A Closer Look! 3rd Trimester Home-Stretch

So here we are, at nearly 30 weeks, and it has already been an interesting start to the 3rd trimester.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I failed (miserably) at the glucose tolerance test, and despite all my denial, blood tests after fasting and normal meals without sugary items still showed that I do indeed have a problem.  My OB and the diabetes nurse & dietitian spelled it out for me in a clearer way.  Basically, after around week 25, the placenta starts to crank out even more fancy hormones, and your pancreas is required to produce 3 times as much insulin as normal.  And if you don't eat regularly, your liver decides to dump a bunch of sugar into your system because it thinks you need the energy, which in turn the pancreas battles by making more insulin.  So there can be a lot of internal spikes and crashes going on that can be dangerous for the baby, possibly resulting in preeclampsia/blood pressure spikes, higher birth weights, premature labor, or worse case even still birth.  So you best believe I got my butt in gear and have been diligently checking my blood, taking my pills, and forcing myself to eat regularly throughout the day.  For whatever reason, I still have a bit of trouble with carbs, even though I'm eating less than what the dietitian says is required.  I may have to switch to insulin injections instead of the pill form of medication, but my OB and the diabetes nurse have been super supportive and keep me checking in by phone and weekly appointments.  From week 36 I'll be under close supervision, going in twice a week for special ultrasounds to measure my fluids and check the baby's position to see if we need to induce labor or schedule a c-section.   Hey, I'll do whatever it takes.  I even surprised myself but not missing rice or many of the foods we eat out as much.  I've found some good recipes that are high protein, low carb, and simple to make too, so I've been eating at home a lot more.  I still get the dizzies when I'm on my feet for too long so it can be limiting, but I'm lucky my hubs has been supportive and helpful through all this.



So that brings me to our 3D/4D Ultrasound session!  This was my early birthday present, since I wanted to get it done after week 28 when baby Darius's facial features were more developed, but I also didn't want to wait until he got too big to move around in there (he's already a good week ahead on the growth scale at 3.4lbs).  He has been so active, I can constantly feel him moving in there, but pretty soon it'll be a tight squeeze!  We decided to go to Peek-a-Boo Mommy, which is a boutique located here in Escondido (San Diego) 5 minutes from our home.  With their Keepsake package, we got several black & white and color prints, a disc with all the digital photos from the session, a DVD video of the entire session, and a stuffed animal panda with a recording of our baby's heartbeat embedded in it - all for $99!  Cool thing about this place is if your baby is camera shy and they can't get good pics or vids, they'll let you come back another day for no extra cost.  We got some good pics the first time around, but for some reason our usually very active little guy was very quiet so we didn't get video.  The next day, I ate his favorite lamb koubideh kabob  and a little something sweet before going in, and we were able to get even more pictures and some great video footage as well.  It was such an amazing experience for both Stephen and I.  Now we have a better idea of what our boy will look like (although some of the footage looks like lumps of clay or melting wax) ;)  We can definitely see both our features in this little guy, and even some of our mannerisms.  

Here he is playing peek-a-boo!


And here he gives us a little prayer and a smile.

Now this one? I swear he looks like he's plotting to take over the world..... hmmmm.....

I think we're gonna have our hands full, but we are both just over-the-moon enamored with this little guy and can't wait to meet him.  Mommy will give up carbs and sugar (oh and alcohol and pain meds) for you any day!

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