The Gestational Diabetes Test
I took the fasting gestational diabetes test on Tuesday, and I must say that being denied food and water for 11-15 hours (depending on if you fast for 8 or 12 hours before the 3-hour exam) while pregnant is particularly cruel and unusual punishment. Basically you fast for 8-12 hours (I fasted for 9), then you go to your testing place. They draw your blood for the first time; then they have you drink a flat, super-sweet drink (lemon-lime or orange were the two options) in 5 minutes. You sit in their semi-comfortable chairs for an hour. Next, they call you in to draw your blood again. You wait another hour, get your blood drawn a third time. You go back to your seat and fidget while you try to get comfortable. After a third hour of waiting, they draw your blood for the fourth time, and you are allowed to leave.
Important Things To Know About the Gestational Diabetes Exam
- The people drawing your blood need to draw it every hour on the hour. More than 5-10 minutes late, and they’ll make you redo the whole test. So be proactive if an hour is up, and they haven’t called your name. (I wasn’t told this fact until the last time they drew my blood, and they’d almost let me go too long. By that time I was tired, hungry and grumpy, so I was not at all pleased to hear they almost messed up and made me do the exam again.)
- Don’t plan on driving yourself if you get tired, grumpy, stubborn and light-headed when you haven’t been fed for extended periods of time. Puck dropped me off for the exam and picked me up.
- Plan ahead for what you will eat. You could pack a snack to eat immediately following the exam, and eat somewhere where you will get your food quickly and where you don’t have to spend time making it. We went out for Indian since they have a buffet that provided immediate satisfaction.
- Prepare your husband for the fact that you might not be at your best when he picks you up. You’re most likely hungry, tired and somewhat uncomfortable from the fasting and 3 hours in waiting room chairs with no convenient way for elevating feet.
- Know that you might be exhausted after the exam. Even after a full night’s sleep, I crashed as soon I got home and slept for 3 hours.
The Results
I had a regularly scheduled Ob/Gyn appointment yesterday afternoon, and the doctor told me at the appointment that I did not have gestational diabetes (though my results from one of the four tests was a bit high) but I am slightly anemic. He gave me a prescription for an iron supplement in addition to my prenatal vitamin.
Today a nurse from the birthing center called to tell me that I do have gestational diabetes and dismissed the Ob/Gyn’s diagnosis. According to her, even one high score means I have gestational diabetes, and I had a second score that was just barely above the acceptable levels. Frustrating to have different people telling you different things? You bet.
What’s Next
So I’ll be going to a class about eating appropriately (spreading carbs out through the day, not eating carbs on their own, and eating somewhat low carb) plus I’ll be learning to use a glucometer.
From the Twin-Daddy:
The Move and the Coveted Super-Dan
Have a Tesla Roadster? Need a friend?
Life is calming down at our house with Mary having sent off her grades, our stuff migrating out of boxes, and generally settling into the new home. This transition was made possible by Mary’s dad as well as an army of friends showing up with trucks and shovels and rakes and implements of destruction.
After seeing the move go off without a hitch one of my friends accused me of befriending people based on how convenient their vehicles are to my needs. This is clearly untrue, however I am still looking for that special Tesla Roadster friend.
Mary’s dad, Dan, was exceptional and I can’t imagine how the move would have happened without him. He was a non-stop dynamo, and it was everything we could do to slow him down.
In about two weeks, he:
- Helped us pack and move
- Cleaned the old house
- Stripped the paint off a table and set of chairs
- Repaired them
- Repainted them
- Installed a washer and dryer
- Remounted the doors on the laundry
- Built wall-to-wall shelves in the new garage
- Fixed the drawers in the kitchen
- Fixed the closet doors
- Replaced the doorbell
- Rehung three gates so they wouldn’t scrape when they closed
- Bought and assembled new patio furniture
- Built Mary a new wonder-desk
- Purchased a new bench and shop-vac
- Organized and stored all the various baby gear
- Picked a full tub of cherries
The much admired Super-Dan
The neighbors began to notice he was building things and at least one woman got a dreamy look on her face and asked if he was ‘available‘. I did my best to communicate that he was taken but that he might be up for rent. My advice to Mary’s mom, Myrtle, is that she escort him next time he visits so that she can protect her own interests from an interested population of California women.
Women love him, cherries fear him.
How are the Boyos?
If you look closely, you can see two distinct lumps - one on the upper right and another underneath Mary's hand.
The boys have started pushing Mary’s tummy out at odd angles and while still lovely and beautiful she is rarely symmetrical in the tummy region. On any given night you can expect to feel kicks, pushes, and wiggles from Alex, Dom, or both.
