Diabetes Update

So, today was the day that I went for my “diabetic education” appointment over at Arizona Perinatal Care Center. I arrived at the office at the o-dark-thirty hour of 7:00 a.m.After filling out large amounts of paperwork, I quietly waited in the office (while looking at my scrapbooking magazines – thanks Trace!!) until my name was called.
The first order of the morning was a Level II ultrasound. The ultrasound tech was very sweet, and super enthusiastic about my “big, beautiful belly!” She loved the fact that the baby was all out-front, because, in her words “Oh, these pictures are just SOOO clear and beautiful!” She talked to me the entire time and told me exactly what she was taking measurements of, etc. Everything came back completely healthy and normal – great heart, healthy lungs, normal head shape/size, etc. I also had her give me up-close pictures of our little guy’s private part – just wanted to make sure that “he” was really a “he”. Sure enough, there’s no doubt he is ALL boy!

 

We also got this great picture of his very cute little foot…..

 

From the ultrasound room, I went into an office, where I sat with a dietician for my “diabetes education”. Val was another very nice lady, with lots of good information. She walked me through a meal plan, and showed me how to use my new glucose monitor (ouch! It’s a quick prick with a tiny little needle, but it does hurt) and showed me how to fill out all of my weekly eating charts. I will send my charts, showing food consumption and my blood sugar readings, into their office weekly (by fax) so that the dietician can keep track of all that’s going on body-wise with me.

Finally, I went to one more office to have a consult with Dr. Petron. A friendly and professional man, he told me that the only concern was the baby’s overall size, with the baby measuring at 35 weeks already (the ultrasound tech had told me this earlier in the morning). I was 32 weeks yesterday. He said that if this little guy were to go full-term, he could weigh in at close to 10 pounds!

Although he said that the diabetes was a factor, he also said that the baby could also just be “a big, burly boy.” The concern for a small woman like myself is that I won’t be able to push out a baby quite that big.

So, in the doctor’s words, the “handwriting is kind-of on the wall” for a possible early inducement, with the hopes of avoiding any kind of C-section. I will return to Arizona Perinatal Care Center in exactly four weeks for another ultrasound and doctor consult.

The doctor said it really was too early to make any kind of final decisions or predictions, so I guess for now, I will eat healthy, poke often (again, ouch!) and see two sets of doctors (my regular OB and the OB specialist) over the next few weeks.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and your love. God has the precious boy right in the palm of His hand, and I am at peace with my big God being fully in control.