Advice for 2nd baby

Diabetes and Pregnancy Trying to Get Pregnant
#1

Hi all-

It has been a while since I posted here. I currently have a very healthy and happy (and talkative!) 2.5 year old and we are ready to try for baby 2. Right now my last A1C was at 7.1 which is not at all where I want it to be pre-conception. I have another appt. with my endo at the end of this month to check is again, however, I am fertile NOW. I really want to start trying this month even without the go-ahead from my doctor....the timing would work out really well for us...

Am I crazy? Should I just wait for my doctor for the go-ahead? What if my A1C is not down enough at the end of the month for the go-ahead? With my last, I was at 6.5 pre-conception and kept it under 6.5 the whole pregnancy, so I know I can do it once I'm pregnant.

Ugh! This is such a stressful decision!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Andrea

#2

That's a tough one! I hate that as T1D we can't just randomly say, hey, let's procreate now! Lol. My endo allowed me for both pregnancies to start trying once my A1C was under 7. I was 6.9 the first time around and 6.8 this time around (16 weeks). Both times it was the same thing, where once I knew I was pregnant, I had more motivation and better control (the end of my first pregnancy I was down to 5.9). But I do find it much harder to maintain my sugars with a toddler at home. We started trying when I was 6.9, but then while trying got an A1C of 7.2 and freaked out. I probably should have stopped trying altogether, but was also anxious to get pregnant. So I visited my endo monthly for additional support and ran my own numbers every two weeks and was able to get it down to 6.8 right before conceiving. All that to say- in my humble opinion, think through how to get your sugars in better control and what will cause you stress. If you need a concrete number to not panic, then it is worth the wait. If you know yourself and your sugars and are confident, I would just go a bit crazy blood sugar monitoring wise until you get the concrete number.

That is completely my opinion though and not one of a doctor!! :) Good luck with whatever you decide.

#3

I can totally relate to this. My son is now 3 and I am 15 weeks pregnant.

We started trying with an A1c of 7.4. My endo saw that I was not getting it down, but based on my good numbers with the last pregnancy told me that she knew that I could do it once pregnant. So we just went ahead. My next A1c was 6.4 :) So it worked.

I did want to wait for my endo's blessing, but was thankful she gave it even with a high A1c. I don't know what we would have done if she didn't because we were really ready too!

#4

Thanks Kristin! I completely remember following your journey with baby 1 so it was nice to hear from you! My A1C was down to 7.1 in June (trending down) so my endo was happy. Met with the high risk OB yesterday for a pre-conception appt although we may be pregnant already it is just too early to tell...should know in about a week!

#5

Great!!! Hope that it comes together quickly :)

#6

It really is tough for us T1D's, even in pre-conception! I have a 2.5 year old, and I am currently 12 weeks pregnant. I started TTC this time with an A1c of 7. I knew this was higher than optimal, and it was not a number I ever saw when I was pregnant the first time around (conceived at 5.7 and stayed I think between 4.9-5.7 the whole time). For me, there was something psychological about knowing that I was pregnant and I HAD to keep my numbers down. Anyway, after I found out I was pregnant, my next A1c dropped to 6.2. It is a personal decision, but if I were you, I would probably just start TTC with an A1c of 7.1 You could start making some very minor behavioral changes "just in case". For example, if you usually bolus as you sit down to eat, maybe start bolusing 15-20 minutes before each meal. That way, you're not restricting foods or changing your life too much yet. I'll bet early bolusing alone will drop the A1c! Best of luck to you!!