A bit more of relief

Just a quick note, I had to make an appointment with the local lapband doctor here.  I'm getting horrible acid reflux at night, which is normal during pregnancy anyway, and I take prescription meds for it even not pregnant.  I can't sleep at night, except in an almost sitting position.  My suspicion is the band is a bit tight again.  So I got .5 cc taken out.  Hoping this will provide enough relief to get some rest at night, for a while at least!

ER visit, but everything's OK!

We had to make a quick trip to the ER last night, but everything is fine.  I was very lightly spotting with no other symptoms, but since it's never happened to me before, I got scared.  There is a specialized ER here in Stockholm, at the same hospital I go for my appointments, for early pregnancy and gynecological issues.  When we arrived at 8 pm, I was told it would be 6 HOURS before they could see me.  There were maybe 4 people in front of me.

N and A hung out for a bit, but N was getting understandably tired after an hour and a half.  I sent them home and waited out the last veeery long hours on an uncomfortable bench.  But I was checked and told that everything looked good and the ultrasound showed a healthy baby.

It's taken me more time to recover from staying up till 3 am and falling asleep with a crook in my neck than I thought.

Nuchal Translucency results

So there's our Mocoso!  Large and well-developed!  Today was the nuchal translucency screening.  It's an ultrasound done between 11 and 14 weeks of gestation, when the nuchal fold is still transparent.  It's performed in conjunction with a blood test to screen for chromosomal problems.

Poor A, he was able to see the very first ultrasound and almost all the other ones when I was pregnant with N.   I've had about 6 ultrasounds already, and A's missed every single one!  He was scheduled to be at this one, but N is really sick with a bad stomach flu.  Now he'll have to wait until the 18 week ultrasound to see Mocoso for the first time.

At my age, (and no, I'm not going to tell you, but it's under 40), chromosomal defects are a 1/175 risk (approx), based solely on my age.  With the blood test and the nuchal translucency ultrasound, where they measure certain parts of the fetus, the risk has decreased to 1/4793.  Which is excellent news, since the baby's measurements all around were very good.  Poor Mocoso was moving around the whole time!  Mocoso looked like it was jumping all around, probably bothered by the ultrasound waves.  I never get tired of seeing it on the screen though.

I AM a little tired of calling it "it".  I would like to know already if it's a him or her!  I forgot to ask at the ultrasound, so now I have to wait.

30% Loaded!

Three months pregnant!  And I feel and look huge.  I don't even want to think about how big I will be in several more months.  But everything is going well, I'm healthy, I feel fine (a bit tired and heavy is all), and N is super excited about Mocoso.  First thing she does in the morning is come straight to me and kiss my belly all over, giving Mocoso his good mornings.  Last thing at night, she talks and sings to Mocoso and then kisses my belly good night.  It's very cute, and I wonder how long it will last before I start hearing the fights between them!

Work Doctor Clears!

Today I saw a Doctor from my organization that confirmed I will not be medevac'ed from Stockholm.  This is good news!  It means I can stop worrying about whether I will have to leave and pack up here at any moment.  It means N will be able to finish the school year here.

I feel a huge weight off my shoulders.  Unlike my last pregnancy where it was hectic and scary to be medevac'ed out of Athens, this one is much less stressful.  For now anyway.  It still means I will be moving transatlantically after I'm 7 months pregnant and trying to fix up and set up house.  But for now, I'm "ohm"-ing my way through each day, just one day at a time.

Prenatal Appt - Feb 2013

I got to see both an endocrinologist and obstetrician at the same time at my prenatal appointment today.  This is something that would be difficult to do in the US, since you usually see one and then the other.  I think it is a fabulous idea to have an endocrinologist that works with the obstetrics department.

I went with A, and we asked plenty of questions and clarified some doubts we had.  When they [finally] took a good look at my sugar levels (for the first time, sheesh!), they were very encouraging.  The doctors agreed the sugar levels were well within normal levels and that no diabetes treatment was necessary.  At least not yet.  They even mentioned I may not need treatment this time around!  I find it hard to believe I will be able to go through my 40 or so weeks without any treatment, especially at the end, but it's good news!  It means I'm healthier and in better shape this time around.  This appointment put a lot of our concerns to rest.

