It has been a really long time since I updated. Between the addition on the house and the new baby, life has been busy. Hoping to get caught up some posts in the near future!
We welcomed our baby boy, Brayden Tate, on August 10th. He was born weighing in at 9lbs and 3oz, quite the contrast from my little Charlotte! This pregnancy and birth ended up being a completely different experience for me. Much like how I shared Charlotte's birth story, I wanted to share Brayden's. Even if I am the only one who reads it!
At 28 weeks, I mentioned to my doctor I felt very large in comparison to my previous pregnancy. She measured my stomach and sent me for an ultrasound that day. Baby was already over 3 pounds and measuring ahead. Then I failed my 1 hr glucose test by just a few points. As is common practice, I was sent for the 3 hour glucose test at the lab. Going to the lab to have blood drawn is a big deal for me. I have very thin, rolling veins. This typically leads to multiple attempts to draw blood from various parts of my body and is (often) accompanied by me fainting. The three hour glucose test meant 4 fasting blood draws! My doctor told me to schedule an appointment at the lab ASAP for the test. I could not get an appointment at the lab for more than 3 weeks out. So I took my chances and showed up when the lab opened. I was 7th in line. Due to computer issues, I waited almost 2 hours before being called back. They got my veins on the first try and I was able to get the glucose drink down. This time they made me drink the entire 100g bottle. 13 minutes in, I thew up the entire drink and was sent home. I am not sure if it was because, at that point, I had gone SO long with no food and my empty stomach just could not handle THAT much sugar? In the meantime, I started testing my blood sugars 1 hour after meals with an extra glucometer I got from my mom. All of my levels were within the normal range.
At my next doctor appointment I told her what happened. She was adamant about me taking the test again despite showing her evidence of good numbers and pleading my case that even if I tested positive, it wouldn't change anything with my diet. Yet again, there were no appointments at the lab. Ultimately, she gave me the option of skipping the test but proceeding with Diabetes Education classes and continued monitoring OR attempting the test again with Zofran. She called me in a script for 1 pill and gave me s referral for Diabetes Education classes and left it up to me to decide before my next appointment. I was really unsure about what I wanted to do. I scheduled the Diabetes class but ultimately ended up going in for the 3-hour test again. I was able to keep the liquid down and tested my own sugars after each draw. I knew I had failed before I left.
Since I had already been testing, I was able to bring that information with me when I went to meet with the Diabetes Educators. They made a few changes to my diet, gave me a glucometer and set me up to come back in a week. I followed their diet for a few days and noticed my sugars were increasing. My insurance company was GREAT. They have a Diabetes Care program and covered all my supplies at 100% and assigned me a nurse who checked in with my once per week. She called me that first week and I was able to talk to her about what was going on. We made a couple of changes to my nighttime snack to help with my fasting numbers. I also started walking 1-mile each night. This was the ticket for me... my numbers were perfect! I feel SO thankful that I was able to manage without medication!
Overall, I gained 30lbs this pregnancy. I really didn't think I would make it to my scheduled C-section. Despite my controlled glucose levels, I knew baby was measuring big so it was almost a blessing to have a repeat C-section this time around. We were scheduled to be at the hospital at 6am on 8/10/15. It was VERY weird knowing we were checking in to have a baby. They immediately took me back to start my IV, take my blood and monitor the baby. I did not have a spinal with Charlotte since I labored before having an emergency C-section so I was a bit anxious about that. I also really nervous that they would want to put the catheter in BEFORE the spinal but they assured me they would not do that to me!
I had an awesome team of doctors. Not only did I get my two favorite doctors from my OB practice, but the anesthesia team was amazing. Since Tim was not allowed in the room when they gave the spinal, they stayed with me the entire time, walked me through everything I would feel, and held my hand when I panicked. I felt pressure when they were trying to get Brayden out as he was stuck under my ribs. When they pulled him out they called him a linebacker and had us guess the weight... I was shocked to hear 9lbs! Since the primary doctor also delivered Charlotte, she even joked about getting a 9lb baby out of 6lb incision :) He was born at 8:07am.
I was taken to recovery and gained feeling back in my legs within 2-hours. My recovery this time was SO much better. I had very little pain and swelling compared to my first C-section. I was up and walking the halls that evening. One of the things they worry about with Gestational Diabetes is the baby's glucose levels which they monitor for the first 24-hours. Brayden's were completely normal and he took to nursing right away. My glucose levels also returned to normal as well.
Charlotte got to meet Brayden the next day. Initially, she was not very interested. When she left we asked her to kiss her brother and she said no. Then she cried all the way home because she didn't get to kiss her brother...toddlers! :) We got discharged a day early and have been loving being a family of FOUR! There are definitely days were things have been a challenge but my heart is so full with love for these two kiddos!
