So at 9 weeks it's finally sunk in; we're having a baby-kid. It's a strange feeling, knowing you are pregnant but not really having tangible proof of that, other than the crazy sore breasts, insane lethargy and incessant crying at TV adverts with mistreated dancing animals. I've donated a shit lot of money to charity during this stage of pregnancy. Be warned.
I must have looked at that pregnancy test a millions times, but it wasn't until I saw the kidney-bean-with-ears shape on that first early scan, that I really 'felt' pregnant. There doesn't seem to be a 'standard' approach to scanning mums with D early, but ours was scheduled at 9 weeks, and offered estimated dates of conception and due date, and basic checks that everything looked OK. Not that I would have had a clue because to me the image on the screen could have been anything, but seeing the flutters of the primitive heart flicking away on the screen was a pretty special moment, and made the many hypos and achey worn-out feet worth every single moment.
After donating more of my best blood cells to the hospital's store of my personal supply, now quite possibly needing its own wing of the hospital, we've been told all looks good with the growing kidney-bean, and that my HbA1c was holding steady just above 6%. This, along with the fact that I'm learning how to manage the 45-minute hypos, means things have started to feel a little more normal again in life. I'm packing away the carbs with the gusto of a famished post-hibernation grizzly bear, and if I ever start to waver or feel a little overwhelmed with the task ahead, I look at the photos of the bean, and remember why I'm doing this.
As a result of the first scan and midwife appointment, I'm now also in a regular routine of seeing my diabetes team every 2 weeks for them to look over my results, make suggestions and work with me towards achieving blood sugar levels as close to 5-7mmol as possible. Some days this feels like a mammoth task, but keeping their email addresses to hand and dropping them a line if I am ever struggling has helped me enormously in feeling like any issues are addressed straight away.
Things I've noticed in the final parts of the first trimester:
~ I've become more sensitive to insulin, and more accepting of carbs. Rarely rising above 9 mmol even after the most carbilicious meals mean the final parts of this trimester have left me feeling like life is leveling out, just a little.
~ Hypos still take a long time to recover from and some hit in 'stealth-mode', with little warning. If you don't use CGM, I would highly recommend increasing blood tests if you haven't already, because the tiredness and general overwhelming need to be completely horizontal, if awake at all, in early pregnancy means those hypos-in-cloaking-devices can knock you for six.
~Blood tests still suck.
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