less than a week
it really hasn’t been that long since i sat down and performed my usual morning writing ritual — but it feels like forever. in fact, i’m feeling a little rusty . . . but i’m back! and all is [pretty much] well. i have much to report after a 6 day stint away, but i’m definitely glad to have taken a little break. while i did not go internet-free or anything drastic like that, i did spend less time online overall last week [as per my january resolution] — and it felt very natural. and good.
i read more [yep, still 1Q84 — still not quite halfway through!], slept more, watched more TV [not necessarily a proclamation to be proud of, but it’s true], and worked more — a lot more. the past week in the world of pediatric endocrinology has been an insanely busy one!
4 episodes in, and josh and i are now completely addicted.
business as usual
life went on, of course! i got in my typical workouts in:
we ate dinners from february’s real simple. unfortunately, the recipes are not yet online — but they were honestly all very good!
maple-mustard salmon with brussels sprouts and red onion
potato, spinach, and ham frittata
and my favorite — prepared by josh while i worked late [total role reversal for us!]:
southwestern stuffed peppers
and i grew some more, as per usual:
blurry gym pic depicting me in my 30-week glory!
a not-so-sweet surprise
on thursday, i had the traditional glucola face-off — this is a 1 hour screening test for gestational diabetes. essentially, you drink this bottle of excruciatingly sweet liquid:
[source]
. . . and then you get your blood sugar checked one hour later — anything under 140 is considered normal. to be completely honest, i fully expected to pass. after all, none of the previously pregnant bloggers i have followed [jen, emily, sabrina, and many more!] had an issue, and like them i have been consistently active throughout my pregnancy. sure, my eating habits weren’t perfect, but i think overall i have done pretty well. and despite measuring 2-3 weeks ahead, my weight gain has been right on track — really even on the lower end of the normal range.
since we are allowed to access our own records, i checked into mine at the end of the [long] workday and saw what i had not expected to see:
fail. in fact, pretty major fail. so this morning, i am sipping water instead of eating my usual breakfast and i will be heading into the clinic soon to go through a 3-hour version of the initial test — with double the glucola [ughgh] and 4 blood draws.
of course, endocrinology nerd that i am, i have done some research into my statistical chances of passing. here are the cutoffs for the test:
2 out of 4 values above the cutoffs are consistent with a diagnosis of gestational diabetes
most people [something like 80-90%] of people who fail the initial glucola do pass the 3 hour. however, as the number on the glucola goes up, so does the positive predictive value of the screening test. looking at a few different studies, i think i have about a 50/50 chance today. no pressure!
baby will be okay . . .
while annoying and truly surprising to me, i realize that even if i fail it’s not the end of the world. it would mean changing my diet [sad news for this carb queen, but it would be temporary!], and in the absolute worst case scenario, going on insulin temporarily [i honestly cannot even imagine this!]. i do have concerns about how late in my pregnancy i ended up getting screened, but there’s nothing i can do to fix that now. chances are still very good that our baby will be healthy as long as i follow all of the guidelines from this point on. and i’d much rather be dealing with this than many other pregnancy issues!
off to the clinic!
so, wish me luck! on the positive side, at least i get a 3-hour break from the pager . . . back with more updates and perhaps some deeper thoughts tomorrow.
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