16 Weeks

Today I met with the High-Risk Ob for my 16 week check-up. His office is in a larger city nearby and while I am typically pretty good when it comes to directions, this city really seems to give me a hard time. People who live there admit that the street signs are pretty much worthless and that you really need to “just know” where you are going. So it is no surprise that I got lost on my way back to work. I’m not 100% sure where I lost my way, but goodness knows I’ll have plenty more opportunities to figure it out over the course of the next 5 months.

The good news is that everything checked out well. The heart rate was strong (oh, that sound!) and my blood pressure was good. We talked about my blood sugars and he suggested a few tweaks to my basal rates to help with these crazy lows.

I asked him about the ketones, and he was also concerned about them. He advised me to eat at least 15-30 grams of carb every three to four hours. He said protein was not really necessary at this point and that if it does not sounds good to me, I do not have to force it. In fact, he said that when I needed the protein, my body would self-regulate and protein-rich foods would start to sound and taste good again.

He also said that eating a small portion of carb more often would help keep my sugar from dropping into that crazy low range so often. Finally, he suggested that I try more complex carbs and I mentioned that I have had to avoid my typical fiber-rich carbs, but that I have had good luck with pasta.

He recommended Dreamfields pasta. He says it will not cause as drastic of a spike in my sugar, but does not have the fiber that my digestive system cannot tolerate right now. However, I see on their Website that Dreamfields has 5 grams of fiber per serving. That sounds like too much for my delicate digestive system these days. Have you tried Dreamfields? Did you have digestive side effects?

He also started the ball rolling for me to talk with a nutritionist. I am really happy about this. I have to admit that I am overwhelmed by all of these new eating challenges lately and I am concerned that my baby might not be getting all of the nutrients he or she needs.

My next appointment is in two weeks and we will review blood sugars again then. In four weeks I will see him again for an ultrasound and we will hopefully find out if this little one is a “he” or a “she.” Wow!

Good Vibrations?

Now that I am into the second trimester, I am getting lots of questions about the baby moving. Questions from friend and family and from doctors and nurses alike. Can I feel it? How does it feel? Is the baby kicking yet?

The problem is, I am not sure how to answer this question. This is my first pregnancy, so I am not really sure what a moving baby feels like. Besides, at only 3-5 ounces, he or she is still pretty small, so it could be easy to miss those movements in this seemingly huge belly of mine.

Being a researcher, the first thing I did was look it up. My first go-to resource, What to Expect, says that it is unusual to feel movements this early, especially in a first pregnancy. Usually, movement is felt closer to 20 weeks. This book says the movements can feel like anything from butterflies in your stomach, to a feather, to gas bubbles. Huh. I can’t say I’ve felt anything like that yet.

Still wondering, though, I went to my next favorite resource, the internet. Here I found all types of real-life experiences posted in forums and on blogs. Some women felt movement as early as 13 or 14 weeks, and others, not until the sixth month. But I did find one thread that caught my attention; It was about vibrations. These women almost all said that their movements felt like vibrations low in their bellies. Now that is something I can relate to! And actually,I have been feeling these vibrations off and on since about 13 weeks. Could these vibrations be my baby moving?

I am still not 100% sure because the vibrations are fleeting and only happen, at most, a couple of time a week. Mostly they occur when I am about to get up in the morning or when I lay down at night. Perhaps they are happening all the time, but this is the only time that I feel them?

Who knows, maybe it is just wishful thinking. Maybe it’s nothing but gas bubbles …