The Gift

One of the first things my doctor said to me when he entered the delivery room was that he was disappointed. Disappointed because he had ordered something for me but it wasn't scheduled to arrive until Friday (today, the day I would have had my C-Section). I immediately wondered what it was but he wouldn't tell me what it was. I was pretty sure I knew though. I knew it would likely be something for the baby and it would probably have some University of Virginia emblem on it (he always jokes with me that he's delivering future Wahoos/Cavaliers when he sees me).

So today we receive a call from Dr. L and he asks if someone in my family could drive to his office (not me because i can't drive for another week and a half) and pick something up. I told him I'd send Brandon to get it. When Brandon came back I was totally surprised when I opened the box. In one aspect it had indeed been what I was expecting, it was definitely a gift for the baby. But I opened the box to find this:

I never would have thought that he would order Virginia Tech gear, he being such an avid hater of all things Virginia Tech.

I was not only impressed that he got us Virginia Tech gear but also that he got us anything at all - I don't imagine it's something he does for all his patients. Maybe he thinks as much of us as we think of him! One thing's for certain, I couldn't imagine having a better doctor!

38 Week Appointments

So now that I'm almost 39 weeks I figured I should post an update about my 38 week appointments.

On Tuesday I went in with the idea that I would have him strip my membranes (helps assist in the loss of the mucus plug and for some people induces labor).  I asked his opinion about it and he told me that generally it only helps if the individual is at least 4cm dilated, so we agreed that we'd check me and if I was at a 4 then we'd give it a shot.  Well I was only at 3cm, not effaced at all, and Baby Q was still riding high - needless to say we didn't do any membrane stripping.

On Friday, I was attached to the fetal monitor for around an hour and fifteen minutes, for the first 30-45 minutes of which she didn't move at all.  He was then called away to run over to the hospital for a delivery and the moment he left I started to feel a contraction.  Well I guess that's all she needed to wake up and get moving because after that she was all over the place!  As for the contraction, on one hand I was happy because I knew that something was getting started and on the other hand I was bummed that it was only one contraction.  I began to feel a bit better about it when later that night I discovered that I was beginning to lose my mucus plug - without having membranes stripped!

I had a few more contractions that night and have had a few in the days since, I've also continued to slowly lose bits and pieces of my plug - it's all progress so I try not to complain.  I've started saying a "special" prayer and requesting that since Heavenly Father is all-knowing that if it be His will and I could have a successful VBAC then to help labor get started before Friday afternoon at 4pm.  And if the case would be that labor would not end in a VBAC then to just hold off on everything until Friday at 4pm.  I'm not sure if it'll work but I'm sure the prayer is being heard!

Relief

Today I sent B to work with some information (including questions) to fax to my doctor.  I seriously lost sleep last night stressing over our "96th percentile" little girl.  Fortunately, around lunch time I received the much needed call from my doctor and there was such a huge amount of relief felt after the phone call ended.

My after dinner blood glucose readings have been higher than they should be, not extremely high but enough to make me concerned.  I asked him if maybe he thought I should take medication to lower those levels.  He reassured me that my numbers are okay, in fact he said he's surprised by them.  I've told you before that we agreed to just treat me as a diabetic during this pregnancy but he is now thinking that I am not a Type 2 Diabetic at all because my blood glucose levels read like those of a gestational diabetic.  Apparently they are far too low to be considered a Type 2 Diabetic.  So he assured me that not only do I not need to be placed on any medication but that I also just need to give myself a break because my numbers aren't at a level that I should be stressing myself out about them.

The other big question that I had was of course regarding Baby Q being in the 96th percentile.  To this he had a very simple and relaxed answer:  "it's a big baby."  Needless to say his response, aside from being blatantly obvious, caught me off guard.  I'd been stressing about it for the previous 22 hours and he was as cool as a cucumber about it.  He went on to reassure me that 1) it's nothing that I'm doing wrong, 2) there's nothing I can do to change it.  I asked him if he was due to the diabetes or if I was just prone to have big babies and he told me it was the latter.  I did ask him what percentile Y was at 20 weeks and after finding out that she was 95th percentile at this point that was really all I needed to know.  I was then cool as a cucumber after that.

I'm not totally satisfied because my best hope of a successful VBAC is having a smaller baby this time around but my relief comes from knowing that I'm not doing any "harm" to my unborn child.  And knowing that, I'll sleep much better tonight!

Open For Business

For those of you who have been reading our blog from its inception, you likely remember me referring to my pregnancy as a roller coaster ride.  It was a fairly easy pregnancy (based solely on my impressions of comparisons between my own experience and the experiences of other friends and family members).  My roller coaster ride had little to do with fatigue or morning sickness but was more centered around my gestational diabetes, my inability to NOT worry, and a few other scary events that occurred.  Well folks, this roller coaster is gearing up for another ride.  Don't get too excited, it's not yet ready to pull out of the station but it's getting all of its gears checked and making sure all is in perfect working order.

Last April when I went in for my annual exam, I mentioned to my OB/GYN that we were thinking of trying to get pregnant before the end of the year, we didn't have an exact time frame picked out but we knew we wanted it to be before the end of 2010.  His reply was more of a request, he asked me to come in about 2 months prior to trying to conceive.  He wanted to run a few tests to see where my blood sugars were as well check for protein in my urine, etc.  He also requested (more like coerced) me to choose a family doctor and have that doctor do tests to see if I needed to be placed on blood pressure medication.  In order to make sure I went to see another doctor, he only prescribed 2 months of birth control and informed me that once he heard from the other doctor regarding my blood pressure he would then prescribe the other 10 months worth of pills.  It's kinda funny that he had me so figured out.  He knew that if he didn't withhold the remaining months of the prescription that I would not have gone to see that other doctor...and he was 100% correct!

