Image from The Bump. Are honeydew melons really 5 lbs?
My first week on Glyburide went pretty well. It really did help my fasting numbers, though I still had a couple of high ones. The midwife thinks that another week or so everything should start leveling out. Yesterday's appointment was the start of my twice-weekly non-stress tests, and that was a little slow. Normally it should only take about 20 minutes, but our little kid decided it was time to sleep while I was hooked up to the machine. They need a series of fetal movements in order to check his heart rate reaction, and he just wasn't moving at all. I was poking at him, shaking my belly, using all the tricks that normally work to get a wiggle or two, but nothing. So finally after almost an hour on the machine, the midwife brought out a buzzer and put it to my belly. When she buzzed him, he kicked the shit out of me! Poor guy. There he was- just sleeping comfortably in his own little warm fluid pouch, when out of nowhere a giant buzzer goes off and scares the piss outta him. I apologized to him, but I was really glad he decided to move around after that. The results were fine, so we moved on to the amniotic fluid check.
They check the amniotic fluid via ultrasound by measuring the length of fluid pouches they find. Too little fluid is bad too, but with me they are keeping check for too much fluid, which is common with diabetics. My fluid count was 18 cm, which the midwife calls "a little on the high side". I asked her what could happen with too much fluid, and her answer was very nonchalant. "Oh, it could make you go into preterm labor". Oh. Okay. Is that all? She ran the number by the doctor on staff that day, and they didn't seem too worried about it. But I, on the other hand, tend to turn to Dr. Google in times like these. Am I saying this is a good idea? Well, no. Not unless you enjoy needlessly worrying yourself into insomnia. Teh Googles told me pregnant ladies with too much fluid (called polyhydramnios) have all kinds of troubles that could happen, from early labor to cord prolapse, placental abruption, and severe bleeding after delivery. But it also turns out that 18 cm worth of fluid is not that high. Not enough to freak out about, anyway. Especially since they are monitoring me twice a week, and my blood sugar is back in control. So I'm trying not to stress too much about it.
Remember when I whined and complained about not sleeping well in my second trimester? Well forget all that shit. Third trimester is the real deal, I'm telling you. I'm exhausted, yet I have to get up an average of four times each night to pee. Acid reflux is so bad at night from my stomach being pushed damn near my throat by the kid, that I have to sleep with my head on 3-4 pillows all Princess and the Pea style. Even then I still wake up with my throat on fire. The carpal tunnel is still there, but I'm kind of used to it by now. My fingers are always numb, even during the day. I don't even notice the wrist guard at night anymore. Oh, and let's not forget all the fluids that build up when I'm horizontal. They keep my sinuses stuffed until morning, and turn me into a drooling mouth-breather. Ken's a lucky fellow, let me tell you.
But of course there are good things going on, too! My belly is so round and jolly. I just love it. And I can't get enough of the movements Luka makes, from the little tickley wiggles to the huge, alien-like kicks that can be seen through my shirt. It's so cool. We don't have the nursery set up quite yet, but we're getting there. Hopefully in the next week or two the kid will have a room of his own.
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