In my first post I want to write about 2 very important topics I was never given the opportunity to be educated on throughout the last 3 months of my pregnancy. Gestational Diabetes and Preeclampsia.
It was October 2017. I was shocked when my doctor told me I had failed the glucose test miserably. I drank this sweet sweet syrup and had blood drawn every hour for three hours. I was put on a restricted carb diet and had to prick my fingers four times a day for the rest of my pregnancy. Needless to say, it made the holidays kind of difficult watching everyone eating pumpkin pie and lasagna. I had to be very militant about this condition because the repercussions of not following could have been very dangerous for me and the baby.
The Preeclampsia came into play more so towards the last couple months of my pregnancy. My blood pressure was very high on several occasions and the non stress tests were showing the baby was not liking it. Long story short I was sent to the hospital straight from a non stress test and was about three weeks til my due date. The doctor told me to pack a bag and that I wouldn’t be leaving the hospital without the baby. Part of me was petrified and part of me was excited. I thought, well, I am considered full term and I am really looking forward to meeting my little man. The concern was the blood pressure. The diabetes was being closely monitored but well managed. The blood pressure, not so much. I got to the hospital and was put on a Magnesium Sulfate drip, a muscle relaxer for the heart. Here’s where it got ugly. Bed rest began then and I didn’t know it. No food, no liquids, no trips to the bathroom, no showers, no nothing. I thought, is this even right? I mean, I need strength, the baby needs to eat, I want to be able to have enough strength to push him out of me. It was the beginning of a downhill roller coaster. I was miserable. I was starving. I was thirsty. I wanted a shower like nothing else. The concern was if they didn’t keep the blood pressure down with the Mag drip, I could possibly have a seizure. There was no food or liquid allowed in case they needed to open me up for an emergency c-section. Then they started inducing… 5 different times with 5 different strategies. They had to manually break my water and, although its still all a blur, this is when the contractions started. The epidural was given immediately, twice. I had a ‘window’ in my pelvic region that wasn’t being reached. The epidural failed. I felt every little thing including the episiotomy. I pushed for 3 hours and finally heard what sounded like a loud cat meow… it was my little man. The most beautiful, precious site ever. I had lost so much blood at that point my body had gone into shock while I was being sewn up. It was all so mind blowing to me. They gave me my baby, healthy and beautiful and I couldn’t believe I had made it through. There was a light at the end of the tunnel. There is so much nobody tells you. So many unexpected things pop up. I finally got my shower. I finally ate. The Gestational Diabetes was gone. My blood pressure was on its way down. The breast feeding was the next battle!! I didn’t prepare an ending for this first post. I wanted to get my story out and let other women know these conditions are manageable but it’s difficult and I recommend always asking questions and learning about these conditions. Take them serious and closely monitor them. I am 11 months postpartum and am still recuperating. I did not have the fairy tail pregnancy and delivery I had dreamed of. But it was all worth it looking back. Joining a Gestational Diabetic support group would have been helpful but they didn’t have one.
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