Growth Update

Following my post at the weekend about my 30 week scan I thought I would post an update on what happened in my follow up appointment.

It turns out the increase in baby's tummy measurement is a little extreme, it's unusual for it to get so big so quickly and is likely to be due to the difficulties with my control over the last few weeks. Although they did say this could of happened if I wasn't on holiday I can't help but think that it wouldn't of as at home I would of been following my normal routine and foods and also probably had an antenatal or pump clinic appointment too.

Anyway, the goal now is to stop it increasing upwards sharply and for it to increase steadily. My doctor discussed the scan results with the obstetrician whilst I was at the hospital and he has confirmed delivery is likely to be at 36-37 weeks, so 1st-8th June - not long! I will now be monitored on a weekly basis and have another appointment with the obstetrician on Tuesday.

I have a whole heap of questions for my next appointment on Tuesday as it suddenly seems so near! At the moment they are saying I will either be induced or perhaps go straight to a c-section, it depends, apparently the baby is in a very good position if I do get induced. When the midwife examined me she said the head was VERY far down and asked could I not feel it? Well I can feel something but being my first pregnancy I don't know what to expect! I am pretty sure she said he was two fifths engaged and she said that was good because he is in position softening the cervix and ideally with me it would be good if he was ready to come early. Just not too early I hope!

So in my efforts to curb this little ones growth I am now back onto weighing everything that passes my mouth, filling in my monitoring diary religiously and studying the results and making changes every couple of days as needed. My basal doses have increased dramatically and for every meal I am now bolusing 1 unit for 5g of carbs. I seem to be getting back on track so hopefully can continue in this way.

More reports to follow as the clock continues to count down!

Sweet Dreams?

I'm really looking forward to my bed tonight as today I treated myself to a pregnancy pillow! 

Sleeping in several different beds over the last few weeks has produced varying results and it has been nice to be back in my own bed. However despite being home getting a really good nights sleep is getting harder because of my growing bump and increasing back ache. I have been using a pillow between my knees but most nights I wake to find I have thrown it out onto the bedroom floor or I am suddenly lying on my back. Turning over is another mission, the first step being to find my pump and put that on the side I am moving onto, then I start to manoeuvre myself, it's very much like a three point turn! Often I find the other side isn't as comfy as I thought and I have to complete the whole process again to get back to my other side!

So today I decided to splash out on a treat for myself and buy a dream genii pregnancy pillow from Mothercare, which if you read all the marketing bumph comes highly recommended not only from mums-to-be but also by midwives and is also certified as a Class One Medical Device. I'm coming to the end of my pregnancy almost but as this also doubles up as a feeding pillow I thought I would make the investment. The RRP is £45.99 but Mothercare's price match meant that we only paid £36.99 - the price on Amazon which we showed them in store on my iphone. It's such a good deal, nearly everything we have bought so far in Mothercare has found us price matching!


So far I have tried it out in the car on the way home from the shops and it has been on the sofa with since. It promises a 'magical night's sleep', with my return to work tomorrow I think that is what I need, I'm off to give it a try!

30 Week Scan

I had my 30 week growth scan yesterday. As I mentioned in my last post my control was a little up and down during my recent travels and I had hoped this wouldn't of had too much of an effect on the baby.


Well he has certainly piled on the holiday pounds! I can't believe how much he has grown in just 4 weeks. It looks like he is heading towards big baby syndrome...his tummy and overall weight are now measuring at 36 weeks, whereas all his other measurements are spot on for my 30 weeks pregnancy. Exactly what I didn't want to happen. His abdominal circumference is 319.0mm and his overall estimated fetal weight is 4lb 13ozs. Although the sonographer told me not to worry as this is completely common in those with diabetes I can't help but feel a little concerned and disappointed at this stage.


Speaking to a couple of people there are a lot of stories of inaccurate growth scans, people being told their babies are 10lb+ only to be born and they are well under. But I am sure there are also a lot of growth scans that are accurate too!


My next antenatal appointment is on Tuesday so I will be able to discuss the results of the growth scan with them then and get their thoughts. In the meantime I am on super control mode now that I am back on home soil. The lovely sonographer did a sneaky 3D scan for me, he looks sounds asleep but really he couldn't keep still, it seems there is still plenty of room left for kicks and turns!

Fun in the sun...

