Things they don't tell you about gestational diabetes...

I learned some new stuff yesterday that startled me a bit.

Even in controlled gestational diabetes it is possible for the placenta to mature and begin degrading sooner than 40 weeks.

Don't fret, oh wonderful family of mine, Baby Boy's own make-your-own disposable organ is still doing JUST FINE!

But it means that from now until he gets here, I go into the office once a week and get a non-stress test.

This is kinda fun actually. I get to relax in a squishy chair, have a nurse dote on me for a while and get me a warm blanket and make sure I am comfy, then they strap on a fetal monitoring system. That is two sensors on my belly, one that measures the baby's heart rate and one that measures if I have a contraction. (right now they are not even worried about the second one, just told me what it would do in case I had a Braxton-Hicks contraction while I was in there, nothing special.)

Then, I have to stay there for about 20-30 minutes while they get a read out of his heart rate.

Only, they want him to MOVE while they are checking on him. So I will have to bring a snack next time, first time they had to find me some crackers. He was asleep and needed a quick carb rush to get him moving and waking up.

It took them almost an hour to get the results they needed to see!!!

Then, the next bit comes when I am 36 weeks along, which is just 3 weeks away, then I go in for weekly ultrasounds, as well as the non-stress tests. The ultrasounds are to check on the placenta and how much amniotic fluid he has left.

If anything seems off after 36 weeks, they will induce labor.

I had NO IDEA this was even a potential issue with gestational diabetes. All the info on the web just talked about your diet, taking care of yourself, checking your blood sugar and monitoring it. Nothing about the placenta maturing too fast. I suppose they might put that under a risk for uncontrolled diabetes, but even when its controlled, this is still a potential risk.

Oh, and no one mentioned the dreams about eating Milky Way bars either. I woke up and thought it had really happened and was scared for a moment that I had actually done that!