I had always felt that I didn't have blood pressure issues, I bought a blood pressure cuff while I was pregnant with Y and when I checked it at home it was always completely normal - I kept telling him I just had "white coat syndrome."  He never bought it.  So when I went to see our new family doctor we discovered that I didn't have white coat syndrome because while visiting his office my blood pressures were completely normal, just like they are at home.  So I concluded that I just have Dr. Levin syndrome because the only times my blood pressures really seem to be elevated is when I visit his office.  Some may think that it may just be the equipment in his office but I can vouch that it's not just the equipment because starting about 30-60 minutes before a visit to his office I can literally feel my pulse begin to quicken and the anxiety start to build.  I have come to believe that I get myself so worked up thinking that I'm going to go in and have really high blood pressures and worrying so much about it that when I finally get there and have it checked then I really do have high blood pressure.  I think it's completely psychological!

Some have suggested that I just find another doctor but I really, really like him as my doctor.  And more importantly I really, really trust him as my doctor.  I'll admit that at first, I was not a huge fan but after 9 months of seeing him I grew to appreciate his concern and caution and after my labor experience it really solidified it for both me and B.  We are both huge fans of him and I can't even imagine going to another doctor.  It also helps that we have the VT/UVA rivalry in common because it gives us lots of ammunition and banter during football season.  We also give each other restaurant and food recommendations because well, we're both southern and like southern food!

So anyway, back to the present...Last Tuesday, we went in and had our Preconception Counseling visit.  He gave me prescriptions to go to the lab and have some tests done, he advised me to go ahead and start on my gestational diabetic diet (he's 80% certain that I'll get it again), and to take my blood pressures once daily and fax them to him once a week.  That really wasn't too tall an order to fill so a week later I finally caved and went to the lab to have the tests run (at 6am so I didn't have to take Y with me later when B was at work).  I had to give 2 tubes of blood, 1 was for the blood glucose test and the other for a Hemoglobin A1C.  He called me yesterday with the results:  my blood glucose level was great, it was at 85.  Whenever you go to the lab to have it taken they want it to be a fasting blood glucose level which just means you haven't eaten anything and it should be below 95.  As for the Hemoglobin A1C, I had never had one before so I had to Google it.  Here is what I found on MedicineNet:

What is a hemoglobin A1c (A1c)?


To explain what an A1c is, think in simple terms. Sugar sticks, and when it's around for a long time, it's harder to get it off. In the body, sugar sticks too, particularly to proteins. The red blood cells that circulate in the body live for about three months before they die. When sugar sticks to these cells, it gives us an idea of how much sugar has been around for the preceding three months. In most labs, the normal range is 4-5.9 %. In poorly controlled diabetes, its 8.0% or above, and in well controlled patients it's less than 7.0%. The benefits of measuring A1c is that is gives a more reasonable view of what's happening over the course of time (3 months), and the value does not bounce as much as finger stick blood sugar measurements.

My level was like 7.2% which is apparently pretty high.  So I was ordered to begin taking my blood glucose levels again, 4 times a day: before breakfast, 2 hours after breakfast, 2 hours after lunch and 2 hours after dinner.  I am not excited in the least about this aspect of it.  He wants to monitor it and decide if I need to be placed on medication.  I assume that he will order another Hemoglobin A1C in 6 weeks or so to see where I'm at after following a proper diet.

That is where we stand as of right now.  So as many amusement parks are preparing to close for the season, this roller coaster is just starting up and open for business.  So if you're ever in the mood for a roller coaster ride, you know where to come!

Did I Make the Right Choice?

Okay, so this is a story for my fellow Hokies, but the rest of you can enjoy it and read it as well. On my very first visit with my doctor (you know the one where you go in his office and meet him for the first time) I was in his office waiting for him and the first thing I notice hanging on his wall is his Bachelor's degree and Medical School Degree hanging on his wall. Well, that's pretty common, right? Well what caught my eye was the fact that they were both from the University of Virginia. So for those of you who aren't familiar with UVa and Virginia Tech, they are HUGE rival schools. So I guess the first thought was whether I should just get a new doctor period. wasn't too sure I wanted a Wahoo delivering my kid. Well anyways, I stayed, and I just happened to be wearing a VT t-shirt that day. Boy did the insults start flying then. Luckily we're both very sarcastic and no one got offended. Actually we insulted each other throughout my entire pregnancy for our choice of schools. So before I was discharged from the hospital I definitely wanted to have a picture taken of him holding Y and he was more than willing to oblige. So I had some VT stuff bought to the hospital and he refused to actually touch any of the stuff, so that is why I am in the photo (without my hair done) holding it for him!

For what it's worth and as an answer to the title of this post, Yes, I made the right choice! I don't think I truly appreciated my doctor until I was in labor. If he's around and I'm still in Michigan he'll definitely be delivering my next child. But for the record, he's about the only Wahoo that I can compliment, haha. Just kidding, they're really not so bad. They just made a questionable decision in choice of schools. Goodnight...