We made it! Week 27 + 5 days and we’re officially in our third trimester. When I think back to week 5, back when I was so convinced things wouldn’t work out, I am so excited to have gotten this far.
It really has been a lovely pregnancy to date. No morning sickness, two very lovely holidays, and no complications. And I don’t want to take that for granted. I have friends who have experienced quite the opposite, so I know how fortunate I am.
I can now feel our little boy move about quite a bit, and John has felt him move too. Seeing his face when he felt that first kick ranks up there with the Best Moments Of My Life for sure.
It’s just starting to sink in that I’m not alone in here, and that we’re actually going to have baby in three months’ time. We’ve got some tiny little baby clothes, and a breast pump – two actually – and a couple of stuffed toys. I think we’re set to go!
A few days ago I had the pleasure of a Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT). I had to undertake this joyful ceremony because a) I’m a fatty fat fat (BMI>30 when we conceived) and b) I have PCOS. This involved fasting from 10pm the night before, a blood test at 8am (two actually as they took bloods for the midwives too), a drink of a measured amount of carbohydrate powder, two more hours of fasting with no water either, and then another blood test. Jesus must have been listening, as I got a nurse who could take my blood easily each time, with minimal bruising. I’ll get the results next week, but I’m hoping I’ve aced the test. Aside from holidays, we’ve been sticking to our low-carb diet, so I’d be very surprised if I’ve caught gestational diabetes.
One interesting aside: Due to our low-carb diet, I have had to prepare for this test by eating carbs. Seems odd that the one thing that could cause gestational diabetes is the one thing I need to do to pass the test doesn’t it? The reason is thus:
When you’re in ketosis, primarily digesting fat and protein, your body does not have an abundance of the enzymes it requires to digest sugars. Why should it? It doesn’t need them. So in this situation if you ingest a large shot of carbohydrate powder, like you do in the GTT, the sugar will stay in your blood for the two hours until the next blood test, and still be there when they bleed you the second time.
This will send off alarm bells at Diabetes HQ, and little diabetes fairies will come and poke your pancreas.
So how to get around this? Eat carbs for a few days before the test to get your body used to digesting them again…Darn it, OK, if I have to!
Something I wasn’t expecting, and feel rather foolish for even entertaining, has been Bump Envy. The most pointless of all the pregnancy thoughts. As outlined in my last post, my bump is far from the neat, tidy shape of an expectant mummy. This situation was highlighted for me when recently on holiday in Crete. As I lay taking in some Cretan rays by the side of the pool, along walked a bronzed goddess of a lady, with perfect bump, all pert and firm. I looked at my beached whale state, and John had to stop me from approaching her to ask how far along she was.
Please don’t misunderstand – I’m over the moon about being preggers. I am not worried about getting fat, or how I look to others. I couldn’t care less what people think, I have a son living inside me!
But I would like a proper bump! For me, not for anyone else.
There is still time. I’m only just entering my 3rd trimester, so this is when the baby does all the growing. But when I saw a colleague who is 22 weeks yesterday, and the size of a basket ball, I did wonder – perhaps I just won’t carry my baby in that way. And that’s OK. I found this, and I think I’ll fall into the third category:
I know that if I’d been thinner before getting knocked up, this would have made a difference. And I kick myself for that. And I know it really doesn’t matter. But I’m pregnant OK? And I’m allowed to be irrational.
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