Pregnant type 1 diabetics, step over here...

[RueDeWakening]

I seem to have filled up the old thread and thought I better start a new one! Still got ages to go, don't leave me now...

Am currently sat waiting for my 16 week antenatal appt, been here an hour so far and just had BP done and that's it.

Urgh! Typcial!

I have just had my lunch, so will report back in an hour and am sure I will be joining you. PAH!!!

I know! I think it's cos I've injected into my fat thigh...do any of you get this? I'm sure it works quicker when I inject into my tummy. That'll teach me!

I hope so Bona Thank you. Ah you'll be great!

puds i suffered with pnd for the first 4 months of ds life but believe it was down to the delivery in a big way i didnt get him back for over 12 hours and i couldnt breastfeed like i planned he was a colicky baby and i felt i was failing and couldnt bond properly but at least i know what i dont want this time!

bona honestly u will have moments everyone does but enjoy it too next time u will have another to look after as well and i never had anything like this board for support so no1 had any idea how hard being a new diabetic mother was like

Not long had my lunch however was 3 before i had it whoops im tending not to test till at least 2 hours after and even at that my clinic dont want me to too often just to be in target by next meal, i was 7.4 roughly 3 hours after breakfast tho so hopefully thats ok.

Did eveyone have to have a sliding scale thing with an iv in each hand at induction?

OMG everyone - 6.5 after an hour!!! I must be dreaming . Well, I guess that starting the day off at a level lower than 10 makes all the difference I hoped it might. Have also upped daytime Levemir by 2 units and am thinking that might also have been long overdue. Need to take my own advice and just keep taking more insulin - it's obviously just needed!

hoping - think others have talked about having the sliding scale before. I'm really not keen and this is one of the things that I want to discuss when finally I get to discuss birth plan with MW. I really don't see why I should need to be hooked up and unable to move throughout. No one has been able to explain to me why you can't just keep using injections (if you're even going to eat) and testing regularly to ensure you're not going low!

Well that is the point im hoping to make this time as it really got in the way i dont even mind if they put a iv in just in caseni need to be hooked up so long (and this is if i get to be induced) as im free to move about it would have helped so much last time! Also if its a planned section i cant see the need at all!

Hoping I had an awful labour with dd. Very rushed induction at 36 weeks, waters broken, put on drip, continual monitoring, not allowed off the bed (so they put a catheter in?!), only allowed to push for half an hour before they dragged her our with forceps with NO epidural. But this time was soooo much easier So yes, that time I had a sliding scale in one hand and hormone drip in the other, but this time I had nothing at all just gas and air :) Although I still was on the monitor and had stay on my back, but that was due to DS being quite poorly and they were worried about his heart rate, he didn't like it when I moved.

Poor you spotty did you have to press your point about not wanting the sliding scale? It may not matter if they decide i need a csection just curious

Nope the just didn't do it! I had for the odd hour when I had the steroid injections, I could have dealt with the couple of highs myself really but I wasn't in labour and was tired from testing every hour all night so didn't really care. They did put a cannula in when I went up to labour ward but that's as far as it got. I was only up there for two hours before I had ds though, I think with second labours being so much quicker there isn't much need for one

bona start talking to your mw/dr now.

Honestly, given that Violet was born at 36+4 if I hadn't brought the topic of sliding scales/types of delivery/induction process up with my dr. at 32 and 34 weeks, I'd have had ZERO information because as...rue said (?) they tend to leave it until 36+weeks to discuss it with you at all.
Even if you manage to get to 38-weeks , if you're a planner, you'll want to know the options well before that date.

diec - I think you might be right you know. I don't want to go in for my 34 or 36 week scan and be told I'm being admitted in a few days without the first idea what to do / expect / what the plan is!

Can you remind me what the outcome of your sliding scale discussion was? I seem to have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about it - more so than the flaming induction! I think I might be on a diabetic rights high horse!

Also, with the induction, was the intial plan at least to try a pessary first or do they always want to move to drip straight away? My understanding is that the drip is quicker, more painful, far less 'natural' potentially. Thoughts?

