Weeks 18-21 – can you guess what it is yet?

By | 9 January, 2013
What some babies might look like, if they're unlucky

What some babies might look like, if they’re unlucky

I very much like the second trimester of pregnancy. Insulin requirements have been stable for about 4 weeks now, although if today is like yesterday, I’ll be nudging up my basal rates a bit for the first time in a month. I can cope with that. HbA1c is currently stable at around 5.2%. The baby has started kicking away inside which is very entertaining. I now look properly pregnant, rather than just fat, and maternity jeans are still the most comfortable clothing known to womankind. And we’ve just found out what we’re having!

Readers who are getting just a bit bored of this whole pregnancy thing will be relieved to know that we’re just over halfway through now. So the end is in sight for all concerned.

We had “the big scan” over Christmas. Optimistically entitled the foetal anomaly scan, I prefer to think of it as just having a good poke round to see how things are going.

All the research shows that poorly controlled diabetes can impact the development of the major organs, and this scan at 21 weeks would be the first time that damage could possibly be seen on a scan. My control has been good, but there’s always a nagging doubt in the back of your mind.

All is well. All the right bits are in the right place and look to be doing the right job. I admit to sending up a silent “F*** you diabetes, round one to us” on hearing that. And then reverted back to watching the baby playing with her feet and sucking her thumb.

And closer inspection showed some exciting news – we’re expecting a baby girl!

Category: Living with diabetes Pregnancy Tags:

About Alison

Diagnosed with Type One in 1983 at the age of four, Alison's been at this for a while now. She uses Humalog in a combined insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring system and any blood glucose meter as long as it takes five seconds or less.

14 thoughts on “Weeks 18-21 – can you guess what it is yet?

  1. Tim

    Hurrah! The bad news is that, as a girl, you won’t be able to name her after me! 🙂

    Reply
  2. brian

    Timothea is the female from of Timothy – the internet tells me.
    Now that has quite a ring to it – there won’t be many in the school class called that.
    Be bold; Go for it !!
    She won’t like it what ever the name you choose 🙂

    Brian

    Reply
          1. lizz

            LOL! My daughter loves her name. We were very careful, I have always been interested in names since Bunty (there you go, that dates me) or maybe it was Jacky? gave away a little name book and their meanings. I now have about 6 name dictionaries, including Irish and French.

            The French one was from before they became a little more relaxed – in France up until a very short time ago you had to choose from a list and the name wasn’t on the list (of French names only) then they refused to register the baby.

            Names go in cycles. So i knew that the name my OH wanted was coming up the popularity scales, so looked for an alternative that sounded the same – and found it in the French dictionary. I didn’t want to give her a name that was made up or just spelt weirdly, although that is what people probably think we have done.

            I was one of 4 Elizabeths in my class and hated it, I so envied the one of us who was spelled with an ‘S’!

            An unusual but not whacky name does confer a certain status and also – people remember you, which is very helpful indeed.

            Reply
  3. Melissa

    Congratulations again Alison!

    I absolutely love reading about your diabetic pregnancy adventures.
    Really glad that the big scary scan went well – and to a very happy and healthy next few months until your wee tot arrives 😀

    I’m chucking my ideas in on naming – any name I give my child will have to be a reference to some TV show or film, and will most likely be awkward. And the poor child will hate me forever until they deed poll change themselves.

    Reply
    1. lizz

      Oooh, now if it was a TV ref., my fave shows… gosh poor child. Frasier. Or Big Bang. Or possibly Niles, Ros, Maris, Daphne, Lilith (actually, quite like that one) Sheldon, Leonard, Penny, Howard or Rajesh…

      Reply
      1. Alison Post author

        Currently the easiest option looks to be to follow my current naming convention – my pump is called “pump”, my bump is called “bump” so it’s looking like “number 1 child” or “offspring” would be the natural name to follow the theme 😉

        Reply
  4. Caro

    Congratulations! I’m really enjoying following your pregnancy experience – thanks for sharing your thoughts!

    I recently plucked up the courage to finally make my own pregnancy diary public on a blog – only a little while after the event! Thought it might be interesting to you. Of course you may by now be fed up to the back teeth of your own pregnancy with diabetes and the very last thing you want to do is read about someone else’s. In which case…scroll on by! The link is http://www.sweetenerandspice.com

    Hope things continue to go well.

    Reply

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