11 Weeks :)

11 Weeks!

Good news, the constipation is slightly better!  For the record, I don't think anything I did improved it, I just think my body moved on to the next phase of metabolism.  Definitely energy levels are up.

The alarming news, I have a noticeable belly.  Ok, maybe not so big here in this photo because of the angle, but believe me, it's large for 11 weeks!  And I realize I wasn't, well, "slim" before, but I can tell where the fat ends and the belly begins.  For over a month now, my jeans haven't fit.  I'm still waiting for the maternity pants my mom hemmed to arrive in the mail.  I'm pretty proud, I've done miracles with leggings!!

Last week I met the midwife (finally) that will mostly be overlooking my case, Camilla.  Adal really liked, and I have to admit, it WAS easy to talk to her.  We explained why we are so concerned with the level of care I will receive and our unfamiliarity with the Swedish system.  Camilla seemed understanding, and spent well close to an hour talking with us.  She explained that next week I will meet with an Obstetrician (NOT the same airhead that saw me first!) and an Endocrinologist together to discuss my case.  I think that sounds good, but I'm still a bit worried over my continuing care.  I guess I'm worried State dept doctors might not deem my care here enough for me and want to Medevac me out.  I want to stick it out here until June!

In the US and PR, most ObGyns want a diabetic mother's fasting sugar level to be below the normal range, which is about 120 mg/dl.  Last time (2005), and during my initial med appts in PR this year, the doctors' goal was for me to be below 100 mg/dl.  Here, the midwife nurse won't even blink until she sees 126 on my fasting sugars.  So we'll see what the State dept doctor thinks of that...

I learned the nuchal translucency test is optional here; you have to ask for it.  Well, it's a good thing I did, as State dept requires it.  This test is in two parts, a blood test and an in-depth ultrasound.  It's to detect the amount and type of fluid in the neck of the fetus (and other measurements) and can help diagnose chromosomal conditions.  It can only be done between 11 - 14 weeks of gestation, as the fluid drains out of this area after that.  I have an appt in a week and a half for my test!

So, this coming week I have my OB/Endocrinologist appt and an appt with a State dept doctor.  I'll update soon!

The Cheese, Oh!, the Cheese

10 weeks!

My oven has never been so clean!  I got up Saturday with so much energy, as opposed to dragging all day every other day, that I cleaned the oven bottom.  Then the oven glass.  Then the oven grill.  I was a cleaning machine!  I scrubbed, scraped, and buffed out every speck of remains out of that oven.  It took me a few hours, and I STILL had enough energy to put a load of wash in, scrub N's hair, and get ready for a party.  Which we didn't make because our car wouldn't start.  :/

Lately, my cravings have been more noticeable.  I'm not a huge Mexican food fan, but the combination of ground beef, refried beans, cheese, sour cream, and avocados makes my mouth water.  Something about all that soft food going together...  MMMmmmm.  SO craving it now.  And tempura rolls, some of the few rolls I can have.

And ever since December, breakfast has to be arepas made from white masarepa flour with yellow cheese (cheddar or colby).  YELLOW cheese, you hear?!?  Not white cheddar, not gouda, YELLOW.  This craving for yellow cheese is killing me here.  I get it from our small store here at work where they get military commissary items, but they run out.  And then I go a little nuts.  Yesterday I ran all over the city looking for any kind of yellow cheese, and no luck.  Tried the local supermarket deli, tried the English market, even tried the gourmet tourist trap Saluhallen with 10 different deli counters, and I finally came to the monochromatic realization: most if not all the cheese I found here is white.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the cheese in Europe.  I love cheese period, but yes, cheese here is wonderful.  I just have a craving once in a while for yellow cheddar or colby, it melts different.  Look, I know the cheese is not naturally yellow (or orange), and it's just added coloring, but I'm just salivating for it.

