Glucose Challenge Test Blues

Yesterday was my fourteenth ultrasound as well as tests to check my thyroid, blood sugar, iron levels, etc. The glucose challenge test consists of drinking a super disgusting, sickly sweet cool-aid type drink and then having blood drawn 1 hour later to check blood sugar levels. The purpose is to screen for gestational diabetes (GD). The cutoff level for passing the test is 140 mg/dl. Of course I failed the test; my reading came back at 149 mg/dl. :-( The good news is that it doesn't automatically mean that I have GD. In fact, my nurse said that 90% of women who fail by such a small amount ultimately don't have GD.

The next step is to take the 3 hour glucose tolerance test, in which I will fast overnight and then drink even more of the disgusting sugary drink, followed by blood draws every hour for 3 hours. Fun! If I fail two or more of those readings, then I'll be diagnosed with GD. Unfortunately, I already suspect that I'll fail at least the initial fasting draw, as it has to be below 95 mg/dl and my typical fasting reading is around 105...

In happier news, I had another great ultrasound. The baby continues to do well and is measuring in the 50% percentile. The placenta is also still looking very normal as is the umbilical cord blood flow. So far there's no indication that my anticardiolipin syndrome is causing any problems, so we can assume that the blood thinner is doing its job.=)

I think he has Chad's long fingers.

This week's stats:
Gestational Age: 26 weeks, 1 day
Heart Rate: 140 bmp
Weight: 1 pound, 15 ounces
Fruit Comparison: Still an eggplant
My weight change: +6 pounds
Cravings: Steak and lemon meringue pie