Type 1 Diabetes and Pregnancy Weeks 12-13: First Trimester Doctor Appts and Ultrasound

Doctor Appointments (This is long, sorry!):

The day we returned from vacation I had a doctor appointment with my OB-GYN (Dr. A). My husband had to miss this one because of a work commitment. Dr. A asked how I was feeling and if there had been any bleeding or severe symptoms. She then used a "Doppler" machine to try to hear the baby's heartbeat. My heartbeat came on the machine and she said we were listening for something twice as fast. She heard it briefly but then lost it, I wasn't hearing anything. I was okay with this because I knew she was going to get the ultrasound machine out if she couldn't pick up on it! Sure enough I got to SEE baby instead. The heartbeat was there and heart rate was good!

It was exciting how much bigger baby was now! Baby looked like a baby and no longer like a peanut! Turns out the doctor had so much difficulty finding the heartbeat because baby was very active! Arms failing and legs kicking! Baby turned towards the ultrasound and I saw baby's skull bones/skeletal face!! It was cool, my poor husband really missed out. Thankfully, I had a nuchal translucency (NT) ultrasound scheduled the following week that he would definitely be attending!

Baby's Profile

The purpose of the NT ultrasound to my understanding is primarily to measure part of the back of the neck of the baby. This helps determine risk for down syndrome. The technician took pictures of every structure she could see; legs, arms, stomach, heart, and brain to name a few. We were able to watch the baby on the screen for a long time while she took these pictures. She even turned on the 4D images and we saw what looked like a claymation image of our baby. It was very fascinating.

Crazy weird 4D clay looking baby

Then a specialized OB-GYN high risk/maternal fetal medicine doctor (let's call him Dr. R) at this clinic reviewed my blood work and the images. I have been very blessed with brilliant doctors. This one was equally impressive. He reviewed practically my whole medical history with me asking very good background questions especially about my type 1 diabetes. He spoke with the same knowledge as my endocrinologist. He went into even further details than my regular OB-GYN (Dr. A) regarding upcoming specialized testing because of my type 1 diabetes. For example, he wanted to go ahead and do extra screenings of my eyes and kidneys just to have as baseline information. He was doing this he said as a precaution because with my history and blood sugars he was not concerned, just thorough. He definitely won me over with his praise of my A1Cs and in depth expertise with diabetes.

Dr. R stated that at week 20 we would come in for our anatomy ultrasound where we would find out the baby's gender. At week 22 they would check the baby's heart with a fetal echocardiogram. Starting at week 32 I will need to do "non-stress tests" where I sit for 20-30 minutes a week while they monitor the baby's heart. Dr. R said he actually wants his patients going twice a week. He reviewed the risk of preeclampsia, a pregnancy condition characterized by high blood pressure and common in women with diabetes. If I develop this I will likely be hospitalized and stabilized as long as possible to carry the baby as close to term as possible. Also, he stated that assuming everything goes wonderfully I will still be induced, because I am a diabetic, at 38 or 39 weeks.

I really appreciate his diligence and his brilliance, but doesn't change that this is going to be a very daunting and busy process. I knew this going into it though. On my own and with my husband we had consulted with many high risk OBGYNs and done our research. So none of this was new information. Very much still overwhelming.

Then we met with the genetic counselor. Typically women my age do not complete either of these appointments, these were done because I have diabetes. I have to be honest, the genetic appointment felt informative yet pointless for us. We reviewed family and medical histories on both sides. She recommended further testing for certain conditions based on some of my heritage. My husband and I decided against it. We both felt that I am undergoing enough testing and appointments already. This appointment caused extra anxiety and stress. High risk pregnancy involves a lot of talking about everything that can go wrong. Afterwards, my husband and I went out for a nice lunch and focused our minds to more positive thoughts!

Next I met with my endocrinologist. This appointment was pretty standard. We reviewed my logs and talked about how things were going. I mentioned to her about my eating habits and how I'd already gained 10lbs because I was eating to keep away the nausea. She was so sweet and told me she had the exact same experience her first pregnancy and then gained less later on. Thankfully none of my doctors were concerned about the weight gain at all, my endo had said her doctor during her pregnancy gave her a hard time. I've heard many stories about doctors telling expecting moms they are gaining too little or too much. My OBGYN seems more focused on checking the baby's growth than mine, for that I'm grateful!

Remembering our relaxing vacation after having almost 4 hours of doctor appointments in one day!