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.

Bona - hopefully I can reassure you too How many weeks are you now?

DSs stomach was off the scale. Like actually off it. If there were centiles his stomach would have been 150%. That was from about 30 weeks.

I was a bit naive given it was my first DC and although I was worried I wasn't frantic like I am this time about the baby's size. So far its stomach was on 97th at 26 weeks and then 87th five days after - the accuracy is NOT great and you must bear this in mind. DS was about the same - they checked the notes. Not looking forward to next growth scan, but like you as long as they are actually still in the scale they aren't concerned.

So with DS I was induced at 37 weeks - he was perfect. All in proportion.

As they were worried about his growth I was given the steroids a few weeks before induction.

He did have low blood sugar but hospital didn't seem concerned at all! He was just given formula top ups until he had two blood sugar measurements over a certain figure (I can't remember what the figure was) but all babies are born hypo, regardless of diabetic mums. Not sure if they were lax now though hearing other stories and looking back!

It didn't affect BFing at all. Fed him for 10 months.

Hope that helps!

Thanks, puds, that does help. I'm 31+6, so it is getting scarily close!

Actually, they can do anything they like to me, I just don't want them to take my baby away from me. . I had thought it was like you describe - they will keep an eye on his / her BG but not actually take the baby away to be looked after by someone else.

To start with ds just had glucose and it was only when they introduced milk he started having hypos again so they had to go back to just glucose. He was quite early though so I reckon that makes a difference. I also think (from my own dc and seeing other babies in SCBU) because they can't do the constant suckling like newborns with their mums, they get hungry and it's impossible for most to express enough colostrum. I saw one 34 weeker crying loads because her mum didn't want her to have formula and she was hungry. You could see if your hospital has donor milk if you were to need it? I'm not saying your consultant is wrong or anything this is just my experience

Bona I wonder if it depends on whether they are considered term or not as to how many low readings they can have before they go to SCBU? Or how low it is ds was

Hi Bona,

I've had both.

DD was born by ElCS at 39 weeks. She stayed with me the whole time even when I had a mahoosive hypo one night (BS of about 0.8 I think?) and was transferred back to recovery as a result. She did have low blood sugar one night, a MW came and cup fed her some formula and that seemed to sort her out. They just did heel pricks on her fairly frequently to keep an eye on things.

DS (entirely unrelated to diabetes) was born at 31 weeks by EMCS. He went straight to NICU within minutes of birth - he was kind of waved at me in passing - and I didn't see him till he was over 24 hours old. For the first few days he was on TPN via long line (like a drip). TPN is an electrolyte mix thing that precedes any actual food, it stands for total parental nutrition and is meant to replace the umbilical cord/amniotic fluid. It's given when the stomach is too immature to handle digestion afaik.

I did find it harder to bond with DS than with DD, BUT I can't say that this was due to his being in NICU really, I think it was more to do with the stillbirths of his brothers and grieving, having to sort out a funeral, etc etc. It probably took most of the first year before I properly relaxed and bonded with him but now (he's 3 this week!) things are fine and lovely.

So things to think about:
There are ways of giving formula which don't involve bottles (syringe, cup) - you are free to insist on using one of those methods if it suits you wanting to BF.
What questions to ask if they start talking about a transfer to SCBU - who can advocate for you? (DH, birthing partner, sympathetic MW?).
Can you write a birth plan that outlines your choices for things like this - mine for DD included what I wanted to happen if she did need to go to SCBU (DH would go with her), if she needed formula (cup feeds only) etc. The MW on delivery read it and was chuffed to bits, she (bless her!) made sure the doctors followed orders and did what they were told :o eg with DH doing skin to skin in theatre while I was being stitched up.

I think the thing that helped me the most when both were born was that my ultimate goal wasn't to have any idealised kind of birth, it was just to end up with a healthy baby. To a large extent I didn't really care how that came about, and still don't. If you can get your head around that, then I think you'll be more relaxed and willing to roll with the punches.

Rue ds had a central line that was 20% glucose was that the same thing? They lowered that as the upped his feeds. It went through his umbilical cord.

Thanks all for the kind replies.

Rue - you are right, I think letting go of the ideal and concentrating on getting me an LO through this in one piece is the key. I am probably a bit of a control freak and I think the unknown is making it worse.

Will sit with DH and write a plan. I worry because he has different priorities from me - he'll want to follow docs' advice (his parents were doctors, he thinks they all walk on water) because he will be scared that something happens to me or the baby if he doesn't agree. Just need to get him on board with some of the other priorities like bonding and breast feeding and keeping control.

