{"id":31466,"date":"2012-12-11T08:38:48","date_gmt":"2012-12-11T13:38:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?post_type=feature&p=31466"},"modified":"2016-01-09T02:51:58","modified_gmt":"2016-01-09T07:51:58","slug":"pregnancy-with-diabetes-where-ca-i-clip-my-pump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=31466","title":{"rendered":"Pregnancy with Diabetes: Where Can I Clip My Pump?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n

Every night, Gary and I lie in bed and watch our baby \u2013 we call her The Girl \u2013 kick, jab and swim under my skin. My belly squirms up and down and side to side. The Girl moves the most in the late hours. She\u2019s a night person, like her mom. Last night, after a day of blood sugar swings and insulin adjustments, I asked The Girl, \u201cHow are you feeling? Am I doing okay for you? She answered with a tumblesault. Gary said tumblesaults are a good sign. I asked him how he knows that. He said that he knows that sort of thing. It made me feel better so I said, \u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the second trimester of my pregnancy with diabetes. Though not a breeze, it\u2019s been much better than my first trimester<\/a>. The nausea and severe hypoglycemia have subsided. I can leave my apartment, engage in coherent conversation, and eat. I have gone from being Miss Nausea, as in, Get That Plate of Pretzels Outta My Sight!<\/em> to Miss Hungry, Hungry Hippo, as in, Whatcha Got Over There? Care to Share a Bite?<\/em><\/p>\n

Of course, I\u2019m not hungry for kale or carrot sticks. All I want to eat is chocolate. I dream about diving into a bowl of cookies & cream ice cream, followed by two or three Twix bars. But unlike pregnant women without diabetes, I have more to face than the number on my scale; I have to face the number on my glucose meter. That little machine packs big judgment. As a compromise between my cravings and my blood glucose, I\u2019ve started to buy dark chocolate, the kind that declares the cacao percentage on the wrapper. I\u2019m sticking to a minimum of 72% cacao!<\/p>\n

Aside from discovering the wonders of dark chocolate, another fun part of the second trimester is finally telling people I\u2019m pregnant. Most reactions are the expected ones, like \u201cGreat news!\u201d \u201cMazel tov!\u201d and, \u201cWhen are you due?\u201d I like those.<\/p>\n

And then there are the, \u201cHave you seen Steel Magnolias<\/em>?\u201d comments. \u201cIsn\u2019t that high risk?\u201d and, \u201cI know a diabetic who had a baby; he was born over ten pounds!\u201d \u00a0I don\u2019t know why my pregnancy announcement has elicited diabetes references. When a person with asthma announces she is pregnant, do people think of her asthma? I guess that some people think *DIABETIC* at the mere site of their friends and acquaintances with diabetes. They can\u2019t shake it, no matter what the context. I blabber responses like, \u201cYes, this is a high risk pregnancy, but I am taking good care of myself so that my baby will be healthy.\u201d Blah, blah, blah. And, \u201cNot all babies born to women with diabetes are big. And I know some women without<\/em> diabetes who have had ten pound babies!\u201d And, \u201cThat film is a clich\u00e9!<\/p>\n

Steel Magnolias<\/em> doesn\u2019t do us modern-day women any favors. It just makes people think that if their friend has diabetes and\u00a0<\/em>is pregnant, she will die. It\u2019s unfair, and it\u2019s hard to knock down stereotypes that are so deeply engrained in people\u2019s minds.<\/p>\n

Luckily, the insensitive remarks have been few and far between. Most people have been really nice and supportive. And if they were curious about a pregnancy with diabetes they\u2019ve asked in a caring way.<\/p>\n

Now, back to the second trimester changes\u2026 I\u2019m outgrowing my regular clothing: a shopping spree! Tops are easy to replace. I\u2019ve purchased a few basics from my local Destination Maternity. <\/em>Plus, my friend from work, who is also pregnant and a few months ahead of me, has been dispensing hand-me-downs. But finding maternity pants that can accommodate an insulin pump is a big challenge. You might be surprised to learn that many maternity pants are made with faux front pockets, just a seam that\u2019s been sewn together.<\/p>\n

