I'm pleased to say that so far it's been pretty smooth sailing and that our little baby is doing well. My belly is rapidly growing and is much bigger than it was at 20 weeks in my last pregnancy. I'm feeling little kicks and those pesky (but not painful) braxton hicks contractions have started. I've had those from about 5 months on wards with each pregnancy so that's pretty normal for me.
Due to the problems I experienced in my last pregnancy my obstetrician and perinatologist are being super cautious and carrying out lots of extra tests and ultrasounds just to make sure that everything is fine. I had my 20 week scan two weeks ago at 18 weeks and I'm happy to report that everything was perfectly normal. Our little one is right on track for her growth and this time around the placenta has formed properly. Yay!
You might have noticed I used the word "her" there. That's right, we're having another little girl. It seems I'm only able to make girls! We wanted another little girl though so we're happy with that.
The only hiccup in this pregnancy has been a diagnosis of gestational diabetes. Actually, I've been diagnosed as having an increased risk of gestational diabetes but the doctors take this just as seriously. As a result I've had to cut down my sugar intake, keep a food diary and test my blood sugar levels several times a day. Cutting down on sugar is not quite as easy as it sounds as it's in everything! If it was just a case of skipping chocolate bars and soda it would be super easy. Unfortunately it also involves cutting down the amount of fruit, dairy, pasta and bread that I eat. Those things make up almost my entire diet! Fruit and dairy for breakfast are a big no no and that's what I'm struggling with the most. What I wouldn't give for a big glass of freshly squeezed orange juice first thing in the morning! Luckily my blood sugar levels have tested fine so far (if anything they're actually usually low) so I'm allowed to add in a little extra fruit etc. And I've been able to cut down the amount of testing from four times a day to two or three times. My sore finger tips are pleased about that bit! Gestational diabetes tends to get worse later on in pregnancy so while my sugar levels are fine now I may find that later on I need to cut my sugar levels even more. The good thing is that it usually goes away once the baby is born so in 20 weeks time I can treat myself to a big piece of fudge - along with camembert, smoked salmon and a glass of wine!
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