Fetal Echo
I had my Fetal Echo cardiogram on Valentine's Day. Almost felt like a "date" with my baby boy :)
The point of the fetal echo was to take a close look at baby boy's heart -- blood flow, structure, etc. Baby boy was not having it at this appointment. Once he felt the pressure of the ultrasound probe thingie, he was moving and jiggling -- not being in the right position for them to look at his heart. He was laying with his head facing down and facing towards my back. The ultrasound tech had me lay on my right side -- then back to my back -- then left side -- then back to my back, trying to get him to move. I was getting anxious that we might not get the right look at the heart and have to reschedule. Alas, after chasing him around, he finally got into a good position and we were able to get all the needed measurements.
ALL LOOKED GOOD!!
This is HUGE for me... I am so relieved that his heart looks like it's functioning properly. What's also cool is we were able to get a few face pictures (3d and 4d) -- a little blurry, but you can definitely see his little face in there! He's starting to get some meat on him and his face-shape looks very similar to my face shape :) I've been thinking more and more about seeing his little face and what he's going to look like.
It was really weird doing the ultrasound because I could feel baby boy move and then I could see him move on the monitor. He was really kicking and pushing all over the place, twisting around, moving - he's a busy boy.
He was measuring 5 days ahead and weighing in at about 1 lb, 7 oz and heart rate was at 154 bpm.
Meeting with MFM
My MFM was very happy with my blood sugar levels and she was very happy with the results of the Fetal Echo! Good and good. We are still increasing my Insulin dosages because the baby is getting bigger, so need to make additional adjustments. Changes:
AM:
Humulin N 20iu
Humulin R 10iu
PM:
Humulin R 10iu -- 30-60 minutes prior to dinner
Humulin N 42iu -- at bedtime
We did discuss the potential pre-natal depression... She wanted to put me on meds right away, but I pushed back. I don't want to go on meds... but she said the benefits for the baby could be better in the long run. She was also wondering that after the good Echo, that maybe I'll start to feel better? I'm tasked with monitoring my moods for the next few weeks and I'm to talk to my OB about it next week, if I still feel the depression.
My MFM did get me a referral to a psychiatrist (at my request), so I can talk to someone about my depression. I'm waiting for the referral to go through so I can schedule something. So right now -- just monitoring to see how I feel and then will go from there.
Going forward, we are going to do growth scans every 4 weeks. Then when I hit 32 weeks, I'll have 2 appointments a week -- stress test and ultrasound. These may be able to be combined into one appointment, but have to see how that goes.
Issues with Pharmacy and Insulin Med
Last week I had a mini-issue with getting my Insulin Humulin N refilled at the pharmacy. I requested a refill on Monday, I would run out of Insulin by Wednesday, and the pharmacy said they wouldn't have it until Thursday. So, I ended up 1.5 days without my Insulin Humulin N (which is the long-lasting insulin). Not good.
But the issue got worse. When I finally went to pick-up my insulin, the price was over $100 more than it was at my last refill. Turns out, my stupid Rx coverage charges a "penalty" if you don't go to direct-mail for recurring maintenance medicine. Like WTF. I never received a letter that my insulin would fall into this category and I never really read the "fine print" on my insurance coverage to know that this might be an issue (my fault I guess). So lame. To make matters worse, my MFM that wrote my diabetes prescriptions, isn't in their database -- so they weren't able to transition my meds to the direct-mail. I had to ask my MFM to write new prescriptions and send them directly to my mail-order pharmacy. No way to get reimbursed for the extra $100 charge, unfortunately. Glad it all got straightened out... but still frustrating.
Overall
My 2nd Trimester of pregnancy has felt very stressful for me. All the high risk for Trisomy 13/18, the Low-PAPP-A first trimester screening results, all the genetic testing, and then the horrible bleed at 20 weeks... I feel like I've been on the "edge" of worry and fear since December.
But... baby boy has looked awesome on all the ultrasounds. We had the 15 week ultrasound, 19 week Anatomy scan, and now the 23 week echo cardiogram. There are NO soft markers that they could see, NO issues with his organs/development that they can see, and NO issues with his heart functions that they can see. This is all GREAT and GOOD and WONDERFUL.
Because everything has looked great with baby boy... you'd think I could relax now? It's hard to take months of worrying and concern -- to just stop that fear/anxiety. Every other time I "relaxed," something else came up.
First Ultrasound and Seeing the Heart Beat (5w6d) = Relax, then first big bleed (SCH)
Good NT Scan = Relax, then Low PAPP-A and High Risk for Trisomy 13/18
Good NIPT Results = Relax, then Genetic Counseling and potential concerns on chromosomal abnormalities
Good Anatomy Scan = Relax, then big bleed the next week
So........ as much as I want to relax now -- can you see why that would be hard for me? I'm trying though. I feel like I've gotten the "all clear" in a way from my MFM and that's pretty huge. I'm thinking the pre-natal depression might be playing a part in all this and that maybe the anxiety/stress/worry from this entire pregnancy has just hit a peak and it'll be hard to come down from that? More to explore on that.
For now though == my baby boy looks wonderful, he's active, he's healthy. I couldn't ask for more than that right now.
Next Steps: 2/28/17 Diabetes-only follow-up, 3/14/17 Growth Ultrasound
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