Diaries of the Newly Enciente: The 36wk Surprise

My new daily friend...

 By Wednesday, we'll be marking the end of our 36th week and starting our 37th. And when we start our 37th I'll be breathing a sigh of relief as regardless of when I pop, baby Aoife will be officially full term by then.

Its been a crazy last couple of weeks though. First I notice the beginnings of stretch marks on the underside of my belly. Nothing ridiculous, just a few red lines, mostly on the left side but just confirms that as soon as I think I am going to get away with none, they suddenly pop up.

Then I got a bit freaked out in the middle of the night when I noticed a numb patch on my belly. I even got PIC to touch it to see if I was just hallucinating. Well, there was feeling on it, just not as much as you'd normally expect from your belly. Times like these, Google turns into your new best friend and I discover that as your skin stretches, so do your nerve endings. Making for less sensitivity to touch - ergo the slight numbness.

My Wk 34 Mug Shot

The cramps in my calves have come back - and the hip pain have worsened. I've started to waddle when I am tired and as the baby has slipped lower it sometimes feel like there's a party just above my cervix. Unfortunately, not the good kind.

I've also reached the stage of "lightening" where the baby and my belly have dropped lower but not quite feeling the benefits of easier breath and so on. The heartburn still plagues me every now and then, and it still feels like I have a baby gorilla sitting on my chest most of the time. I guess my belly is just humongous. Getting in and out of bed, the car, even our couch is a chore yet I still can't help but feel this sense of giddiness that the finish line is well in sight.

Speaking of humongous bellies. The midwife did freak out when she saw the results of our 33wk scan. Bubba is just growing too fast and too big. So despite passing the pee on a stick glucose test every check up and the glucose screening blood test at 28wks, she thought it might be a good idea to do a glucose tolerance test (GTT) test for a more accurate read of whether I might have gestational diabetes.

Even as I waited for the results, a part of me thought that it might come out positive. I have been feeling a bit weird for some time and Aoife's size is starting to worry us - but as GD doesn't really have any conclusive symptoms then our layman brains didn't really put two and two together. Plus, this condition only affects 20% of pregnancies -- am I really that lucky? Never mind that its most common among Asians and women over 30, I just thought that with everything being boringly normal, there is still a good chance I'm GD free and simply growing a big baby, right? But hey, we've all heard of murphy's law eh?

Soon after, I get the call. Its positive. Get shipped to hospital to meet a dietician, a diabetic midwife, and an OB. I get a new diet plan, a kit to test my blood for glucose levels first thing in the morning, and two hours after breakfast, lunch, and dinner. As this is quite late onset (or potentially just late detection), I am also given Metformin to be taken with meals to slow down my liver's production of glucose for that extra little kick. OB then gives me the news that given my condition and baby's size, she's recommending that I be induced from 38 weeks onward. In the mean time, priority is for me to stick to the plan, monitor my glucose, and keep my sugar low till I pop to make sure we minimize the risk for real diabetes for both myself and bub later in life and that baba doesn't develop metabolism problems and turn obese when she gets older.

Herbs to brew for my Chinese Post Natal Care Regimen

Easy right? Not quite. I actually thought it was a bit unfair that I got GD when I have a clean bill of health otherwise. Compared to PIC, I almost have a non existent sweet tooth and even swore off chocolate since getting pregnant. Then I learned that carbs are just as bad as sweets. This then becomes a problem as I am big on bread, rice, and pasta. Portion size is a big thing as well which is driving me nuts. I've never had to watch what I eat before. Its always been stuff your face now, work it out later. I guess that really won't work now given my girth. Oh well. I feel like I've been forced onto a no-carb diet, but what the heck, its only 2 weeks or so right?

I get another scan and OB visit on the 3rd of July to see how baba's tracking and to determine whether the induction needs to happen on my 38th week or if they can push it further and closer to 40. Fingers crossed that all is well! Although I don't mind being induced early -- I am just over whole pregnancy thing and quite excited to see and touch our precious little bundle.

In other news, Aoife is really stretching like crazy now. As if complaining about the lack of room in my tummy. I am pleased though, as it feels like PIC and I are already playing with her even if she's not out yet. While it sometimes feels like you're being punched and poked from the inside, I still think all the activity is cute. It gives me an even bigger smile when PIC has his evening sessions with her, speaking, kissing and rubbing my belly.

I can pop as early as the 11th of July and I am over the moon. Yes, there is that fear of the unknown, but a bigger chunk of me is ridiculously excited and so is PIC. Kiora Aoife, won't be long now.