Glucose Tolerance Test

I think I should write up on the GTT and how it went really in case anyone was wondering.

I set my alarm for 07.30am, thinking of getting to bed around 10 - when I ended up chatting online to Faye. We did the skype, I found a black-and-white webcam (which has been utterly destroyed by my ex-boyfriend who unsucessfully tried to turn it into an infrared camera) and we talked on the phone at the same time. Somehow much time passed and I didn't end up in bed till (predictably) about midnight. Oh well.

It's worth a mention because it's such a horrible test. My appointment was at 08.30am, so I walked round to the hospital feeling exceptionally tired, when I got there I found outpatients completely empty and I got seen immediately.

My nurse was lovely and thoroughly overshadowed the cruelness of Crazy-Eyes from the day before. She took blood out of my hand as I requested (I love it when they do that and don't make a fuss about it. I know it's more painful than regular blood extraction but I still perfer it) then handed me an entire bottle and a cup of Lucozade.

I am not a lucozade fan. At at half eight in the morning after being unable to eat or drink since the night before it was a hell of a shock to the system. Drinking it was a struggle and I was very nearly sick about half way through. I then proceeded to feel faint, dizzy then sick again. My blood sugar was easily settled within the two hours of waiting though (I actually fell asleep in the waiting room after an energy drink!) and I had my second blood test at 09.45 before leaving.

I knew I had work at 6 that evening and since I still felt shattered I went home and slept for a few more hours.

If there's anything dodgy in the results then I'll be contacted, if not, I probably won't.

Next appointment is back with the midwives on the 4th of October (28 week appointment) fingers crossed I get some different ones this time.

25 Weeks Appointment (My Nemesis Lazy-Eye Midwife)

Much like my 16 week appointment my 25 week went astondingly quickly. I was seen as soon as I arrived (10 mins early) and my appointment was over well before my actual appointment time.

I knew there was something significant about 25 weeks - the maternity leave forms and the HIP grant.

So after they measured me and checked babies heartbeat (I measure 24 weeks but apparently that's all good) they asked if I had any problems - the answer being yes I had severely painful trapped wind last week for about 3 days, but it's passed now.

So I asked was there something about forms I got at this appointment, and they said they'd run out of HIP grant forms but that I could get it next time. Not the news I wanted, as that money would really be quite useful now, but I tried to put on a brave face and get on with it.

Then, the main midwife (whom I've seen about 3 times and get just a little taste that she's not that keen on me. She has a lazy eye that's just lazy enough that you can't work out if she's giving you eye contact but subtle enough so that you don't immediately notice) then flippantly mentions the Mat1blahblah form but I don't need that because I don't work.

To which I retorted (feeling a little offended) - Yes. I do have a job.

I'm sorry? I can't think of ANY real reason you would make that assumption. Just because I could do with £190 doesn't mean I'm unemployed! - Hell, I know a LOT of people with jobs that could always damn well do with £190. The only other reason I can think of is that they can both painly see my date of birth on their computer and am assuming that I don't work because I'm 20. That obvious bothers me more, but both reasons still make me feel like I'd unjustly been given a label of some sort going in there today. Was it wrong of me to ask about an awesome grant to give me free money? Does that make me unemployed? No it bloody doesn't.

I'm also left wondering to myself, if I hadn't asked about the grant and the forms would they have mentioned it? My employer NEEDS that form, quite in advance. It's a darn good job I'd read up about all this before hand, I feel so ill informed.

To top off my appointment, I mentioned that I had a glucose tolerance test booked (probably for around 28 weeks) and could they check the date for me. I got this really scolding answer about how it was my responsiblity and that I should've written it down. I'm sorry? The doctor HAD my appointment card, printed me off all the blur - forgive me for making the simple assumption that the date was on that paperwork! Why would it not be? I'm not even sure if I HAD been given the date.

Surely it's better that I ask now so that I don't waste the hospitals time by missing it or am I missing something here?

Anyway, took them quite a while to find it (which I am grateful for) so I waited in the waiting room. Turns out my GTT is TOMORROW, at 8.30am, SO glad I asked. Could've sworn it was in October!

