Today I went and saw my midwife again. I always enjoy these visits, but I was a little worried about this one. At 28 weeks, like most doctors, my midwife requires a gestational diabetes test. They want you to drink a sugary drink made out of processed sugar, preservatives, and food dyes. I was not ok with this, even though I drank it with my other three kids. I just know better now!
Here is an article that talks about how bad it is for moms and the babies and lists some natural alternatives:
https://realfoodhealsblog.wordpress.com/2014/06/05/healthy-alternatives-to-the-pregnancy-glucose-test/
I talked to quite a few other moms and did some research and finally concluded that since there were so many natural ways of checking glucose out there, I needed to talk to my midwife and see if she would ok another option. I brought up the subject when I was about 12 weeks along and back then, she told me there was no other option. I either had to drink the glucola or eat 18 Brach's jelly beans (again, full of processed sugar and food dyes). I went in with an open mind today plus my reasons for not wanting to drink a jar full of junk, especially junk that I haven't had in about 18 months and would surely make me sick!
I approached the topic very carefully and as we talked, my midwife actually seemed ok with me eating/ drinking something else! I had brought a list of natural options I had found on the internet and how much sugar was in each item (banana, grape juice, apple juice, etc.) and she looked at them and we negotiated. She seemed to want exactly 50 grams of sugar, so she didn't really want me eating any fruit because the size of the fruit and amount of sugar would vary so much. We finally agreed that I could drink apple juice because it was measurable. I then told her that I only buy the unsweetened juice and there was 27 grams of sugar in 8 oz. I would need to drink 16 ounces of this in 5 minutes. She recommended that maybe this one time I buy the sweetened version, so I would need to drink less. I told her that even though there is added sugar in sweetened apple juice, it's not processed sugar AND I would rather do that than drink the glucola or eat jelly beans!! It was a deal and I was happy!
My next question to her was how far over I could go at the end of this pregnancy. Megan was 14 days overdue, Courtney was 8, and Christian was 6 days over due. I don't want to be induced unless I absolutely have to and I would much rather wait to go into labor on my own. She said she has no problem letting me go 41 weeks 4 days over. She said she would consider letting me go to 42 weeks, but only after we run some tests and make sure everything is ok. She said that once moms get that late, she doesn't sleep well at night because there is a fine line where things can go wrong. I totally understand!! I know things were starting to go wrong with Megan and we needed to induce. She told me that she appreciates my patience in waiting until baby is ready!
I gained four pounds in the last three weeks (up to 14 altogether now) and my blood pressure was normal. She measured the baby and he was measuring at 24 weeks, right where he should be! Her joke was, "You can't hide your pregnancy anymore!" Nope, I cannot!! I told her that I have an endless appetite and feel like I am always eating. I am surprised I didn't gain more weight! I believe baby's heartbeat was about 144, he was kicking her the entire time!
I go back again at 28 weeks to do my gestational diabetes test and then I start seeing her every other week. Wow! Then we are almost done!
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