Bona it depends on your hospitals policy. I was really ill with dd (bp 185/153) so they wanted her born ASAP hence waters broken and drip started.

There are two pessaries; a gel which should work within six hours, my consultant doesn't like it as it's quite strong and can cause fetal distress. Then there's a tablet pessary which goes in for 24 hours and is slower release.

I had the pessary with ds as although things were deteriorating we were both still ok.

The drip makes your contractions 3 in ten straight away so you don't get a natural build up like with the pessaries. Also I think with the drip you need continual fetal monitoring whereas with the pessary you could argue against it and go for intermittent.

I had a bee in bonnet too re. sliding scale Bona as had it last time and didn't like it as I hated the thought of any mistake being made. However my DSN - who is totally amazing and well known in the field - said it's just got to be done at my hosp labour can shoot your sugars up or down. The insulin though isn't like hat we have. As it's IV it only lasts minutes in your body. I still absolutely hate the idea of it - hate it! But sadly for me at least it's inevitable.

BUT I will absolutely not be having the drip unless its crucial.

At my induction i was admitted night before found to be 2-3cm but they still went ahead 1st thing the next morning broke my waters put me on sliding scale and drip for contractions. Dont get me wrong i got to 10cm and pushed for an hour to no avail ended in an emergency section.

This baby is stubborn stubborn stubborn! Is once again in breech position with hands in front of face i had 4u then 2 mini bags of haribo, 2 thortons choc pigs and a few swigs of full fat irn bru and even when did start moving couldnt get face :( i have one more attempt on 4th feb plz baby just let me see face for 5 mins!

Aww Hoping I hope you get to see the face next time. I'm off for the heart scan tomorrow lunchtime, and we're hoping for a more co-operative baby this time round too.

Good luck Rue

That must be disappointing hoping but fx for next time. You've got a stubborn one there. (Do you know if it's a boy or girl?) I bet when he/she is born they will always have their hands over their face as a comfort thing

Good luck for tommorow rue keep us posted, where u trying to find out gender too?

Yes we found out its a girl that part she was showing lol but this will be 3rd attempt so if no pics this time thats it :( shouldnt even be getting the 3rd attempt but they have given us it which is very good of them, babybond have been good with us the sonographer was as frustrated as me! Best of it is at growth scan head down now back to breech again?! Do u think it would be worth me doing some of the spinning babies positions?

Rue - good luck for tmrw. I know when I had my heart scan out of the way I finally felt it was real at last, I could relax a bit and enjoy!!

Hoping - you have a right wee rascal there! How annoying. Oh well, third time lucky.

Thanks bona i really hope so my ds 4d scan pics are so clear i really wanted one to put up beside his :( have even given up the hope of a good dvd just a cpl nice pics will do lol

Thanks Bona and Spotty. We're hoping to find out which it is tomorrow, yes - but it'll depend on whether the sonographer has time/is willing to check. Not counting on it tbh.

Hoping you have a wriggler! DS was like that, he was head down the Tues before he arrived, then breech when they scanned after my waters went (about 2am on the Sunday), then when they rescanned on Sun about 9am he was extended breech (feet first)! He's not stopped moving yet... :o

hoping how many weeks are you?
l tried ALL the exercises for moving a breech baby, but l only started them when l went on mat. leave (time constraints...!)
My advice is to do the exercises asap. Don't wait until 32 weeks like l did.

bona re; sliding scale, the outcome was agree to disagree. lt was/is hospital policy and the drs weren't budging, basically.
l had it in the end, but by that time l was almost hysterical what with having to have a caesarean and could've agreed to anything!

I agree with diec once you're in established labour you'll pretty much let them do anything they like. Like make you wee into a bed pan why do they always make me do that?! Just let me take to monitors off and use the bloody loo!

diec im 28 weeks now so time for her to turn for birth i hope but was thinking if i tried starting some of them now on the mornings when ds is at nursery she may settle head down??

Im at clinic on monday so shall ask them what position she is in then presuming they have a feel, doe everyones clinic start doing traces at appts? I remeber getting them done with ds but may have been after 30 weeks?

I never had traces until there were problems!