Thanks again for the info and support all. X

So pre pregnancy what contraception were you all on?

I've tried all pills and don't get on with them. I used to have the injection but as I have some diabetic neuropathy in my foot the nurse isn't sure if it will be suitable now. Ds was conceived with the coil in . Nurse is recommending implant? Any advice?

I had to stop the pill I was on for years (I loved it, was perfect) because I always have on-the-high-side-of-normal BP. They put me on the mini pill and it drove me mad.

We just use condoms. Works for us.

My DNS who I actually love has left she got headhunted by Portsmouth hospital. Is it sad that I could actually cry?!

bona I'm so sorry to hear that you are upset and sorry I haven't posted for so long, a screaming 4 week old keeps me busy!
I would have to disagree about the SCBU; as you may remember V was born at 36 weeks and she did not go to SCBU. She had low blood sugars but we spent just one night in high dependency TOGETHER so we had skin to skin, cuddling etc.
Sorry if I've cross-posted with anybody. X

As long as none of you are daft enough to rely on, erm, 'natural family planning'...We were quite shocked that, after it working quite successfully until we wanted to conceive our first DS, second time round it wasn't quite as nifty. Fell off the toilet when I discovered I was pregnant this time. Yes I am an educated woman! Just cleary not there at the right biology lesson...

Oh no Spotty! I'd be absolutely gutted if mine left. I trust her implicitly.

Apparently she's still doing the pregnancy clinic once a fortnight bit I'm not pregnant anymore! So rubbish! Dp won't go for anything that might risk me getting pregnant again it seems I just have to look at him and I get pregnant

My DH too Spotty. Don't think he'll come near me again without an iron clad method. I think it'll have to be condoms for us too as I couldn't ride the fake hormone rollercoaster again with the pill. Didn't have many problems on it - but coming off it, my God. It was hell.

Was on the combined pill for ages, but don't like chemicals except for insulin, so we started using condoms and had no problems.
My sister, not T1, had big problems with implant: pain, scarring, weight gain, spots...

Woke up with headache after 4am hypo

Diec thanks for your kind words and I so hope I can take advantage of the same set up!

Spotty - gotta hate the hypo hangovers. Bleugh!

I woke up at 3am at 6mmol so quite pleased, took 4u to stave off morning rise and woke at 9mmol. Crazy and I don't think high enough to be a liver dump so the 4 mmol didn't do the job! Urgh

Off to women- only NCT class this morning to learn about the grizzly aspects of labour! Still, better than work!

bona the morning rise is getting me down i was 6.9 at 4am and 11 by 8.30am also getting the pre bed rise again it seems got clinic on monday so shall c what they say

I'm in the pre morning rise club too! It's very weird.

Oh, sick of the mornings and the fact that it seems to be taking longer and longer and LONGER to get things sorted again. I have just upped my evening Levemir by 2 units to a whopping 30 units (more than my pre-preg total daily dose by 12 units!). Woke up at 3am: 4.8 (nice), didn't take anything else to see what would happen with my new higher dose of Levermir and woke up at 7.30 with a 7.8. Not great, but not horrific. Had two units to tide me over til breakfast, had a shower and got dressed and have an hour later was 8.9! Grrrr...

So tedious. I am definitely looking forward to this rollercoaster being over. Obviously partly because I want to meet my baby, but also a because I'm sick of this crap!

bona yep me too, 4am 6.6 took 2u was 9.2 by 9.30am i was 4.2 when i went to bed grr lunch soon god knows where il be!!

Am thinking the same. Am so hungry, but to be honest don't even want to test for fear of what the meter will say.

It's exhasting, utterly exhausting.

Well 8.2 waited half an hour 7.2 but still quite high for me

I've merely accepted the fact my levels aren't going to be perfect first thing. I can see from the CGM that it only starts to drift up at about 5am, very slowly. So by the time I wake up it's up to about 7.5 and then 8.5ish by breakfast. As it's only been there for half an hour I'm just adding another half nit to breakfast to deal with it. Any more long acting I'd by hypoing through the night (already dipping there).

The positive is (and I'm sure this is the case for you ladies too, with you testing in the early hours) that the majority of the night things have been pretty perfect! I think having breakfast ASAP is the best was to deal with it otherwise mine would just keep drifting up and up - but with no food in my system to feel good about!