Thursday we hit another big milestone with 28 weeks. That is Homefree Day and our trip into the third trimester. Homefree means that children born after 28 weeks have a roughly 90% survival rate and it only gets better from there. It also means we are about 8 weeks away from our goal of 36 weeks gestation. They OB-GYN has told us she doesn’t want Mary carrying beyond 39 weeks so we should be parents in 79 days or less.
Mood
Mary enjoys the new patio furniture on a cool morning. The chairs both rock...the better to enjoy the outdoors with our boys.
With her movement largely restricted, the pregnant lady is still working, and she has been pouring over the old Spanish books as she works on the next chapter of her dissertation. It is a nice fit for her new low-impact life for the next few weeks, and people are already whispering about how good the work is. A publisher has already grabbed a revised copy of her dissertation’s introduction for publication because of the extensive biography of the father of Spanish fencing. (The same publisher has expressed an interest in publishing the entire dissertation if possible.)
On the relaxation side, we watched The Lovely Bones last week, and Mary got more than her fair share of weepy-face watching it. It’s a terribly tragic movie, and the pregnant lady is still at the whim of her hormones. It isn’t so much that she is weepy as she feels things more intensely, and the Twin-Daddy should have his head examined for thinking to rent a sad movie.
Watching a movie at home is also taking on new dimensions for us. Normally, we lay on the sofa together to watch a show, and this has been made more difficult with two little boys jostling for space in the Mary-middle. We have solved this by excommunicating the sofa cushions to the floor which expands the width of our sofa enough to accommodate a mommy, two babies, and a daddy if he doesn’t mind hanging one leg on the floor. (It’s only a matter of time until Twin-Daddy is sharing a cushion on the floor with the dog.)
Food
Heading into the third trimester, Mary’s appetite is getting smaller as we expected with shrinking stomach space, but she tends to graze more often. Staying home, she is on her own for lunch so we have stocked the fridge with easy lunches.
We got a higher than expected blood sugar reading at her last blood test, and she is headed into the doctor tomorrow for a more extensive gestational diabetes exam. She can expect a long fast followed by nasty-flavored syrup drink and blood sugar tests for about 3 hours. I will try to ensure that she gets a reward-type lunch afterwards.
Sleep
With Mary living la vida rotunda, it is more difficult for the pregnant lady to get up, and I have coerced her into switching sides of the bed with me so that I can let the dog out at night. The strategy has been to make myself a large obstacle to her exiting the bed so that she eventually gives up and kicks and punches me until I wake up. Having been kicked, I wander off with the Great Dane and relieved dog urination ensues. It is entirely possible in this sleep-addled state that I will wake up on the patio in my pajamas one morning. If this is the weirdest thing we get out of our pregnancy/parenting experience, I’ll be very surprised.
Babies Countdown – The Double Header
79 days until September 2
- Tuesday, June 15 is Mary’s blood sugar test.
- Wednesday, June 16, Mary visits the OB-GYN for a routine check up.
- Thursday, June 17 is Homefree Day. 90% of children born at 28 weeks survive, and the odds only improve.
- Wednesday, June 23 is our next appointment with the Perinators.
- Sometime in mid-July Mary gets fitted for her nursing bra and takes the super-sucker in for cleaning.
- Thursday, August 12 and we hit our goal of 36 weeks minimum. From here on the twins could come at any time.
- Thursday, September 2 and we reach 39 weeks. The OB-GYN has said she doesn’t want Mary to carry beyond this date.
- Thursday, September 9 and we hit 40 weeks. This is our due date even if we know the twins will be here sooner.
- 2 weeks Post Delivery – Schedule a follow-up appointment with the Lactation Lady.
- 4 Weeks Post Delivery – Look for baby smiles.
- After the Delivery – 4.5 months of the Twinsanity Interval.
A great, big thank you to everyone who helped us move! I can’t imagine how difficult that move would have been without all of your help! We appreciated the work of our big movers, our packers and our gardening team! You got us into our new home in record time, and we now have livable spaces in almost every room. The main unpacking we have left is the nursery and books in the man-cave (imagine that!). I’m thankful that weather was on our side as well – helping to keep us cool during a day of moving.
You all made what could have been a very long and unpleasant experience into a day filled with the company and help of our friends. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules, and the boys thank you too as you helped them have a much more relaxed environment in which to do their daily weight-lifting and acrobatics training.
From the Twin-Daddy:
This is it. We’re officially 100 days from September 2 and while we are not out of the woods, things are looking good. Our appointment with the Perinators was best summed up by Dr. Gilbert:
“Cute babies, boring ultrasound. We’ll see you next month.”
The boys are still both well ahead on their growth schedule, and I have new numbers for you:
- Thing 1:
- 955 grams
- 2 pounds 1.68 ounces
- Thing 2:
- 847 grams
- 1 pound 13.88 ounces
- Generic Singleton Baby at 24-25 weeks:
- 600 – 660 grams
- From 1 pound 5 ounces up to 1 pound 8 ounces
Concordance = 88.69%
First, notice how my boys are growing faster than a singleton baby? Holy smokes!! I speculate that they are also smart, good looking, with six-pack baby abs, and probably practicing their Italian grappling and timethrusts by flanconade in fourth already.
