Finding Out I Was Pregnant: Weeks 1-4

I entered a Monday morning in May with persistent stubborn high blood sugars in a way similar to when I'm fighting certain infections. I could not get these numbers down all day. I was confused because I didn't feel like I was getting sick. After googling if other type 1s had sudden change in blood sugars as an initial symptom, I took a home test anyways. Results were negative and I thought nothing more of it. I was however, really upset with my blood sugars and decided it was just a "bad day".

That week, I adjusted my insulin rates but everything I ate spiked my blood sugar and it was hard to fix. Looking back I realize I was moody and emotional. The following Thursday May 30th I was tired during my morning workout. This had been happening all week, but that day I also felt fatigued and awful at work. I left work early and slept as soon as I got home. I constantly felt symptoms of body aches, fatigue, headaches, and weakness.

My period was due the next day and I almost didn't test thanking it was definitely just an illness that had been coming on all week. I decided to go ahead and use the only pregnancy test I thought was left. It was positive. In shock, I began frantically reading over the little insert in the "First Response" box. Then, I tore my bathroom apart looking for another test, found one, and drank a whole bottle of water. It was also positive.

(In hindsight I would have left the preggo test out of the photo, even though it was clean!!)

My husband wouldn't be home until the next day. I couldn't tell him over the phone and here I was very excited/freaking out. Also, at this point I was suppose to meet a friend for dinner. I pulled myself together my mind racing and left home. It was so hard not to scream "omg you won't believe what just happened" through the entire meal. 

I left dinner and went to the pharmacy to buy a fancy digital test (set of 2) and more water. Note: turns out when they say 99.9% accurate they mean it! I didn't need to test FOUR times. I had an idea of how I wanted to tell my husband in mind and ran to Baby's R Us and grabbed some items to put in a box. Once home, I took the fancy digital test and the extra that came with it. Both positive of course. I wrote my husband a note and placed it all in the box.  

(I use baby mittens around my insulin pump when it is against my skin for comfort, hence the joke on the sticky note)

Sitting at home in shock and with insomnia, I emailed my doctors; my endo and my primary care physician. My emails were completely neurotic. They both responded with congratulations and a "you are definitely pregnant". My endo gave me a run down of what my next steps would need to be.

I had my husband text me when he was on his way home and I left work early to beat him home. I immediately had him sit down on the couch with him and handed him the box I'd made. He opened it reading the letter without yet looking at what was inside. He got through the first sentence and with the most wonderful look I've ever seen that words cannot describe, all he said was "WHAT, REALLY?!!". He may have gone a little pale too. He immediately grabbed me, hugged me, and kissed me saying "wow our lives just changed". This has become one of my favorite memories of all time!

After telling him!

I had called the OBGYN office that day to set up an appointment. They won't see you until you are about 7 weeks which for me was June 20th. However, arranged for me to come in to get my HCG (pregnancy hormone) levels tested. She stated that having type 1 diabetes means I am more likely to have a miscarriage so it would be a good idea to check my levels. You have to do this blood work two times 48 hours apart so they can see that the HCG levels are doubling every 48 hours. My blood work came back typical of a normal progressing pregnancy. My doctor emailed me that Monday saying she would see me June 20th! Which felt like it would be forever. 

Pre-Pregnancy and Planning With Type 1 Diabetes

At the beginning of 2013 my husband and I decided that we were ready to start a family. This prompted some pre-planning because I have type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is a condition that I did not cause by my diet or lifestyle. It is the rare version of diabetes and is very different from the more common "Type 2 diabetes". Type 1 or "juvenile diabetes" is caused by an auto-immune attack on insulin producing cells killing them all off. I cannot use pills or special diet to control it. Type 1 diabetics do not fall under most of the stereotypes about diabetes, they are typically slender, did not have abnormally poor diets, and were likely diagnosed young. I am and must always be insulin dependent. This complicates life a good deal. Pregnancy complicates diabetes and diabetes complicates pregnancy, so much planning was going to be needed!

In order to start the process towards a health pregnancy; I changed to a better health insurance, saw new doctors, and move my prescriptions to mail order. I became involved in the diabetes community and attended a "Take Control Of Your Diabetes" TCYOD conference. I met and talked at length to other type 1s who had children and had experienced pregnancy with type 1 diabetes.

I have had "in control" A1Cs over the last few years. They range sometimes in the 6s, but mostly low 7s. In December 2012 my A1C was 7.3. I knew that this number needed to be lower, but my previous endocrinologist (diabetes doctor) always told me I was doing great. This was part of why I switched my insurance, I needed to be able to find a doctor with higher standards and more in depth knowledge/experience working with type 1 and pregnancy. I searched HOURS on the internet reading reviews and backgrounds for endocrinologists trying to choose. This was a long process and it made me nervous.

