The Reason Behind my Quietness

I haven't blogged in quite awhile now because we have had a few scares with this pregnancy.

Basically, I had a pre-term labor scare at 33 weeks which was stopped with lots of medication. I was given steroid shots for baby girl's lungs, and I was hospitalized for a few days due to being diabetic and having an elevated white count. Everything went really well although my sugars are still a bit crazy.

After that I was on a strict bed rest, and then I had a scare of pre-eclampsia. I was hospitalized (again) this past weekend for high blood pressure and labs were drawn. We also did a 24 hour urine collection which came back just fine (thank goodness). The labs however showed that my kidneys are having a hard time with this pregnancy. Both kidney function levels they took are elevated, and they seriously debated about inducing me over this past weekend because of this.

Since the kidney levels stayed stable (after 4 consistent blood draws), they decided to send me home, but they also have decided not to let me carry on past 37 weeks. So, I have a scheduled induction for May 23 which is just two weeks away now.

It's truly hard to believe we are so close to meeting our little girl. I am getting so anxious and excited. I can't wait to analyze every part of her and just cuddle her and not let her go!

Most recent photo. This was 34 weeks. I don't look any bigger this week since I lost 4 pounds from being in the hospital.

31.5 Weeks and a Few Changes

As I talked about in my previous post, I had CF clinic and my high-risk OB appointment this past Thursday. I didn't expect a great lung function report, but overall I expected unchanged news.

The first appointment of the day was my high-risk OB. It was pouring Thursday morning, and it took us almost three hours to reach clinic because of rush-hour traffic and the horrendous weather. I ended up being 15 minutes late, and I was pretty stressed about it; I hate not being places on time. My doctors weren't concerned at all, and they got me in very quickly. I had my weight checked and my blood pressure checked. My weight was okay, but my blood pressure was high (well of course, I was just nervous and rushing around trying to get to my appointment). Thankfully there was no protein in my urine so they weren't concerned.

During this time, I explained that my Braxton Hicks contractions were increasing, and I really noticed them if I was on my feet more than 15 minutes at a time. I also was having pretty rough cramping that woke me up throughout the night the day before the appointment. These two things led them to want to check me to make sure everything was okay.

Well, the good news is that my cervix is still closed, but it is already softening so that led me to have an ultrasound and NST (non-stress test) for the baby. She's doing great, but I've been told to stay off my feet as much as possible. I have another appointment this coming Thursday to see if there have been any changes.

I was pretty nervous about all of this because I never expected to hear it, but I am so glad that baby girl is doing well. I'll stay off my feet for the next 6.5 weeks if I have to just as long as she is born safe and sound.

In between my OB and my testing, I went up to my CF clinic and thankfully my PFTs are unchanged!! They looked great, and I sounded great so my doctors were really happy with that. Last CF appointment before her arrival is next month! It has really flown by.

So, basically I'm taking it EXTREMELY easy (at least until I'm told otherwise). I really do wish I could go for a long walk though because my lungs love it, and the weather is so beautiful! That's okay though..soon enough I'll be walking with our little girl :)

"Welcome to Type 1 Diabetes!" and Other Pregnancy Updates

"Welcome to Type 1 Diabetes!"

This is the sentence my endocrinologist told me today when I went in for my check-up. Up until now, my sugars have really made sense for the most part, but not anymore! Now my sugars will spike up after a meal and then plummet over a matter of 60 minutes or so. For example, yesterday afternoon I ate and took my normal amount of insulin only to find myself at 200 two hours after my meal (not the number you want to see), and then an hour later I was 60 with no signs of low blood sugar.

Apparently, this is what being a type 1 diabetic is like. Let me say, I'm glad I'm not a type 1 diabetic. I am SO frustrated with these sugars because I have no idea where they will be at any given time, and I'm not symptomatic when I'm low anymore. 

So we increased my bolus rate yet again, and I see her in two weeks to make sure that my sugars are still doing okay. She said overall I'm doing "phenomenally" which made me feel good, but I still hate seeing these high numbers!

31 weeks and starting to feel like my belly is starting to grow again

In other news, I'm 31 weeks tomorrow which means only 7 weeks remain until I meet my little girl. Where on EARTH did time go? I've been fighting the overwhelming fatigue of third trimester + cystic fibrosis. Most days all I want to do is sleep, and I usually indulge myself in this (I still do treatments, eat, and try to walk a bit). Surprisingly, I felt great yesterday (which also happened to be my husband's birthday) so I went to the store, did some cleaning, and made dinner.

Well that was a mistake.

I think I took all that awesome energy for granted because I started having Braxton Hicks every five minutes for about an hour before they finally went to every 10 minutes after drinking plenty of water and keeping my feet up. I had my doctor appointment today, and I noticed that if I'm on my feet (even today) more than ten minutes at a time then the contractions start coming back. Makes me a bit nervous, but I've got my high-risk OB appointment tomorrow so I will be sure to ask him about it.

I also have CF clinic tomorrow, and quite honestly I'm not expecting much as far as my lung function goes. I'm struggling now, but not in a "chest infection" way..just because baby is getting bigger and bigger.

So with all of that, I guess tomorrow is a big day which will help me (hopefully) feel better about these contractions. I'll be sure to update soon. 