So I'll not be eating past midnight tonight or tomorrow morning, hopefully everything'll be grand and I'll get a much nicer nurse/doctor to cheer me up about my care. I haven't had any problems with anything so I'm quitely confident that I'll show up as not having gestational diabetes - but you never know, better to have the test and know what's going on

Anyway. Rant over. :P

Viable, Ducks on the walls and pH tests

My large kicking tummy now contains a human being that could be saved if he or she was born. I have a fundal placenta (at the top) which is great, a strong cervix which no issues/leaking fluid, I'm immune to Rubella (at least mostly) and I still don't appear to be heavier than my pre-pregnancy self. All seems well.

I've made a rather sad decision to rehome my cats. For many reasons, but the main is that I am not really giving them any time and I doubt i'll be able to sort out jabs etc this year. They deserve to be with people who can give them attention and a better level of care.

Ixxy's father came round and finished the nursery, so I now have some lovely humming/whistling ducks on the wall. There's also a couple of mysterious moon-walking ones. Still have no idea how his relationship with the baby will be, it's impossible to know at this stage but we are having basically a 3-month break in communication so that he can settle back into his new home/university and not have to worry, and so that I can get on with planning the future for myself.

I've heard you can get a gender predictor which is urine based and natrually this intrigued me. After a bit of google-research I discovered the test worked simply because it was a Ph strip. Well, I stroked my imaginary beard and decided I would do a little expriement to see if this was accurate.
Of course, I have no idea what gender Ixxy is, that's why it's called Ixxy - so the proof will be in the pudding or in this case the birth.
Supposedly, from as little at 10 weeks the pH of your urine will be akaline or acidic depending on the gender of your child (sounds crazy but bear in mind these are sold for about £40 in America and I find it hard to believe that it's JUST 50/50). Blue/Green is Akaline which is Boy and Orange/Yellow is Acidic which is Girl. It maybe that it's only supposed to work between weeks 10 and 20 but because no upper limit is given I'm going to grab a bunch of pH tests and see if I can get varied results, if I can't then I'll have a 'pH prediction'.

That's all for now, have been in a lot of pain recently so hoping the midwife can tell me more on that, appointment is on Tuesday.

22 Weeks

It appears I've got into the habit of just reading other peoples blogs again and forgetting to actually blog myself, July was alright but August isn't looking so good with a pitiful 2 posts.

So what's happening?
Ixxy is now about a pound in weight, and is 11 or so inches long. This week the kicking became a lot more precise and very strong. For the first time I put my hand on my tummy and felt a kick with my hand. So for Dad's expecting babies I imagine this is a very special time :-)

The smallest baby that ever survived was born at 22 weeks and it's amazing to think that my baby is that age now and becomes offically 'viable' next week, coupled with the fact that I don't really look very pregnant and that no stranger would think I even was.

In order to save money (funds are running stupidly low) I'm now walking to work and back from work when it's still light. I'm attempting to get more hours and perhaps a second job just to get me through until December when the tax credits, maternity pay, child benefit and grants all kick in (and I finish paying for my TV licence). This suits me at the moment since apart from leaky boobs and baby boots I have no other aliments and I feel great and full of energy. I'm also trying to go swimming once a week.

My whole family finally knows about my pregnancy which I'm very happy about. They have all been really supportive and it makes me very grateful to have them.

My repeat scan is on Tuesday, so all being well and me being bothered I'll write up another blog then. Me and presumed Father of Ixxy are meeting for coffee on monday, and I shall leave you with his wise words:

"Baby's are a bit boring at the beginning, like the start of diablo 2."

20 Week Scan

Well, I'd given baby some very clear instructions not to be so kicky when it'd started this morning, but to save it's energy for the ultrasound scan.

It seems our relationship is already off to a rocky start, Ixxy didn't listen to a word I said and decided to have a little snooze.

I wouldn't have minded if the position he or she had choosen was a good one, so the sonographer could get a good look - but baby was curled into a tight little ball with it's legs crossed - showing no intention whatsoever of moving.

