Looking Back: Baby on Board!

When my husband B and I  found out I was pregnant I think we were both in shock despite knowing that this could actually happen.  For almost my entire adult life, I never really believed that I would be able to conceive.  (I probably attributed this to diabetes even though it's not a proven factor to inhibit fertility.  But everything in the world has a warning sticker on it that says, "If you are diabetic, please consult your physician before using this, doing this, eating this, etc."  Not to mention many uneducated people attribute random negative things that happen to you to diabetes.  I find this humorous.  More on this in another post).  But there it was, a gleaming blue plus sign that said I most certainly was pregnant. 

Cue a dance of joy in my head.  At that very moment, I was building a new tiny life inside of me despite doubtful thoughts and despite years of diabetes.  THIS WAS HAPPENING and diabetes wasn't stopping me.  Then I immediately became nervous.  I AM TYPE 1 DIABETIC AND PREGNANT!   How am I going to manage this so that my baby is healthy?  

 About a year before this I told myself I was going to get in shape and make my body a healthy environment for  a possible little babe.  We joined a gym and used it regularly.  I switched to a lower carbohydrate diet.  We bought lots of organic food.   For months I had been wrangling in blood sugars that were higher than recommended for conception.  Then I got a CGM.  This is my holy grail of diabetes management.  I wasn't afraid to run on the lower side anymore, because it would alert me if I was too low.  I could go to bed without worrying that I would be hypoglycemic in the night and not wake up at all.  I could track the trends of my blood sugar and concentrate on areas that needed improvement.   My first A1C after starting the CGM was nearly a full point lower than the last test.  Success!  

I absolutely love my endo team.  My doctor is a straight shooter and someone I can be real with.  He also has an awesome CDE who not only makes suggestions at a pace with which I'm comfortable, but allows me to have input in the decisions about my health.  A few more months of tweaking basals and boluses on my insulin pump settings and my A1C was nearly there.   Then finally we got the green light.

We found out I was pregnant a week or so before my next regularly scheduled endo appointment.  So after freaking out for a minute after seeing the plus sign, I took a breath and reminded myself that I would have a lot of guidance.  At that first appointment I found out my A1C was 6.0 when we conceived which was right on target!  My endo asked if I had noticed any changes in my management yet.  The only thing I could tell so far was that I was getting low much more often.  We scaled back on some of my basal rates which is par for the course of a diabetic pregnancy in the early stages.  Your body is so busy trying to build every little cell of the baby so perfectly that it uses a lot of energy!  I made an appointment for 2 weeks later and I was on my way!  It was a great feeling knowing that I was in control of all I could be and our little baby was taking up residence.