The endocrinologist I found went above and beyond my high expectations. I met with both her and an OBGYN on the same date in March. This was unplanned, it just worked out that way. The OBGYN was not based out of the same clinic. I received an overwhelming amount of information that day all about planning for pregnancy and that I could not start trying until my A1C came back lower than 6.5 and as close to 6.0 or lower as possible. I had known this, however, it still felt like a daunting task. Type 1 diabetes takes constant attention every hour of the day and I had not been putting it first.

I felt great about my endocrinologist, she had been so sympathetic, understanding, and it was like talking to a friend as much as a doctor! She also provided me the guidance and motivation I needed. She was able to give me tons of information on diabetes and pregnancy. She shared stories of other type 1s she had worked with, giving me extreme confidence in her experience as well as motivated me to accomplish my health goals. The OBGYN I saw that day was helpful, but I was less impressed with her knowledge/experience with type 1 diabetes and decided after that I would not be seeing her again. I would be finding a OBGYN through my current endocrinologist's same clinic/health group.

I felt very overwhelmed after these doctor appointments. To get personal, I came home and basically cried my eyes out for a week. This was the most difficult grieving for my diabetes that I had every experienced. I took my diagnosis like a champ. I have always felt blessed by the lessons diabetes gives me and the pride I have in taking care of myself. That doesn't mean it is easy, but I work hard at making the most out of the negative situation. Well, March 2013 was a different story. I cried over diabetes at work, in the car, and at home. It was because it was the first time I felt different, scared, overwhelmed, and that it didn't just affect me anymore but my future, the health of my child, and my ability to live a normal life. It felt unfair that pregnancy would be so much harder for me than for most of my peers. Especially when I felt like a normal health 27 year old, despite the occasional annoyance of diabetes.

How did I pick myself off the floor? Finding supportive and knowledgeable doctors was the first step. The second was getting my blood sugars down. I had been on an extended "break" from my insulin pump. I was taking shots of NPH and humalog instead. After a long conversation with my doctor I finally agreed that I shouldn't wait until I found out I was pregnant to switch back over. Switching back and forth has always been easy for me. This was tested when my pump broke just a month later!!

Third step for me was finding the book, Balancing Pregnancy with Pre-existing Diabetes by Cheryl Alkon. I discovered this book online the day after my doctor appointments, ordered it, and had it by the end of the week. This was a turning point for me. The first few pages were exactly what I needed to hear! It was like picking up the phone and having an instant friend with type 1 who was telling me everything I was feeling and saying, "It's going to be okay, you can do this". I started highlighting and reading excerpts to my husband.

Fourth, I established my support network. My friends were amazing and listen to me whine and complain more than I ever have (or so I think). I didn't hold back, I shared with the people closest to me what I was feeling. I began explaining diabetes more often and the things I was doing to take care of myself on daily basis. My husband and I talked at length about things I was concerned about and how he would be a part of the team in managing my diabetes.

Fifth, I attended the TCOYD conference. I needed this conference more than I knew. My husband went with me and we both felt such a great connection to everyone there. He turned to me and said what I was thinking, that it was so nice to feel like you could instantly relate. We were surrounded by type 1s all day, which was nice because I can't always relate to type 2 diabetes despite some similarities. We met a young husband and wife with a new baby. The wife had type 1 and we were able to stay in touch with them. She gave me great advice such as how to curb after meal high blood sugars by "super bolusing".

Sixth, I got a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) after meeting with the reps from Dexcom at the TCOYD conference. Seventh, armed with all these tools, some crazy blood sugar logging charts, and help from training for a half marathon... I got my blood sugars down. At my endo appointment on May 6th my A1C was down to 6.3!! I told my doctor that with her approval I would like to start trying for a baby in July with possibly an even better A1C (6.3 is pretty crazy good, I was hoping to hit "normal" territory of just under 6.0). She said that sounded great but that she also felt if it happened sooner, it was fine. She said many endocrinologists would say to be 6.0 or below for pregnancy. However, she said understood how difficult this is for type 1s (amen to that) and that she was more than comfortable with us trying with an A1C below 6.5!!

Eigth, following my doctor appointment I made an appointment to meet with a Dietician who also was a Certified Diabetes Educator. This appointment gave me the ground work for understanding what foods to eat during pregnancy as well as helped me with my non-pregnancy meal choices! I started following her advice immediately and began snacking less and feeling more full!

Thank goodness my doctor said "no worries if it happens before July", because that same month, not 4 weeks after my endo appointment I was already pregnant!!

28th Birthday: Celebrating Where I've Been and Where I'm Going!!