Why fashion designers believe that pregnant women don\u2019t need pockets is a mystery to me. And why they think we\u2019d want the appearance of pockets, without the benefit of functional pockets is an even bigger mystery.<\/p>\n

Most women don\u2019t mind this suspicious pocket situation, I know. \u00a0But it\u2019s a problem for women with diabetes. We need pockets for our insulin pumps, damnit! \u00a0Many maternity pants have high elastic bands that slide all the way up the stomach, so there\u2019s no waist band on which to attach the pump. And my bra size has already gone up significantly, making bra-wearing uncomfortable enough. Do I really want to clip my pump there every day? I accept that I\u2019ll have to clip my pump to my bra on the days I wear leggings. Even non-maternity leggings don\u2019t have pockets. I\u2019m used to that. But when I\u2019m wearing jeans or regular maternity pants to work, I want a pocket for my pump.<\/p>\n

The most important part of the second trimester is that I\u2019ve continued to experience good blood glucose control. And the bonus: the nagging lows I experienced in the first trimester are gone. I\u2019ve had rough days, of course, but for the most part, blood sugar management has been easy. Easy, like an old stretched-out sweatshirt, it has been forgiving, providing me with wiggle room. A blood sugar of 80, even after a sliver of red velvet cake. I view this as nothing short of a miracle because we are talking about diabetes here. Since when was diabetes easy<\/em> or forgiving<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Of course, all good things come to an end.\u00a0 As I near the third trimester, insulin requirements and insulin resistance increase. I have begun to see numbers in the 160s, 170s, and even 200s. Not where you want to be when you\u2019re hosting a baby. I worry about my baby. How does she feel when my blood sugar is high? Wasn\u2019t it just a few weeks ago that I was lowering my basal rates and fighting hypoglycemia all day? A 30 carb breakfast that was once covered by 2.5 units of insulin is now covered by 6!<\/p>\n

I readjust my basal rates and insulin to carb ratios. I try. And try. And try.\u00a0 I\u2019ve even taken some time off work so I can stalk my blood sugar, because it\u2019s not just about me anymore. High numbers are harmful to my baby, and I have an obligation to fix them. Maybe for some that\u2019s an easy feat. But not for me. I am not good at multitasking. I am good at doing one thing at a time. Pregnancy with diabetes is probably the biggest challenge I\u2019ll ever go through.\u00a0 It\u2019s a full-time job. I\u2019m doing the best I can, but I fear that my best isn\u2019t good enough, that an A1C of 5.5 is not as good as an A1C of 4.9.\u00a0 That being exhausted isn\u2019t a good excuse for skipping the gym again. That the square of 86% cacao dark chocolate I ate was selfish.\u00a0 I don\u2019t worry about getting fat. I don\u2019t worry about stretch marks, swollen ankles, or the pain of childbirth. (Okay, maybe I worry about those things a little.) I worry about maintaining normal blood sugars for the sake of the little baby who\u2019s depending on me. \u00a0In the meantime, as I wait and work, I keep feeling for those tumblesaults.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

But it\u2019s a problem for women with diabetes. We need pockets for our insulin pumps, damnit! Many maternity pants have high elastic bands that slide all the way up the stomach, so there\u2019s no waist band on which to attach the pump. And my bra size has already gone up significantly, making bra-wearing uncomfortable enough. Do I really want to clip my pump there every day? I accept that I\u2019ll have to clip my pump to my bra on the days I wear leggings. Even non-maternity leggings don\u2019t have pockets. I\u2019m used to that. But when I\u2019m wearing jeans or regular maternity pants to work, I want a pocket for my pump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":31467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1461,1566],"tags":[422],"yoast_head":"\nPregnancy with Diabetes: Where Can I Clip My Pump?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s the second trimester of my pregnancy with diabetes. 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