Graduation Story #1
Mom of 2 GD Babies.
Baby #1: Induced at 40+5 weeks, baby weighed 7 lbs 13 oz
Baby #2: No induction Vaginal delivery at 40+5 weeks, baby weighed 8 lb 5 oz
At 30 weeks, right after I failed the GTT, we had a growth scan and found out baby was in 98th percentile for abdominal circumference. I was overwhelmed by all the information being thrown at me, but seeing the effect on baby lit a fire under me to get my GD under control as soon as possible.
I met with the CDE to clean up my diet and started walking at least 10k steps a day. I took 3 walks around the block after each meal, and ended up not gaining any weight for the next 8 weeks (probably balancing weight gain with loss from cleaning up diet and exercising.
I was induced at week 40+5, my baby ended up being 7lbs 13oz, and did have low sugars at the start but not enough to warrant a NICU stay. He is 2.5 now! He is a rounded belly (we like to say he still has a 98th percentile AC), rambunctious toddler!
Post partum GTT check was fine, with the second pregnancy I did wear a CGM at the beginning in order to monitor, but used finger sticks as the pregnancy progressed given the discrepancy between CGM and BGM. I ended up going into labor at 40+5, this time with no induction (vaginal delivery) and she weighed 8 lb 5 oz.
My best advice for you: take it one day at a time! You don't need to do a full overhaul on day 1 after diagnosis. Try starting with a 10 minute walk after one meal, and incorporating more protein (eggs and avocado worked well for me!). These small steps will all be worth it when you meet your healthy, beautiful babyGraduation Story #2
First time Mom
Positive induction at 40 weeks
I was induced Monday morning on my due date! Diet controlled since 26 weeks. Baby measured 36th percentile at 36 week growth ultra sound! Arrived at the hospital at 7 am and since I was 3 cm and 50% effaced I started pitocin right away. My glucose was tested every 4 hours after initial reading. At 9 am (about 2.5 hours after breakfast) I scored a 114 so I was given 2 units of insulin (first time for insulin!). For labor my hospital preferred it to be under 100. Around 1 pm contractions were rhythmic so they broke my waters and I received an epidural an hour after. I was allowed to have popsicles/jello/broth/juice throughout labor- standard for everyone at this hospital. I picked broth and popsicles.
2 hours after starting pitocin I was ready to push!! A little over an hour later my baby boy arrived! He ended up being an ENTIRE POUND bigger then expected- a little under 8 lbs! His BG levels were tested an hour after his first feed and then an hour before the next feeds. He needed to pass 4 in a row (above 45). He passed all 4 and after delivery no one cared about my BG levels lol.
It’s been a whirlwind! Both my baby and I are learning to breastfeed but just like the GD it takes grace and time management. GD is still affecting me post-partum but in a truly helpful way. Continuously exercising throughout pregnancy makes my day to day easier now. I found that I had so much strength during delivery. I have practice sticking to a strict schedule- helpful for a breastfeeding schedule. Yes I am enjoying some very missed treats but I’m still making healthy decisions to ensure my health for my babies health.
GD is a pain in the ass. Being diagnosed with something that needs constant management is just like parenthood. GD helped me wrap my head around the fact that there is a lot of things I can not control."Graduation Story #3
Baby Emilio Rolando
Vaginal Induction GDM Preeclampsia
"On April 11th I started my induction with dilapan-s, then was started on pitocin but I was not dilating further than the 3cm dilapan got me to. My nurse advocated for me to get cervidil so they stopped the pitocin for a while & did two rounds of cervidil. Then they broke my water and restarted pitocin so the contractions really started ramping up. They also put in baby monitors vaginally as the external monitors kept falling off or loosing connection. I really think this enabled me to have a vaginal birth (but I will say it was probably the most painful part of my labor). The contraction itself was not the hard part but the frequency was so close together I asked for an epidural after an hour of active labor. After the epidural another check was done, I was still not dilated more but I was softer and baby was a little closer.
At this point I was going on hour 45 of the induction and my OB started pushing for a C-section, I was getting really tired and open to it but I had an AMAZING nurse who encouraged me to hold on a little longer. She was well trained in labor positions and got out the peanut ball and had me do multiple positions to open up my pelvis. I was on an epidural but it was extremely uncomfortable to hold those positions sometimes for 30-45 minutes, after about 3 hours of that I asked for a break. I was starting to feel so tired that I didn’t know how I could manage to push for the baby, but again my nurse came thru and gave me a pep talk. They let me nap in a sitting up position and let me have some jello.
About an hour later my nurse woke me up to do a check because the monitor was showing babies heart rate drop with every contraction. When she checked I was fully dilated and babies head was +1! I couldn’t believe it, and I was half asleep so it felt like a dream. My husband called my mom and my nurse called the doctor and within 20 min we had our baby boy!
It was an incredible experience and I owe it all to my nurse. After 52 hours in the hospital Emilio Rolando was born weighing 5 lb 13 oz and 18.75 in long. In the end all the extra doctors appointments, self monitoring strict dieting was all worth it.