28-week appointment

I'm on the homestretch! At 28 weeks, I've officially started the third trimester.

My second semester finished on a positive note with an East Coast tour of Haddonfield, Washington D.C. and New York City. Since I was convinced at certain points that the bliss of the second trimester (supposedly not nauseous, full of energy and still nimble) was just a myth, I was surprised by how great I finally felt. There were times I actually felt like my pre-pregnancy self (with the exception of the growing stomach and being uncomfortably full after eating anything larger than a sandwich). Clocking 15,000+ steps a day taking my dad's black Labrador Retriever, Bess, for walks, I even wore the dog out! I'm sure the excitement of seeing old friends from college and Minneapolis kept my energy level artificially high, but I was able to keep up with everyone while traipsing around New York and D.C. But I've also learned to quit while I'm ahead. I arrived back in Minneapolis on the last day of my 27th week and satisfied with my last hurrah, told myself I'm okay with sticking close to home the next three months and trying to relax.

I was home in time for my 28-week appointment and a routine glucose screening (typically administered between 24 and 28 weeks). While I'm not a diabetic, gestational diabetes can occur during pregnancy and the condition rarely includes symptoms and can cause health problems for the baby. Like many conditions or symptoms that pop up during pregnancy, the main cure, funny enough, is giving birth. Imagine that.

I'd heard stories relating varying degrees of the unpleasantness of the glucose test and was lead to believe it should be something to be dreaded. But like everything else related to pregnancy, I decided it had been blown out of proportion. The unnatural orange color of the glucose mixture I was given was a bit off-putting, but it tasted, well, like sugar and just reminded me of drinking a melted orange-flavored ice pop. An hour later, a nurse drew my blood and the sugar level in my blood will be measured to determine how well my body processes sugar. However, since the test is only a screening, a positive result means I would have to undergo a glucose tolerance test where I drink 100 grams of glucose (double the amount the first time around) and then wait three hours.

During my hour wait, I met with my doctor, who was her usual chipper, positive and reassuring self. She measured my stomach (24 centimeters), listened to the baby's heart beat (145 beats a minute - well within the healthy range of 120-170) and then went over concerns or questions I had. Despite how nervous and paranoid I was at the beginning of my pregnancy, I've morphed into somewhat of a pregnancy Myth Buster (borrowing the term from a Discovery Channel TV show Chris loves). Chris and I are talking about doing away with the faux painting job in our dining room, hallway and guest bathroom, but I assumed painting would be off limits. Not so said the doctor. Pregnant or not, she advised only painting in a well-ventilated room (meaning windows open) and said I'd be fine. Although she joked that I didn't have to tell my husband that she'd given me the go-ahead to paint. ;)