I love birthdays. It's "my day" whether I spend it relaxing or doing something big! I love celebrating the start of another year of life and reflecting on the last one. I think age should boosted about! (I also hope to always feel this way beyond 28!! I hope to celebrate 40, 50, 60 and "better"). Getting older is a blessing, feeling "older" is a choice. 

This past year has been adventurous.

At age 27 ......

I underwent my most challenging year working as a Speech Pathologist yet and survived!

Traveled to Guam to visit my dad 

Wine tasted locally (and on some wine walks!)

Got TWO ipads to implement with my students

Attended my first San Francisco Broadway Show...The Lion King

Had my mom visit me in California

Spent Christmas in Oregon with family

Traveled to Vegas with my husband

Got snowed in at my aunt's in Mt. Shasta....TWICE

Found new hiking spots! 

Ran my first half marathon with friends in Eugene, Oregon

Bought a new car. First car we've owned not from the 90s!

Got a Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitor

Attended a "Take Control Of Your Diabetes" Conference and made new friends

Took my students to Great America

Celebrated our 9th family reunion in Iowa

Moved in to a home!

AND went on a "babymoon" to Kauai, Hawaii BECAUSE on a special day in May I found out that my husband and I are expecting our first baby!!! I'm currently 13.5 weeks pregnant. Baby Barrett is due February 7th, 2014!! Here comes the best adventure and life challenge yet! 

A huge part of starting this blog was actually to be able to share this experience when it happened. I looked frequently for blogs about type 1 diabetes and pregnancy when I decided I was ready to start preparing. Now that I've been information loading for months I have lots of resources. I want to share my experience as well. The updates will be very type 1 related! I have been drafting posts about pre-planning for pregnancy and my experience the first trimester. I will be posting them soon!

Sweet Stuff: Summer Adventures

I thought being off for the summer meant I would blog regularly! It has clearly meant I've had no time for the computer. I think that means we've been having a lot of fun, but I'm missing blogging and hoping to get back on a weekly schedule!

We traveled to Iowa for my annual family reunion! The farm now has goats and chickens!! There have not been animals on the farm since I was about 10 years old. This was exciting!

Returned from Iowa to quickly pack and move! No one is happier to be in our new place than our dog, Luka!

Attended a beautiful beach wedding uniting two amazing people! I had a bit of a hiccup that day with my insulin pump, but my blood sugars stayed stable. I usually carry a back up kit in my car, we realized halfway down the freeway that it was in my husband's car. I only thought of it because I noticed my insulin pump site was not looking good. Sure enough right when we arrived it fell out! I had 3 syringes and only fast acting humalog insulin on me. This was not ideal for a big meal and a long evening ahead. Amazingly, I pulled it off by taking 3 shots throughout the evening and dancing to keep the blood flowing/sugars down. I even had cake, no spikes! Such a relief. Diabetes did not ruin the night this time!

Finally, my husband and I took off for a romantic week in Kauai, Hawaii!! We had a blast. It was beautiful! I surfed the best of my life and my sweet husband keeps boosting my ego by bragging about it! Standing up on almost every wave was a big deal for me! We snorkeled, hiked, kayaked, and relaxed!

Healthy Eating: Turn Leftovers into A Salad

For last night's dinner I used a favorite healthy eating trick. Use leftovers to create a yummy salad. 

My aunt and I did this a few times during our family reunion this last week. The week was full of snack foods, savory meats (way more than I'm used to eating), and homemade desserts. It's always lacking in salads so during lunch we started using lettuce from the garden, fresh veggies, and the leftovers to create yummy salads. It tasted and FELT good to eat after all the indulging. Veggies should be the bulk of a diet and it's so easy to not let this happen because of time, cravings, and convenience. 

When working, my lunch is almost always a salad. It's the easiest way to quickly make lunch. While I clean up my dinner at night I simply throw some of it into a reusable container with lettuce and veggies. Then set aside some dressing or hummus. Viola, I made my lunch!

Last night I created a delicious salad with some leftovers from a Chipotle Bowl. This had rice, veggies, cheese, and sofritas! Sofritas are Chipotle's "seasoned shredded tofu". I almost never eat at Chipotle, but this week I somehow was there twice so I had to try these Sofritas and now I like them better than any of the meat options you can get there! (Doesn't photograph great though, does it?)

Dinner was simple and fast. Leftover Chipotle with romaine lettuce and grape tomatoes that I chopped in half. I also sauteed some red potatoes in olive oil and garlic (some rosemary would have perfected these, but I was out!)

I didn't need dressing because of the sauce from my leftovers. When I do need dressing I have been partial to using hummus, seasoned olive oil/vinegar blend, or this yummy natural ranch dressing by "Brianna's".