If the boys grow like typical twins, their growth will slow down somewhat in the next few months with respect to a singleton. On the other hand, they might be 10 pounds each! If that is the case, my wife will have to apply for her own personal zip code in August. She’s already so big everybody she meets asks her when she is due, and then they look dumbfounded when she says, “September.” Mary’s personal goal is two 6 pound (at least) boys.
The concordance number might tempt people following along to freak out about the drop from 99.54% to 88.69%. Remember that the Perinators had a pretty large degree of difference in their last measurement, and the baby-ninja, Dr. Hershey, measured them on the super ultrasound machine and found the guys to be much closer. That means we still aren’t hitting Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome which would be discordance in the 70s range or worse.
The doctor also pointed out that a disparity would be more of an issue if we had a really little boy in a small amniotic sack and a really big boy in a big amniotic sack. As it is, both boys are way ahead on their growth schedule and are looking good. Well ahead may not describe it. These two are enjoying the benefits of Mary’s super-protein, high-spinach enriched twin fuel.
The Verdict: Two boys who are both bigger than we expected. That’s good.
Babies Countdown – The Double Header
100 days until September 2
- Thursday, May 27 is our next OB-GYN and 25 weeks.
- Thursday, June 3, Mary makes another appointment to test for gestational diabetes.
- Thursday, June 17 is Homefree Day. 90% of children born at 28 weeks survive and the odds only improve.
- Wednesday, June 23 is our next appointment with the Perinators.
- Sometime in mid-July Mary gets fitted for her nursing bra and takes the super-sucker in for cleaning.
- Thursday, August 12 and we hit our goal of 36 weeks minimum. From here on the twins could come at any time.
- Thursday, September 2 and we reach 39 weeks. The OB-GYN has said she doesn’t want Mary to carry beyond this date.
- Thursday, September 9 and we hit 40 weeks. This is our due date even if we know the twins will be here sooner.
- 2 weeks Post Delivery – Schedule a follow up appointment with the Lactation Lady.
- 4 Weeks Post Delivery – Look for baby smiles.
- After the Delivery – 4.5 months of the Twinsanity Interval.
From the Twin-Daddy:
Hunter-Gatherer considers his scent.
I have been told that on the big day I need to wear a button-up shirt.
The Sutter West birthing center believes in skin-to-skin contact immediately following childbirth. At one time, hospitals would yank the baby, spank the baby, wipe him off, and stick him under some warming lights. After lots of careful research they found out that if you take that same baby, wipe him off, make sure he can breath, and then lay him on his mother’s chest she will automatically regulate his temperature for him. Moms will actually increase or decrease their own body temperatures to respond to the needs of the external child. In a crazy twist of events, doing what comes naturally actually works better.
Where does that put me? One of the things that babies do pretty well is sniff stuff. As part of the bonding process, they want to sniff mom and anyone else they’re going to bond with. When they sniff the same person again later and can hear their heartbeat, it makes them feel safe and soothed.
Picture my crazy life as we get two young boys fresh out of the tummy and I stop long enough to half strip so I can lay them on my chest. It will be my Clark Kent moment as I toss aside my glasses, neck tie, and white shirt to change into SuperDad!
I suppose we will all sit there and sniff each other as a family. I’ll have to warn the boys though, mom drools sometimes when she sleeps so it might be best to wear little rain hats.
Babies Countdown – The Double Header
We have reached 24 weeks today which puts us into the viability category. Every day from here on out Alex and Dom enjoy better chances for a healthy and happy life.
105 days until September 2
- Monday, May 24th is an appointment with the Perinators.
- Thursday, May 27 is our next OB-GYN and 25 weeks.
- Thursday, June 3, Mary makes another appointment to test for gestational diabetes.
- Thursday, June 17 is Homefree Day. 90% of children born at 28 weeks survive and the odds only improve.
- Sometime in mid-July Mary gets fitted for her nursing bra and takes the super-sucker in for cleaning.
- Thursday, August 12 and we hit our goal of 36 weeks minimum. From here on the twins could come at any time.
- Thursday, September 2 and we reach 39 weeks. The OB-GYN has said she doesn’t want Mary to carry beyond this date.
- Thursday, September 9 and we hit 40 weeks. This is our due date even if we know the twins will be here sooner.
- 2 weeks Post Delivery – Schedule a follow up appointment with the Lactation Lady.
- 4 Weeks Post Delivery – Look for baby smiles.
- After the Delivery – 4.5 months of the Twinsanity Interval.