Which brings me to another topic, that everything that goes in, has to come out.  Generally.  The constipation  these last several weeks has been, well, nothing short of painful.  Just the thought of going to the restroom brought tears to my eyes.  And yes, I've tried several remedies: kiwis, yogurt, muesli, coffee, oranges, water, fiber tablets...  I'm hoping last night was the turning point.  It was the first time in a very long time I didn't suffer through the process.

So maybe, just maybe, if I'm getting my energy back, and the constipation may be getting better, maybe this is the beginning of that "middle" trimester where things sail by easier, when your body isn't so out of whack.  One can hope?!?

A little less full

It's hard not to compare pregnancies and find similarities and differences.  For me, the early symptoms were the same.  This time around, though, the constipation, that feeling of low blood sugar, and the heaviness feel a lot worse.  Sadly, I think after almost 8 years, I've probably forgotten or blocked out what it was like.

One good thing is that I feel in much better physical shape than I did for N.  My weight is further down and my sugar levels very near normal.  And for the latter reason, I feel the sugar lows a lot more often this time around.  I notice in the morning especially that if I sleep in, I get a little queasier because of lack of food.  And the times I've taken the bus with something in my stomach I definitely feel less queasy than when I go on an empty stomach.

One big difference from the last time is that this time, well, I'm going through this pregnancy with a lap band.  It does throw some complications into the mix, as well as my diabetes, but I think it will actually help rather than hinder the process.

Lately though, I've been feeling, well, it's hard to describe, but I guess it's "tight."  Stomach acid comes up a bit at night, funny taste in the mouth keeping me from drinking water, difficulty getting food down, not eating enough made me suspect I needed my band to be a bit looser.  So I went in today to my bariatric doctor here and explained what I wanted to do:  loosen it so I could feel comfortable and eat properly, but not too loose I would gain too much wait or lose control of my diabetes.  So folks, that was the most relieving .9 cc (.9 mL) I've ever taken out of my body!

I realized I was dehydrated because I immediately gulped down 4 glasses of water.  I think this was a good decision already!  I can even breathe easier!

The Birthday Post

Happy Birthday to me!  At my age, a first: knocked up for my birthday.  Today was my first appt in the Swedish Prenatal Healthcare world, and I was less than blown away.  The pro?  A cute sonogram pic finally!!

Look at this, so clear and, BIG!

Diabetes makes this a "high risk pregnancy."  With today's technology, it is perfectly manageable and treatable, with biweekly monitoring visits, insulin therapy, and insulin dosage adjustments.  Something I have yet to find here locally.  Swedish prenatal healthcare relies heavily if not exclusively on highly regulated and educated midwifery.  Which is fine for about 90-95% of pregnancies.

Obstetricians are rarely seen, maybe once during your whole pregnancy (even if you WANT to see them!) and I suspect they only step in when C-sections or other "complications" arise.  Although I have heard they have midwives here that deal with diabetics, I have yet to be seen by one.  In fact, I seem to have come across a "meh"-no-one seems-to-care-much-no-one-is-concerned attitude here.  I wasn't recommended to take prenatal vitamins, no one asked me the date of my last menstrual period, no one asked me about my medical history, no one looked at the 20+ blood tests I've already had done, no one cared to look at my blood glucose log, and my next appt is in two weeks, two weeks with absolutely no glucose level monitoring or treatment.

Really??  I understand prenatal care is different the world over, I do.  But my gut tells me this is not right and I should be better monitored.  So, I'm pushing for better care.  I'm going through the nurse here who is trying really hard to help me, and I intend to be a pain in the butt to the healthcare workers here until I get the proper treatment.  I'm hoping next week the nurse will find a better practice or at least give this hospital prenatal unit an earful (Danderyd, in case you are wondering).

I'm trying very hard to not be med-evac'ed out of here like I was out of Athens with N.  I want to make it here until early June.  Our plans are to return to DC in June for two years.

But we all know what Life thinks about "plans."  :)