Ok, maybe I’m not freaking out, but our first child is due June 4 and a couple medical things have me a bit on edge.
My wife called earlier and said she ‘flunked’ a blood glucose test by one point, meaning it is possible she has gestational diabetes. More tests are to follow this Thursday, along w a scheduled ultrasound. Mrs. Survey is pretty unconcerned about this; I tried to mirror her calm on the phone but hung up and about pooped my pants. I’ve been reading up on this at theNational Diabetes Information Clearinghouse and it seems that there’s relatively little danger for Mrs. Survey or BabySurvey, but any experiences dopers have had would be welcome info.
That scheduled ultrasound will hopefully show that a little (2-3 mm) spot on the baby’s brain that we saw in mid-January will now be gone. The doctor mentioned that such a spot could sometimes be indicative of Downs Syndrome, but then said a previous blood test had ruled that out. Still…this is my first time going through this, hearing ‘Downs Syndrome’, ‘spot on brain,’ etc. gets a bit much.*
Does everyone here have a ‘they were told its a girl and it came out a boy’ story? B/c the doc and sonogram person (formal title eludes me) said they are ‘90% sure’ its a girl, which has led Mrs. Survey to purchase pretty much every girl and gender neutral outfit offered at Baby Gap and BabysRUs. I’ve kept the receipts.
*(I should mention that in no way am I suggesting that our child would be less loved or cared for should he or she have any sort of developmental or physical problem - its more of a My Baby Will Be The Perfect Baby thing I guess).
Gotta just take it as it comes. Quite a few women flunk the diabetes screen and pass the more rigorous testing, so I wouldn’t stress about that too much. At this point in her pregnancy, diabetes is controllable and not likely to lead to many serious things other than a large baby. If she has it, they’ll want to control her diet, and you can help, sir, by not bringing crap into the house and/or eating it in front of her. Go on the diet with her, even if she tells you it’s not necessary.
The spot is probably nothing. Or it’s something. If it’s nothing, great. Spots show up on ultrasounds all the time that are just machine or user error. They freaked out at one point telling us one of WhyBaby’s arms wasn’t growing, when as it turned out she was just holding it funny in relation to the ultrasound wand. I’d put a lot more trust in the blood test than the ultrasound. If it’s something, at least you’ll know. You can prepare yourself and your house for any special equipment or techniques you’ll likely need. Fifteen years ago, they didn’t do all these routine ultrasounds - you were lucky to get one, and that was only if you didn’t know the date of your last period. I’m not sure which is better - ignorance is comforting, but foreknowledge can help you to prepare.
As for number 3, that’s beyond my experience. I think it’s a good idea to keep receipts, but 90% is a pretty solid chance.
First off congratulations. Our first one is due any day now. Like your wife Mrs. Blackhand failed the first blood glucose test. She went back a week or so later for the more thorough test and the results were fine, no gestational diabetes.
Hopefully all goes well on the ultrasound. It is amazing to see the baby, especially later in the pregnancy where you can easily make out features.
Like others, my wife “flunked” the first glucose test and passed the second one. In fact, in our limited experience, that is the most common sequence of events.
I hope that wasn’t the doctor absent-mindedly musing, without care for the outsized effect each of his or her words has on the expectant parent. That’s what it sounds like it was. But I don’t know anything about it.
Boydom is very easy to rule in (as it was with my strapping boy), but more difficult to rule out (since his bits and pieces could be hiding anywhere). 90%, as asserted by two professionals, sounds like pretty good odds to me, but yellow and green are good colors on babies anyway.
Let me add this: After six-and-a-half months of being a parent, I’m still freaking out!
