I am pregnant...now what?

Hello all, I am new to this group and this will be my first pregnancy. My husband and I just started trying this month and I thought oh it will take a few months at least and what do you know I took a test the day of my expected period and it was positive! I meet with my OBGYN in 2 days for them to confirm everything and do blood work but I believe I am about 5 1/2 - 6 weeks pregnant : ) 

When I called to schedule the appointment the receptionist said oh well we don't let you see a dr until 10-12 weeks for an ultrasound so you can meet with a midwife before then if you'd like, I said yes asap I am a type 1 diabetic and want to make sure all is going well. So I am hoping when I meet with the midwife she will schedule an earlier ultrasound and get to meet with a dr sooner, anyone else have this issue? I am worried about what to expect because I live in a smaller town and I don't feel as though they are as up to date with everything, I travel 2 1/2 hours to go to my endocrinologist because there are none that are closer. Luckily my endo is very helpful and allows me to email her my logs and change settings that way. 

My blood sugars have been for the most part under control. I have had a bad cold for 2weeks and I can't tell if it's because I am pregnant or if it's because I am sick but my fasting blood sugars are perfect but when I eat I need much more insulin to compensate, is it too early to start seeing those kinds of changes? My a1c 2 months ago was 6.5 and I know it has come down since then so I am fairly confident I can get through this healthfully but I still freak out at any instances of high blood glucose I just can't help it! I use a dexcom sensor and the mini med insulin pump. Sometimes I get upset because I see my dexcom say an unusually high number and rising then I check my glucose and it is not even close, anyone else have this happen? Yesterday my dexcome read 360 and one arrow up and I started freaking out but I checked my glucose and it was 150 and this was only 20 minutes after I had started eating, it never reached the high of a number or increased further it only went lower and fell to 125 1 hours after eating and then 115 2 hours later...wish I could've saved myself from my heart stopping when I saw that initial number!

Wow this was a long post but I am so new to all of this and just wanted to make a post and get any advice I can take. Luckily (sort of) my mother is also a type 1 diabetic and went through pregnancies so I have been able to get some help from her but that was many years ago and I am not sure how much has changed since then as I am 28 and my brother is 32.

Thanks all!

Katie 

Hi Katie,

First of all - congrats!! Ha - I told my husband it would take us a while and I got pregnant within two months. :) Oopps...I seriously thought it would take a while though!!  My OB wouldn't see me until I was 8 weeks along. Talk about being a nervous wreck for 8 weeks....I swear I took a pregnancy test or two every week until things were visually confirmed...I was 7w 5d the first time I saw my baby and heard its heart beat...it was amazing. I'm not familiar with a midwife, but ask to get an ulstrasound earlier - at 8 weeks. I'm not sure what the soonest you can have one done..at 8 weeks, there isn't much to see but a little bean with a  flickering light (which is the heart).  

I am happy to hear you have a great endo! Those are hard to come by ;) And you will need your endo and their support all through your pregnancy.  Within my first trimester, I actually had insulin resistance - which went against everything I read. It was mostly in the mornings.  But I made a few changes and was all set until I hit about 18 weeks...then the constant changes started happening. One here and one there...now its sometimes multiple changes during the week.

With the Dexcom....yes, I've had those issues too and its frustrating. My dexcom will do the same thing - tell me I am rising into the high 200s or 300 and I am only at 112.  So of course, when I try to calibrate it, it goes nuts on me. I've contacted dexcom about it, but to me, they are pretty useless and just try to get me to upgrade to their new model (which is supposed to be more accurate)  I have yet to find out why the Dexcom flucuates like that from time to time...sometimes its right on - others, not so much. I actually prefer to just test like a mad woman. Luckily our insurance covers 400 test strips a month - and trust me - I use them all!

Good luck Katie and happy pregnancy! :) The ladies on this site are awesome and supportive!!!

Crystal

Katie,

 Congratulations!  Being pregnant is an AMAZING journey.  I currently have an almost 5 month old and have been a T1 for over 20 years, my last A1C was 5.7.    I remember going low a lot during the middle of the night during the first trimester.  I would have milkshakes before bed because otherwise I would go low 2-3 times in the middle of the night.

 I had my first ultrasound at 6 weeks with a perinatologist to "date" the pregnancy.  It was actually very intimidating for me and I left his office in tears.  Perinatologist are designed to deal with very HIGH RISK pregnancies.  In my mind being a well controlled diabetic is a mild risk and not a HIGH risk.  I ended up leaving that doctor and going with a doctor/midwife group which worked out much better.  I was so happy to read that your already seeing a midwife/doctor group, I really think you'll be happy with them.

I also used the dexcom during my pregnancy.  I also tested my blood sugars about 14 times a day.  It was a bit crazy.  Crystal, which dexcom do you use?  I'm on the seven plus.  Is there a newer device?  I also found that it wasn't the most accurate until the day the sensor needed to be replaced.  

Congratulations and remember to take care of yourself.

Brigid

I just had my first baby in November 2012.

I got pregnant very quickly as well. The only reason I even took a pregnancy test was because i was 3 days late for my period and I am never late. My cousin was the one who was like I bet you are pregnant, go get a pregnancy test! I said no way! and then right after my call with my cousin I went to CVS to get a test and wouldn't you know she was right haha I never thought it would happen so fast.

Anyway, I saw my regular OB and endo during the entire time and didn't see any high risk at all. The only thing I had wished was that I was a scheduled c-section, my baby was measuring on the bigger side at 32 weeks but, they were estimating him to be 8-9pounds and it turned out at birth he was 10 pounds 13oz. They induced me at 39 weeks and we were all ready to do a vaginal birth but cervidil didn't work, which was the only reason I opted for a c-section. After 15 hours of contractions every two minutes I only dilated .5 cm, my doctor wanted me to do another round possibly another two of cervidil and still could have needed a c-section anyway. I am glad that I chose to do it. They said my birth would have been a disaster if  I had delivered my son