30 weeks

30 weeks, and I feel pretty tiny actually. I think I expected to be bigger at this point.

Dear baby girl,

There was a part of me that really didn't think I'd make it to the third trimester. I had faith, but I worried that something would go wrong because my body has failed me in so many other regards throughout my life. After talking with other women who have gone through infertility, this seems to be a pretty common feeling and worry. Now, that part of me is hoping all goes well with delivery.

It is so hard to believe that in eight short weeks you will be here, and I will be holding you in my arms and kissing your tiny face and hands. It's so surreal that I can hardly find words to describe it. You move so much inside of me every day, but I still have a hard time imagining you as a newborn that I can hold in my arms.

I have been so very blessed to carry you, and I love you  more than I could have ever imagined already. You are my miracle baby girl, and it seems that the entire world is so excited to meet you and hold you.

As I get closer to my due date, I've realized there are a few things I never want to forget about this experience (well really I never want to forget any of it because it's been such a blessing) and about your personality in the womb.

- You LOVE to stretch. You are a kicker and mover, but you are even more of a stretcher. You love to push your back out on my right side and then stick your feet out on my far left. It's such a funny feeling! Now, your daddy and I were joking that you are trying to escape through my bellybutton because you push so hard and for so long at a time that it seems you want out.

- You get a lot of hiccups. You get hiccups all the time. I feel them almost every day (sometimes when I'm really busy I don't notice them), and it seems like they bother you which makes me feel so sad for you. Once you start in with the hiccups, you start kicking and moving around so much for a few minutes. It seems like you almost realize they aren't going away and give up fighting them after a little bit. Each time they happen, I try to rub your back and tell you it will be okay. I feel so bad for you.

- You don't startle. There are a LOT of loud noises in this house. Goodness, my coughing alone is enough to wake a city block, but you don't seem to mind. You may have been startled by a noise two or three times total this whole pregnancy, but otherwise you are perfectly content.

- You seem so easygoing. Obviously this is silly to say already, but you just feel like overall you are so content in my tummy (other than those darn hiccups). I can't possibly explain this feeling to anyone, but I just think you are a happy baby already.

- You don't like contractions or ultrasounds. I've been getting so many Braxton Hicks recently, and I notice that each time I have one you stop moving until it's over. You seem to just wait it out, but it certainly stops you from what you were doing. The same thing happens with ultrasound. You could be moving all over the place, but once they put your picture up on the screen you are as quiet as can be. I'm curious to see how you'll do with the NSTs over the next 8 weeks.

I truly feel like I'm getting to know you so much already, and I'm getting more and more excited and anxious for your birthday. I have a hard time believing it will happen because I have waited so long for this day, and I couldn't be happier to be blessed with you.

Clinic Update and 27 Weeks

Despite how awful I was feeling last week, it seems that I have managed to kick it on my own. My PFTs were stable yesterday (sitting at 79% for my FEV1). My FVC is a little bit down, but since I have a pretty awesome baby bump pushing up on my lungs, it's only to be expected. So, my doctors agreed to continue with upped CPT and avoid IVs for now, which was a huge relief for me as I really don't want to expose our little girl to anything I don't have to.

My sugars are still kind of crazy, but I'm managing them as well as I can. I think this will be a constant struggle now until the day of delivery, but that's okay. Anything is worth it for this little one..that's for sure!

My weight is doing extremely well, and I have gained 22 pounds now! It's hard to believe, but it's so amazing to see the number on the scale continuing to rise. I do eat five huge meals a day so that may have something to do with it. :)

And I'm officially 27 weeks (and one day). I don't know where time is going, but she will be here in just 11 short weeks now. I'm starting to feel the third trimester fatigue (all I want to do is sleep right now..just like the first trimester all over again), and I'm starting to feel more uncomfortable all the time. I spend a lot of time on my hands and knees to alleviate the back pain I feel, and my husband is amazing with all of his massages he offers.

This pregnancy has been amazing, but I am starting to see hints of the time when I'm going to be so ready to be done with pregnancy. I have days off and on now when I feel SO miserable and sore that I wonder how I can handle making it to 38 weeks. I know I will, but I do wonder sometimes.

Feeling Under the Weather

I think CF has reared it's ugly head because I certainly am not feeling the best. 

Yesterday I started in with streaking every time I brought up sputum. It wasn't much. I would say about a teaspoon the entire day (really minuscule amount), but still it is unusual for me. I wouldn't be too concerned if I wasn't feel run-down as well. Just exhausted, sore throat, headache.

The streaking stopped today, then came back, then stopped again. I got about three hours of sleep total as I coughed my way through the rest of the night last night (thankfully I slept a lot today). Just feeling miserable.

I did place a call to my CF doctor, but she must have been incredibly busy because she did not return my call today (very very unusual). 

And now, I have sharp lung pain in my right lung. Just started about an hour or so ago. It's not constant, but it certainly is present. 

I think it may be time to break down and go on antibiotics. Since I'm pregnant, no orals I normally take are safe and we're probably looking at IVs. I haven't had IVs since 2008 (at that time it was only a precautionary measure because of having sinus surgery), and I haven't had IVs for a real infection since 2005 so I shouldn't complain. And I won't. All that matters is my and baby girl's safety and health. 

I just hope my doctor returns my call tomorrow morning. If not, I'll be calling again!