Help 5 weeks pregnant

Hi y’all I’m a type 1 diabetic and have a dexcom and insulin pump. I found out a few days ago that I am pregnant! I’m now 5 weeks and I contacted my endo and she said, “okay come see me a month after you have your first ob appointment.” Needless to say I’m switching endos but won’t see my new one until next month. So my question is do low blood sugars affect fetal development like high blood sugars do? Is it okay to have an elevation in blood sugars after you eat as long as they are below 120 two hours after you eat? I’ve been eating mainly low carb because I’m slightly terrified of highs and how it would affect baby development. Also, I have had some lows in the higher 60 range. Any help is beyond appreciated!!

Hi there
While I can’t really answer all of your questions, here are my 5 cents:
First of all, congrats! Enjoy this time of your life!
Then regarding low blood sugar. Idk if it hurts the baby, but it hurts you, so definitely try to stay away from them.
BUT: calm down!! :wink:
You seem extremely concerned, which I can understand, but you already seem to have great control! Try not to get your expectations of what BG you should have too strict.
Remember: thousands of women have gone this path before you, and your tools are only getting better. One of our late members had three children in the 1950s/60s, without having the possibility th check her bg at home. Others have had babies in the 80s with insulins not half as advanced as they are today. My cousin is currently pregnant, T1 in argentina, on MDI and didnt have access to a CGM until the second half of her pregnancy.
AND ALL DID WELL. BABIES TURNED OUT FINE!!! (Love you @shoshana27 )
So you are doing just perfect! Stay on top of things, but also try to enjoy. Time passes way too fast :wink:
All the best :four_leaf_clover:

Congrats! I’ve had Type 1 for 34 years. I’ve also had 3 children…all without a cgm. So here’s my experience Iand what I think you can expect. First trimester you will experience a lot of lows…I suggest setting an alarm at around 2am-ish to see how you’re doing. Night time lows occur a lot with pregnancy. Second trimester your insulin requirements will increase. But, again, check those night time lows. They’ll happen, guaranteed. Third trimester, you’re going to need more insulin that you ever thought possible.
That’s ok. Baby is growing at a rapid pace.

So here’s my experience with highs and lows. Try to stay 120 or lower. Lows don’t affect baby as much as highs. But, please don’t get hard on yourself if you’re above 120. It’s gonna happen. Just correct and move on.

Like @swisschocolate said, try to enjoy! It’s a beautiful time of your life. Embrace every moment and good luck

:shamrock: Sarah

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Currently 22 weeks pregnant myself. Congrats and welcome to this great adventure!

For highs, one hour after meal, you want to be under 140 (so YES, going over 120 after a meal is not a bad thing!). Two hours after, you want to be under 120. My endo recommends staying between 70-95 between meals. Either JDRF or ACOG (I can never remember where I first saw this) recommends between 60-95 for between meals.

Which brings me to your next questions: Lows! Riding steady at 65 is better than riding steady at 150 and won’t hurt your baby. Lows become dangerous (for you) when you drop rapidly or just go too low. As for baby, a fetus/newborn’s normal blood sugar is much lower than an adult (around 40) so it is unlikely minor lows are going to have any effect on the development of the babe.

Bottom line: Sustained highs and lows are what you need to worry about. You will go over 200 (even 300!?!), more than once! And you will go under 50, more then once! As long as you are not hanging out too high or too low for hours on end it is unlikely to effect your baby.

My advice is to find your routine, with food, exercise and rest. It makes it so much easier to understand what is causing random high/lows and to continue to adjust as your insulin needs change. My insulin needs dropped slightly early on and now at 22 weeks are about the same as they were preconception (I keep waiting for the big rise in insulin resistance, but so far only a few false alarms that dropped back to normal after a few days). So far my little girl is measuring right on schedule and everything looks great!

You can do this and I am happy to help as much as I can if you have any questions or need any advice as you go!

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Normal blood sugar levels in non-diabetic pregnant women are lower than those in non-pregnant woman. Numbers in the 60s and 70s could be considered normal.

Bernstein says 65 is normal in pregnancy. I asked him a question a few years ago, and he said this level is fine, so long as not symptomatic / feeling low.

So, if you can stay 60 and above you should be fine…

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Absolutely agree! (Again, as long as those numbers don’t cause you bad symptoms, esp. dizziness or falls.) And my MFM team did too, which is helpful. They would never ask/worry about random numbers in the 60s and certainly not in the 70s. My recommended fasting levels (from them) during pregnancy were 75-90.