So.....I had my son 3 months ago, and it was a wonderful experience. He was a scheduled c-section because of his breech position but ended up being 9 lbs 11 ounces, so, as much as I wanted to go natural, I was rather content with the way things turned out;) He was very tall (23") and also had a large head circumference, so I think he's just a big baby, and not big because of my sugars. I felt vindicated that he was proportionally large since my doctors had been so hard on my about his size, but I digress.
Anyway, I guess the one thing I wasn't prepared for is that his blood sugar crashed as soon as he came out. They cleaned him off and tested him and his blood sugar was 26, so he spent 4 days in the NICU for monitoring while on IV sugar/fluid. Apparently this is "really common" for T1s per my health care providers, but I had never heard of that before and wish I had been mentally prepared for that possibility. They explained it as him making extra insulin while in utero to compensate for my high blood sugars that crossed the placenta and that when he's born, he's still producing extra insulin, and it takes a while for him to balance this out. I thought it was strange that no one had mentioned this possibility to me the entire time I was pregnant. Other than that little hiccup, everything went smoothly. I was happy my OBGYN left it up to me as to whether I wanted to monitor my own blood sugars (I did) because it meant one less person stopping in my room every half hour to check on me. My son just turned 3 months old yesterday and he is happy and healthy! So glad he's finally here:)
Both my children had low blood sugars when they were born. My daughter was 6 lbs 8 ounces and my son was 8 lbs. 15 ounces. My daughter was born 3 weeks early and my son 2 weeks early. He was just a big baby. I had very good numbers and my A1c was always great. So the doctors never said his size was due to my diabetes. Both my children ended up in the NICU for about 5 days. My daughter was taken away right after my c-section and I didnt get to see or hold her til she was 7 hours old. My son's blood sugar was low but given formula right away through a tube and he didnt end up in the NICU until he was 10 hours old. I wasnt prepared for this at all when my daughter arrived. They explain to me that during pregnancy you increase your insulin as it becomes more resistant. The babys body makes insulin and it makes more as the mom takes more. So when the baby is born its body is still making the insulin it was while inside your tummy. So it takes a few days for there body to regulate and make how much it needs only. I wasnt ever told that it makes more due to high blood sugars. I am sorry no one ever told this to you. It is very hard when you dont know the possibilites before it happens.
I am now pregnant with my third and last baby. This pregnancy was a surprise and I was shocked when I found out. This is one of the things I hate about being T1. Although I am glad they were all healthy its hard to prepare yourself for having a baby then it being taken away.
Are almost all babies with type 1 mothers put in the NICU? My doctors have not mentioned this, and I am hoping this is not a definite thing. Are there others out there who have been able to avoid this situation?
Im a T1 and have had 3 babies and only one of them needed to be placed in the NICU (for 4 hours), but it was for breathing issues related to being a c-section baby, not blood sugar problems... BUT all three of my babies DID have low blood sugars and needed to have 1 formula feeding before they were allowed to breast feed. For us, all it meant was that the babies needed more frequent blood sugar testing (every 4 hours for 12 hours) but that was really it, nothing too exciting. I don't know if OB's typically mention this as it is more a pediatrician issues.
Thank you so much for the info. I am 18 wks and have not been presented with that info either, so it's nice to hear the experiences of others. I will absolutely appreciate being prepared for that outcome. I cannot imagine the frustration of that experience and not knowing. I have my OB appt next week with my favorite and most trusted OB, so I hope to have that conversation with him to learn more about the statistics of that outcome.
Wow, I can't believe they didn't at least mention the possibility of low blood sugars for your son! I feel very lucky in the fact that my daughter's blood sugars were pretty close to normal after birth. Her first reading right after she was born was 62. 5 minutes later it was 64, 10 minutes later it was 71! So very fortunately for us, she avoided the trip to the NICU. Good luck with your son!