Had another lovely visit with the doctor yesterday. Well, maybe there wasn't so much lovely this time. I had to take the glucose screening test. As soon as I got there, I was given this nasty glucose concoction to drink, which tasted an awful lot like a tall glass of melted orange-flavored Otterpops. Gross. Anyway, then I had to hang around for an hour to let it get in my system and do its magic before they drew blood to test my glucose levels. Not fun, but not too bad. I survived.
Only this morning they called and said that my glucose levels were mildly elevated, so now I have to go back and take the much more dramatic version of the glucose test. This one is 3 hours long and they'll have to draw blood 4 times (though with my history, this will translate to approximately 37 unsuccessful attempts at getting blood from my tiny, wimpy veins). Hopefully no diagnosis of gestational diabetes comes from this because that would pretty much stink. I really have been pretty turned off of sweets throughout this whole pregnancy, and am crossing my fingers that the fact that I don't eat many sugary things anyway will be points in my favor. Anyway, because I want this done and over with as soon as possible, and because I have to go into the test fasting, I think I'll try to go into the lab first thing Monday morning. Wish me luck.
Otherwise, though, the appointment went well. Baby still has a beautiful heartbeat, and the doctor was able to confirm that the annoying pain in my hip joints is totally normal. I'm now about a week into my third trimester, so we're on the homestretch.
We have only one more childbirth class to go, which is great. I'll be glad to get my Saturday mornings back. I think this week we're up for a tour of the birthing center, more breathing exercises, and a general tying up of loose ends. Last week we learned all about pain management, and I'm suprised at myself for coming away from it with a different opinion about epidurals. I'm not one of those organic-loving, everything should be 100% natural, including childbirth, kind of girls. Besides, I kind of consider myself to be more on the wimpy side when it comes to dealing with pain. So I've been pretty much pro-epidural from the start. But a part of me (I'm pretty certain it's the part that's not in labor at this very moment) is getting more and more interested in seeing how long I can last without an epidural because I'm a little concerned that if I'm totally numbed up I won't be able to get myself to push when it's time, which itself can cause further problems (like the need to have this kid vacuumed out of me -- yeah, I don't really see that as the ideal way to make an entrance into the world). Anyway -- to those of you who've been through this (and also those who haven't, but still have an opinion), what are your thoughts? I'm curious what other people think.
6 comments:
Ah, the wonderful taste of the glucola drink. I've had to do the test before too, and it's pretty lousy. Fortunately I don't get too affected by sugars - my MIL gets super sick and the awful shakes when she does the test (the whole family is hypo-glycemic). Have fun with that.
I've never been through the birthing process, but I've done a bit of research and have heard a lot of info both ways on epidurals. When they say the biggest risk is a headache, they mean a crippling, you want-to-die spinal headache. My friend's leg is still partially numb from her epidural 15 months ago.
My mom's take on the whole pain thing is that it's pain for a purpose, and I can get behind that - it's a natural process. I'd like to look into things like birthing stools and stuff like that, and I don't want to be tied to my bed with an IV, working against gravity to bring a child into the world. I'd personally like to get the "take the edge off" drugs and see if I can make it that way.
However, my mom (did I mention she's a Labor & Delivery nurse?) would also tell you that you need to make yourself able to have the child without working against your body. If all you can think of is "owowowowowowow" and it's stopping the progress of labor, it's okay to have drugs to help you calm down and not be so stressed that it's going to cause complications. If you're dealing with a 36 hour labor, an epidural to help you sleep and make it through and not make it traumatic can be a very helpful thing.
I had a German teacher tell my class once that epidurals were the best, and that birthing her son felt like having the biggest poop ever. I think that may have something to do with my wanting to stay away from them :)
Just search for epidural on the 100 Hour Board. Oh boy.
I was very much like you and didnt want an epidural. However my baby was over a week late and when my Doctor decided to induce me she made it very clear that since the labor would be more intense than normal that I'd be glad to have an epidural. Since I trust my Doctor I went for it and it was wonderful. I was numb from the waist down and actually enjoyed labor and delivery. I was able to take naps and laugh during labor. I was worried about not being able to push to but it wasn't an issue. Just because you cant feel it doesnt mean you arent pushing! And also I had to have an episiotomy. Definitely not a fun experience if you arent numb. I totally recommend an epidural just from personal experience
No birthing experience, just a fear of pain. DRUGS BABY!!
I'd go into it with an open mind. While you certainly can have ideas on how you want things to go, the reality is they may not go that way. Want to try epidural-free or epidural-delay? Go for it, but don't beat yourself up or white-knuckle it if it doesn't happen and if things aren't working out. Me? I thought for sure I'd be pushing my babies out. I'm 5'9" and about 150 lbs. Plenty there to work with, right? Nope. Both came by C-section. It was a surprise, but not the horrific event that I'd been told it would be. Point is--you can plan but don't hold too tight to things. Keep a flexible idea of what might happen.
Learn to laugh a lot and realize that things will probably turn out just fine. Before I had my kids, I always went to the grocery store and picked up some fun decorating magazines to leaf through while I "labored" (which I didn't end up doing, but they were still interesting to read later in the hospital).
OK, not to be negative, but I wish I'd had the glocose tolerance test with my last baby. My doctor assumed that because I had had 4 problem free pregnancies and births that all would be well. I probably had gestational diabetes. I'll never know now. My baby was stillborn and weighed nearly 12 pounds. A higher percentage of babies of diabetic mothers are stillborn. If I had had that test and that confirmation, maybe things would have been handled differently. Be grateful that your doctor is on top of things.
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