18 Weeks

This morning I drove into the “big city” for my 18 week check-up with the High Risk OB. I left the house late, but somehow managed to arrive on time and, amazingly, also managed to get out of the city and on my way to work without getting lost.

All-in-all, it was another positive visit. My blood pressure was even better than last time, the heart rate was still strong, and the size of my belly was right on target.

While the nurse was trying to find the heart rate with the doppler machine, we kept hearing this “thunk” sound. Kind of like if you flicked your fingers on a microphone. The nurse smiled and explained. “That’s a kick … (thunk) … and another one.” Also, when she finally found the heartbeat, it seemed to be going in and out of focus. It would get louder and then softer and then louder again. She said “The baby’s really moving around in there. That’s why the sound keeps changing.”

How cool is that?? He or she is alive and well in there … and really moving! I was all grins, as usual. That little window into my baby’s life is, hands down, the highlight of the visit.

I had lots of questions for the doctor this time. He was gracious enough to spend the time with me to answer them all.

I asked about my weight because it is really not going up. In fact, today it was down about a pound since my appointment two weeks ago. He reassured me that this was nothing to worry about. He says the baby is really small now, something like 4 ounces, so the fluctuation in my weight is just in my weight, not in the baby’s weight. He also reminded me that the baby takes everything it needs first, and what’s left over is what I get. So even if I didn’t eat for a week, the baby would probably be fine.

Next we talked about my lows overnight and my ketones. I have gotten the ketones down to mostly negative or trace amounts, but sometimes I am running low overnight, and then rebounding to a too-high number first thing in the morning. He suggested that I change the timing of my 2 AM snack to just before bed (something like 10 or 11 PM) and then try to keep my basal rate as steady as possible overnight. He thinks this more steady intake of insulin and food overnight will help me avoid bottoming-out in the early morning and waking up too high. I was so happy to hear that I can abandon the 2 AM snack that I could have kissed him! Hopefully this works, because it sure would be nice to be able to sleep through the night again (at least for a little while.)

He told me a couple of times that my BGs were good and that I was doing a good job. I think this might have been the most important part of the visit. I get so stressed out about every little thing that happens, so his reassurance does a lot to help me rebalance my stress levels. And he started and ended the visit with a hug! A hug! Man, I really needed that!

At the end of the appointment, I scheduled an appointment for a  fetal echocardiogram at the Heart Center in three weeks and another appointment with the High Risk OB in four weeks. The next steps are my appointment with the dietician next week and then the 20 week ultrasound the week after that.