I was pretty mad at myself, because I was having my annual review for work, and this meant that I had to go home (back to North Berkeley) after my appointment to re-do my entire infusion set, which would take another 45 minutes out of my work day, which might make me miss my annual review appointment. In the meantime, there was the issue of my body not getting any insulin whatsover delivered to it. Which was troubling.
Leave it to my awesome team to come up with a solution. Sharon, my insulin pump nurse, and Kimmy, my dietician, brushed off my concerns with a wave of their hands. "Oh, don't worry, we have extra sets." I'd just picked up insulin in the pharmacy, so I was able to borrow the rest of the medical equipment and get my pump working again. I also tried a new infusion set, the Silhouette, which inserts at an angle. This means it's easier to place on the side of my belly, out of the way of bumps.
But it's also meant for "extra lean adults" because its infusion depth is shallower than my standard infusion set. I am not extra lean. I have a giant belly (which is, as I type, shaking from a very kicky young man waking up) and a little more than usual fat on it thanks to the pregnancy. Still, it seems to be working great. And I like that the tool for inserting it was described in looks, by Kimmy, as a "Klingon ship" (we are secret Star Trek soul sisters, methinks).
During the appointment there was some discussion about being careful with not overexerting myself in yoga as far as my abdomen was concerned (no hernias, please), and also whether or not it was okay for me to continue to do upside-down positions (dolphin on the wall, handstands). Dr. Maier seems amused by me and said as long as I am not doing it for longer than the baby can hold its breath comfortably, should something get jostled or squished, then it is fine. I don't even do this very regularly, but it is something I enjoy that gives me an extra adrenalin rush that I crave from class, especially when I can't do things like twisted crow. Oh! And it turns out Sharon has taken class at Namaste with my friend and yoga teacher Kristin (she described Kristin as "that cute blond with the awesome bod"; Sharon is 67; I love that this is how she talks).
In other good news, at least on the ultrasound, it looks as if the baby is growing out of his Spoerl skull shape and into a more normal round Karl-Martin baby head shape. Wheeee! He's quite the cutie.
Oh, and in some really annoying news, apparently I have to go to Kaiser Walnut Creek twice a week starting at 34 weeks to get heartrate monitoring of the baby's reactions to uterine contractions, to make sure he can handle labor. This puts such a major crimp in my day, since it takes 40 minutes each way to get there, and this is time I could be spending yoga-ing, pilates-ing, walking dogs, working, baking, etc. Anything more interesting than non-stress tests. And I just think it's unnecessary. At this point it seems as if I am having a low-risk, easy pregnancy based on anyone's standards, not just those for a diabetic! I'm going to ask some other peeps about this and see what they think, and also see if I can get this reduced to once a week at the most.
I've been going in for weekly non-stress tests for the past month and a half for my extra amniotic fluid (polyhydramnios), and it does seem a bit unnecessary. Twice a week would be even more excessive! And apparently, the equipment isn't even that reliable... But it is pretty relaxing in there, and I feel even more connected to the baby. They seem to have Enya on a constant loop. Maybe I should take in some mixes for them.
ReplyDeleteHa ha! Enya. So, do they just hook you up? I saw for one non-stress test they give you oxytocin in an IV? That isn't the same thing, is it?
ReplyDeleteOh, I think all non-stress tests are totally non-invasive. In my case, they use the sonogram monitor thingie to measure my amniotic fluid and look at the placenta, and then they strap on the heart rate monitor to check the baby's heart rate when she's sleeping, when she's awake, and when I have contractions to make sure everything's within range and there's no deceleration.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty funny when the babies are asleep the whole time, and the techs want them awake. They clap their hands and yell and sometimes have to put a little alarm clock right near their heads to jolt them awake (which helps to see how their hearts handle stress). Poor babies...