28 week doctor appointment

28 weeks, 1 day

This installment is really going to be about two different doctor appointments that I had this week. My regular 28 week appointment was scheduled for Thursday afternoon (yesterday) but I also had to spend 3+ hours there on Tuesday morning for Round 2 of the glucose test.

I checked in just before 8:30am after a full 12 hours of no food. That part wasn't so difficult since I usually go that long during the night without eating anyways. The hard part was not eating any breakfast and having to wait until noon that day to eat. They also restricted my water intake, as it can skew results. I head straight back to labs to find a new women. The quirky lady who normally does my labs is not there and it seems that all her pictures and posters are off the walls. (I think to myself that she got the ax and wonder if there is any drama involved.) My first task was to take a sample of my blood in a fasting state. I've gotten really used to all these blood draws so now I watch as she pokes me in my "rockstar" vein (I named it that since it seems to be the same one they use every time.) I, then, had 5 minutes to drink the lemon flavored, pure sugar drink. It was about double the amount as last time so it was harder to finish but still not too bad, taste wise. I was then dismissed to the waiting room and she would call me back at 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 for another round of blood.

That first hour was a killer. Since I hadn't ate anything, my stomach got pretty upset with all that sugar. Thankfully, I had my phone and a book, plus lots of people watching to keep me entertained for 3 hours while I sat there. I was sent on my merry way with promise that the results would be in after a few days. Easy peasy and a half day at work never hurts.

Thursday rolled around and I had a quick checkup with Dr. Bennett. I ended up sitting in the waiting room for what felt like days (usually I get called pretty quickly). It wasn't such a big deal except I had to pee and I knew as soon as they called me back, they would send me to the bathroom to give a sample, so I had to hold it. I got back to the room and Brittany, the nurse, hands me a paper. It took me a second to register what it was and I started reading. The words "You did not pass you're glucose test" stuck out like a sore thumb.....wah, wah. Bummer! I didn't really have any indication that I was going to fail. Looking back, I've noticed a bit of fatigue but I thought that was just normal pregnancy progression. The crazy part to me is that I have a fairly balanced diet. I don't drink soda or coffee. Heck, I don't drink anything but water and the occasional lemonade. I eat 6-7 smaller meals every day. Granted, I eat whatever I want for dinner but otherwise, it's pretty strict the rest of the time.

Ironically, I've not been really too concerned with the diagnosis. I can handle this especially since it's only for 3 months. I figure it will force me to be conscious of my decisions. The only bummer of the whole thing is that I'm going to be monitored a heck of a lot more. I will get more ultrasounds and if he isn't here by my due date (Oct 13), induction will be ASAP. I'm sure you've gathered that I don't want to touch induction with a 10 foot pole so let's just hope he comes on his own before then. If I'm not really strict about this, he will be on the larger size which also increases chances for a c-section. I don't want to touch that with a 100 ft pole so this is where I get serious. Weekends are going to be very hard on me though. Brittany told me I would be meeting with an endocrinologist and dietitian on Tuesday morning so I will have more information after that.

::Back to the appointment::

My blood pressure was checked. Still great at 110/70. I kinda thought it would be a bit elevated since I was still soaking in the shock of failure. She busted out the sono and we got a very quick strong heartbeat at 154 bpm. He is holding strong with heartbeats in the 150s. Next up, the dreaded weight which resulted in a 6 pound gain. That makes 10 pounds for the total pregnancy which is fine. My goal is to stay with an average of about a pound a week or less. 20-25lbs would be a perfect scenario but I'm not sure I'll get so lucky. Brittany also tested my urine which had no protein or sugars which was great to hear after my diagnosis.

Dr. Bennett was in shortly where we discussed what the next 12 weeks will entail. Like I mentioned, I should have a few more ultrasounds just to keep an extra eye on the babies growth. I knew I was getting a bonus one at 32 weeks so we'll see if I get another one after that. Since I've reached my third trimester, my appointments will now be every 2 weeks instead of every 4. I can't believe it's already time for that! I am less than 9 weeks from being considered full term! Good grief!