in another month. She increased my bedtime insulin, but didn't make any other changes. They just increased my mealtime insulin on Thursday, though. I mentioned the steroids to her and she said that when it happens they will monitor me closely and adjust my insulin as needed. She said the steroids will cause my blood sugars to go much higher than usual. I also scheduled all of my appts at their office for the rest of the pregnancy (every other week until the end).
I have been exhausted lately. Still having contractions irregularly - one time I had 4 in an hour, but then nothing consistent after that. I get short of breath pretty quickly. I am almost outgrowing my maternity shorts but I think I can make them work until it cools off this fall. Heartburn/indigestion has been increasing lately - Tums are still working fine for that. A couple of times I have burped/hiccuped while I've been asleep and it wakes me up. Either my throat and/or nose burn or my mouth tastes like vomit - that part of it sucks. Baby moves like crazy most days. My feet are starting to hurt like the end of my last pregnancy - plantar fasciitis. I still wear the orthotics they gave me last time, so not much I can do about it other than wearing those. I think there are some exercises - I'll have to dig out the handout they gave me.
Still waiting for Ben's company to decide about his job - don't even get me started on it.
Ben and I went to Omaha the 14th through 17th. On the drive there, I went through a ton of baby names with him, and we think we may have narrowed it down to the two posted on the blog. I change my mind a lot, so you may see them change, but this is the first list on which the two of us collaborated. We had a great time just being tourists. We did a lot of fun things and had a break from Hadley and Allie. However, it sure was challenging having diabetes and eating out for four days in a row. Restaurant meals can be very high in carbs!
The only bummer about the trip was our friends had their twin boys while we were out of town - at 33 weeks...surprise! I finally got to visit today - mom is doing great, but I'm sure she is overwhelmed with double the duties. How could she not be?! The babies are still little, but Hadley was early and about their size, so I know it won't be long before they catch up!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
23 Weeks 5 Days
I survived last week - Worked 45.5 hours total. That may not sound like much to some of you, but I usually only work 28 or so. I was exhausted.
I saw the NP at the endocrinologist on Friday. She increased my insulin dose some, which they tell me is a good sign of a healthy pregnancy. They would be more concerned if I progressed along and did not need more insulin. She also said that during my labor and delivery they will have me on IV insulin and they will probably check my blood sugar every hour or so. Doesn't that sound fun! She told me that people who have insulin-dependent gestational diabetes have a 50 % chance of developing type II diabetes later in life. That statistic does not include my added risk from a family history and PCOS. More good news :(
Yesterday I saw my OB. I had only gained 3 lbs since my last appt, which is good for me. I had an ultrasound again and the baby is still a boy. He weighs about 1 lb 9 oz and is measuring right where he should. His heart rate was 148, and he is still breech. My doc and I picked a date for me to go to the hospital for steroids - Sept 16. She also said she will set up the referral to the perinatologist. She was going to wait until 28 weeks to do all of this, but she decided to do it sooner rather than later after I pointed out to her that my next visit is with another OB.
We talked more about VBAC vs. c-section. My placenta appears to be moving up and out of the way so far, so that is good. She still says we will just take it a day at a time and see how things progress, which I am fine with. I feel like I have no control over anything, which is very hard to handle some days. I guess that would be true for any delivery, but it feels different this time around since I know so far in advance that I have complications. Hopefully meeting with the perinatologist will clear some things up?
My sciatica went away after a couple of days. Thank goodness! I hope it never comes back. I had one episode of diarrhea on Monday afternoon and another Tuesday evening at bedtime. So weird after I've spent most of the pregnancy constipated. I have had 3-5 contractions a day for a couple of weeks now. They have been very far apart and not consistent, so nothing to worry about.
Still no word about Ben's job situation. I am kind of hoping they move him now. I am thinking about going back to school and there is a good program up there I would like to do. We'll just have to wait and see. I hope it won't be too much longer since they initially told us the end of July. That's frustrating!
Other than that, I have just been enjoying Hadley and having fun. I swear she gets taller every week and learns a new word every day. We are having a blast with her this summer. I cannot wait to have a little brother for her to play with!
I saw the NP at the endocrinologist on Friday. She increased my insulin dose some, which they tell me is a good sign of a healthy pregnancy. They would be more concerned if I progressed along and did not need more insulin. She also said that during my labor and delivery they will have me on IV insulin and they will probably check my blood sugar every hour or so. Doesn't that sound fun! She told me that people who have insulin-dependent gestational diabetes have a 50 % chance of developing type II diabetes later in life. That statistic does not include my added risk from a family history and PCOS. More good news :(
Yesterday I saw my OB. I had only gained 3 lbs since my last appt, which is good for me. I had an ultrasound again and the baby is still a boy. He weighs about 1 lb 9 oz and is measuring right where he should. His heart rate was 148, and he is still breech. My doc and I picked a date for me to go to the hospital for steroids - Sept 16. She also said she will set up the referral to the perinatologist. She was going to wait until 28 weeks to do all of this, but she decided to do it sooner rather than later after I pointed out to her that my next visit is with another OB.
We talked more about VBAC vs. c-section. My placenta appears to be moving up and out of the way so far, so that is good. She still says we will just take it a day at a time and see how things progress, which I am fine with. I feel like I have no control over anything, which is very hard to handle some days. I guess that would be true for any delivery, but it feels different this time around since I know so far in advance that I have complications. Hopefully meeting with the perinatologist will clear some things up?
My sciatica went away after a couple of days. Thank goodness! I hope it never comes back. I had one episode of diarrhea on Monday afternoon and another Tuesday evening at bedtime. So weird after I've spent most of the pregnancy constipated. I have had 3-5 contractions a day for a couple of weeks now. They have been very far apart and not consistent, so nothing to worry about.
Still no word about Ben's job situation. I am kind of hoping they move him now. I am thinking about going back to school and there is a good program up there I would like to do. We'll just have to wait and see. I hope it won't be too much longer since they initially told us the end of July. That's frustrating!
Other than that, I have just been enjoying Hadley and having fun. I swear she gets taller every week and learns a new word every day. We are having a blast with her this summer. I cannot wait to have a little brother for her to play with!
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