As a result the sonographer rebooked the scan for two weeks time ad advised me to drink more or a frizzy drink before coming in next time. *Sigh*

Already a stubbon little thing and only halfway through gestation!

New and Interesting things

Where to start? I have a baby inside me and my hormones and my body are doing very wierd things.

My hypersensitive sickness is still awful. I get sick just going into my bathroom now and I know it really needs a clean (but the thought of cleaning it also makes me sick). People smoking also makes me close to puking and I honestly don't know why, it has just grossed me out all of a sudden. I still find it difficult to brush my teeth in the morning as that makes me sick, so just aim to do it midday.

Since week 16 I have been feeling interesting motions in my belly which feel like Ixxy doing a backflip, not like any other sensation you get in your tummy really. Then just in the last few days the movements have become frequent and distinct, lots of swirling about and kicking I think but it is a very strange feeling that I'm not entirely sure I like. It's ok when I'm at home and getting all maternal, but at work it makes me feel really odd. I went swimming today and it was like the baby was swimming as well, huge amount of movement.

Other interesting things, I got a random nosebleed for no reason (because of all the extra blood in my body apparently that can easily burst a little artery in my nose) I don't think I've ever just had a nosebleed start, unless I got hit in the nose.

Back seems a bit better than last week (where being on my feet for half an hour became extremly painful), bloating/loss of appetite has re-emerged, but not as bad as before.

And yesterday morning I woke up (after having funny pains in my breasts) to find little crispy patches on my nighty. I thought nothing of it, but about ten minutes ago I found new wet patches and discovered that my left breast in leaking. It's hilarious, but also means that this breast will likely produce more milk (I have about 4 times the number of montgomery tubercles on that breast and it appears to be ever so sliiightly larger) and that I'll be leaking it in very large amount by week 30 or so...so I'll have to wear breastpads in my bra.

Can't believe I'm lactating already, what possible good can that do? Will be cool if I can donate breastmilk through, if this is an indication that I will be making lots. I'm quite fasinated by it really, hope baby likes the yummy milk that my boobs can't wait to give it!

The Question of Dad

After a week off work (extremely thankfully missing our 2nd busiest day of the year, start of insane summer sale) and a week in the company of Annie and with her help - I have painted all the walls of the nursery! Yay! So it's a spring/mint green with a white rail that runs through the middle at the moment, ceiling got a little bit painty but nothing on the carpet and no other overlaps (we put down cellotape, which seemed the answer to all problems...but we discovered if left for more than two days it leaves the wall with a sticky residue).

During this time Ixxy's Dad/father/co-creater returned from a month-long holiday in
Australia with his girlfriend, during which time I made no attempt to contact him (because I'm trying to be mature and respectful about the whole thing) but he did send a couple of support messages which made me feel at ease and reassured me that I wasn't completely alone in all this. I also got the dates of return wrong and rang him 4 days before he got home at 5.45am Australia time (oops!) but aside from that all was well.

His girlfriend (as is completely understandable) wants him to have nothing to do with me but knows the story and appears to have forgiven us both after this sorry mess started. We have been in a vague sort of contact (which has been as adults and not a slagging match) and think we have made an effort to understand each other, which is probably key to sorting out just how involved said man should be.

I suppose I don't see how you can continue to both, stay with the love of your life, knowing that you not only were unfaithful but also made a baby with someone else whilst staying involved with your long-term ex-girlfriend and have a decent, friendly relationship with both her and your spawn.

But I'm hoping that somehow, both are possible. I finally made up my mind this week that I actually don't really want to weedle back in with my ex, it doesn't really achieve anything. Even if we were a 'couple' he'd still be studying in London and probably see Ixxy as much as if he was an absent father in a relationship with someone else. Even when we casually talked about perhaps seeing each other again we were both in complete doubt and the conversation went round in circles. I think the conclusion was something like 'for the good of mankind we should be a relationship and not meet other people' or something equally bizare.

Anyway, just thought I'd give a quick blog about him. He may or may not decide to be involved as yet, depends if he can keep up all this and a relationship. I'll hear soon, hopefully everything will be well and Ixxy will at least know about his or her father, and maybe a step-mum one day too. :-)