Pregnancy update (almost) 21 weeks

21 weeks is 5 months 1 week, over midway through the pregnancy for those keeping track :) I thought I'd fill you all in on how things are going, and I must say - so far, so good. The headaches stopped not long after the last headache post. Otherwise, I've been feeling great. Until this week, when my back started hurting non-stop, but I'm hopeful that that will go away, too. My blood sugars have been relatively easy to control, thanks to my doctor's rapid responsiveness when I send her numbers. She and her CDE, Wendy are great and so supportive - I can't say enough good things about them.

The big news that we got last week is that we're having a girl! We're naming her Evelyn Lily after my great grandmother and Scott's great aunt, respectively. We'll call her "Evvie" for short (pronounced Eh-vie, not Ee-vie). She's perfect in every way - measuring right on target, and I think she has her daddy's ears. We didn't get to see her face or left hand this time, so we go back at the end of April for another sonogram, where they will also do a fetal echo cardiogram.

Lots of people have asked "So, how does diabetes affect the pregnancy?". The biggest effect I've seen it have is the number of appointments. Right now, I go to the endocrinologist once a month, the OB once a month, the perinatologist (high risk OB) about once a month, though this varies based on needs. I also have to see the eye doctor once a trimester. This is a lot more than an average pregnancy requires, and it hasn't even gotten to the hectic time yet, when, starting somewhere around 30-32 weeks (I think), I will have to go to the OB (or perinatologist, depending on how things are going) 2 times per week, and may have to start seeing the endocrinologist weekly. Normal pregnancies get 1-3 sonograms. I had 3 by the time I was 13 weeks along, and once I start going bi-weekly, each visit will be a sonogram. I think it's 100% worth it, though, and am confident that Evvie will be as healthy as possible.

There's a lot more I could say about diabetes and pregnancy, but I'll leave it here for now. I'm sure the 3rd trimester will bring lots of new and exciting blood sugar issues, and I've still got 6 weeks to go until I reach the third trimester!

I'll leave you with an updated picture - from this past Friday.