Lots has happened since my last post and I must admit I got into holiday mode therefore so did my blogging! We are now in Bangkok on the last leg of our trip and very nearly time to head home. Just a quick post for now and more travelling stories will be shared when I am back.

One thing that has changed dramatically during our holiday are my insulin requirements - I am definitely noticing the third trimester insulin intolerance now! My record so far for my total daily dose is 63 units (about double of what I took pre-pregnancy). I have had to increase the maximum daily bolus dose setting on my pump twice since we have been away. I had completely forgotten there was even a setting for this as I have never used it the whole time I have had my pump! It's now set at 70 units but I am sure that will increase again in the next few weeks.

I've also noticed that this increase in insulin means I need to change my pump more often, so it now only lasts about 2 and a half days rather than 3 plus. Another change I was pre-warned about so I have lots of extra supplies with me. The thing I have found most difficult about being away has been not only managing my changing blood glucose levels because of my pregnancy but also the changes due to different activity, temperature and of course food (I have treated myself to the occasional mocktail by the pool - see above!)

I had considered all these elements before we came away but perhaps not to the extent they have made an impact. It has been really hard and there have been times when I have felt like my blood glucose wouldn't shift from a high reading despite my attempts. I have had a good amount of high readings over the last couple of weeks but also a fair few good results so I hope things will balance out. My next growth scan (30 weeks) is on Friday so at least I won't have long to wait to see how baby fared on his first travelling experience!

So for now just one flight remains and then we will be back on home soil. It's been an amazing trip, although I must say I will breathe a slight sigh of relief as we near home knowing my home comforts and of course my hospital are back on hand.

Flight Number One - Tick!

Greetings from Hong Kong!

So we survived the first flight with little news to report. It actually didn't feel too long (it was about 11 hours) and I didn't get too uncomfortable, although there is no way I could of done another flight straight away, I am so glad we decided to split up the journey with a few nights in Hong Kong. We were sitting in standard class and as I boarded the plane the air steward commented that they were choca-block today and that they couldn't move me (I had decided to try the approach of not asking to be upgraded in the hope it might happen!) However we did get fairly decent seats, two seats right at the back of the plane on their own so we had extra floor space where the third seat should of been so I could stretch out. I set myself up a nice little seat with blankets for extra padding.

I had been advised to try a temporary basal rate for the flight so I set this when we got given our lunch, however I then decided to cancel it as I thought my basal is pretty much set for me to be inactive anyway (I sit at a desk all day) and I am glad I did as I don't think I needed it. A couple of hours after lunch I ate a chocolate bar without any insulin and my BGs were pretty steady. They crept up a bit later on, I just kept testing and then adjusting as needed. Which is pretty much what I have been doing since we arrived. It's hard to get it right - carb counting random Chinese food is not my forte and a three course hotel breakfast generally doesn't help when it comes to pre-breakfast spikes. Also on the flight they wanted to try and get us into the Hong Kong time frame so we were only given lunch and then breakfast before we landed. Luckily I had taken some snacks with me (always good to do for flights in case you get delayed) and I made friends with the air steward who gave us extra bottles of water and I was allowed to raid their tuck box!

I mentioned in my last post about all my liquids and medication I was taking - in their own little suitcase as you can see from the pic above. The picture isn't that clear but in here I had:

26 Clexane syringes

12 infusion sets

10 cartridges

2 insulin pens

5 Novorapid penfills

3 Levemir penfills

3 Novorapid Vials

Test Strips (about 250)

2 small sharps bins

Needles for pens and finger pricking

Spare blood testing kit

1 bag of jelly babies

Think that's it!....

There was no problem with taking these through security. I just had to get them all out of my suitcase and then they went through the scanner. For the first time though my pump set off the metal detector when I went through security. The lady searching me said it was very unusual (she seems them all the time apparently!) so they had to do a swab of that, but that was pretty much it really. Just three more security checks to go through!

When we landed I immediately changed my pump to local time - for me it was midnight but in Hong Kong it was breakfast time. Our next flight is to Melbourne and is an overnight flight with only a three hour time difference so shouldn't send my basals and insulin into a spin as much.

Baby was doing his usual kicks and spins practically the whole way here, he was probably wondering what all the noise was. Oh and I nearly forgot...the toilet break count! I think I counted 8 trips in total, let's see if I can break that record on Thursday!