Meeting our baby … so close!

It’s so surreal, but by this weekend we will have our baby in our arms! My attempt was to document every part of this journey with pregnancy and T1D, but I underestimated the time it would take to actually manage both – let alone pregnancy alone and all that it encompasses. It’s even spilled over to other areas that non-high risk mamas seem to so gracefully accomplish by 20 weeks…a theme for the nursery (I still don’t know how to answer that), getting the nursery completed early on (we JUST got it finished), picking out and monogramming going home outfits (thankful for my mom and mother-in-law who made a fun day out of picking these items out).

Truthfully all of these things have moved to the back burner in place of my, and the baby’s health.

Ready or not, here comes motherhood!

To be fair, even with the discomfort of late pregnancy and the July heat, I feel blessed with how this pregnancy has gone. I’ve had a doctor’s appointment every week with either my endocrinologist or OBGYN, and thankful that every appointment has gone smoothly. As a precaution for diabetics, I am being induced at 38 weeks — which is also a blessing because my blood pressure has slightly crept up in the last few days. Normally, the nurses asked me how I was even walking around since it’s always so low!

Baby Grey’s 3D sono

So, I’ve laid out my best tips I’ve learned in pregnancy. Of course, if you are a T1D, check with your doctor…but these were the tidbits I learned through trial and error.

From insulin resistance from week 28-34 which had me pumping myself full of almost twice the amount of insulin…

• Practice taking your insulin at least 10 minutes beforehand, if not more with a higher carb meal.
• Avoid the rage boluses i.e. taking a bunch of insulin because you are angry that your blood sugar is higher than you want it to be.
• Become friends with the extended bolus, especially with meals that have a higher fat content.
• Take walks or go with your favorite form of exercise after you eat to avoid spikes after meals.
• Go with smaller, more frequent meals. I found lower carb still worked best for me. I saved my carbs for fruit, yogurt or if my blood sugar was low.

To 1st and late 3rd trimester low blood sugars…

• I cannot stress the continuous glucose monitor enough. There were times when I never even felt my low blood sugar and my CGM caught it before I got too low.
• Have snacks everywhere – your handbag, your car, in the kitchen, or by your bedside so you never have to walk far to treat your low.
• With your handy snacks, make sure you know the exact carb counts so you’re not guessing.
• If you have a pump, get comfortable with the temp basal. If I was trending slightly down before bed, I would do a temp basal and decrease my insulin instead of getting out of bed to have a snack.

We are both wearing blue, but don’t let that fool you. We still don’t know gender!!

Above all, the most valuable thing I’ve learned is to stay calm, and take it day by day. Showing yourself grace will save your sanity. Now, for the fun part. We cannot wait to meet our baby!!