The Prelude to the Big Show!

Pregnancy for any type 1 diabetic can be complicated to say the least. There are fears of low birth weight, premature birth, preeclampsia, high birth weight and beyond. For that reason, a diabetic pregnancy is tightly controlled with more ultrasounds (the good part) than routine pregnancy and more doctors (the bad part) with close monitoring. Reference this throw back blog post for details on last pregnancy’s strategy.

This time around I will be using the same team of doctor’s I did the last time with a few minor changes.

•  I will have my endocrinologist, who will monitor my type-1 diabetes. Pregnancy is typically associated with insulin sensitivity during the first trimester and insulin resistance during the second and third trimesters. Due to that, the insulin demands of the body drastically change throughout the course of 10 months. Throughout pregnancy I will see and/or consult with my “endo” every two weeks and then every week.
•    I will be using a perinatologist practice located in my delivery hospital. The “peris” will be monitoring the health of the baby throughout the diabetic pregnancy. They will do this through ultrasounds to measure the babies growth and my amniotic fluid levels. On average I will get an ultrasound 1-2x/ month. At around 20 weeks they will do a fetal echocardiogram with a specialist from Children's Hospital to ensure that the heart anatomy has developed appropriately.
•   I will be using the same OB practice as the last time; however, the OB that conducted my c-section has retired. I am super bummed about this because I had a rock start c-section recovery and barely have a scar. Kudos to you Dr. Seidel!

·         I will be delivering again at the largest birthing hospital in Maryland because of their high level NICU. Our little lady spent 36-hours in the NICU this past delivery, coming off of her mommy’s insulin needs. The level-1 NICU ensures that she will not be transferred out of the hospital to higher level care without me. This was super advantageous for breastfeeding. Holy Cross Hospital was also awesome at honoring my requests to be wheeled to the NICU every 2-hours to breastfeed after she was born and not in the room with me.

For now the plan is to start drugs on Monday 7/06, then go from there.....

And so we meet again....

Yes, it has been almost 3 years (10/09/12) since my last blog post, at which time our bags were packed and we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of our baby girl. Why the 3 year blog hiatus? Well, several reasons…

1.   Shortly after 10/09 we had our sweet baby girl (10/12) and life got chaotic and exhausting! The kind of chaotic and exhausting that no first-time parent can adequately prepare for. I don’t care how many baby blogs, books, or gadgets you buy/ read. The first two months of new parenthood are intense! And admittedly I struggled to shampoo my hair and shave my legs in the same shower, let alone write blog posts.

2.  I began this blog as a resource for those going through IVF and/or a type-1 diabetic pregnancy. When we saw this road before us, I struggled to find personal, relatable resources instead of those coming from medical journals (aka scary). Three years later, I’m proud to say that this lil ole’ blog has been shared countless times over with women that I know and do not know, who are struggling with fertility. I hope they have found it honest and refreshing.

So why am I back, writing again today? As we embark on a Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET), I am hoping that this blog will once again be useful as a resource for those struggling with infertility and/or type 1 diabetic pregnancy.

After 2 years 9 months of “trying” to get pregnant again, the hubs and I are ready to be more “intentional” about our fertility and know that organic pregnancy is just not in the cards for us. We chose to begin this summer and not sooner because if successful on the first round of FET, our children’s birthdays would be separated by nearly 6 calendar months (May & Oct). Hello, happy party-planning! Yes, I realize this is an “unfair” advantage, but one that I will fully take advantage of.

 

And so the journey begins…..

For those struggling with infertility, I encourage you to read Hebrews 11. Yes, the entire chapter, which focuses on Faith in Action. I believe that all acts of conception are of great faith. The chances of conceiving each month are so small; it is truly some of God’s best work in action.

Hebrews 11:11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.