Pregnant with Type one diabetes

Hello to anyone reading this! I’m here to share my story about my first pregnancy, not to brag or anything but just as encouragement to any woman looking to get pregnant who has type one diabetes.

I was diagnosed with type one when I was sixteen. (21 now) And since I can remember, all I’ve ever wanted to be was a mother. So one of my first fears as a new diabetic was one day becoming pregnant. Is it possible?

In January 2014, I saw my first ever positive pregnancy test. Though very excited, you can imagine my fear as I now faced a challenge with my diabetes and first pregnancy. Here’s my experience in what to expect with each trimester.

First you’ll have a whole bunch of lows. With the few trimester, along with the morning sickness is a great deal of low blood sugars. I mean 15-20 times a day I checked my blood sugar and I was 40. It got to the point of suspending my pump for 50% of every day and hardly taking any insulin for my food.

The second trimester was better, with enough balance in diet. I did not go on an actual diet (A sonic milkshake every Friday night) but I balanced out starches, fruits, vegetables proteins through out the day and only gained 35 lbs in my pregnancy :slight_smile:

Through the last trimester, I had very few problems. But the amount of appointments required was exhausting to say the least. Expect two OB appointments weekly starting from your 32nd week. Not including endocrine appointments thrown in there.

My delivery went smoothly, but since I was high risk I had to be hooked up for them to hear the baby’s heart beat the entire time. As long as your sugars are fine, the nurses will keep you on an IV to help with the fact that you can’t eat until you have that little booger! Finally I gave birth to my beautiful little girl just four days before her due date. As long as you keep up with your sugars, you shouldn’t need to be induced early.

Although I had an uneventful pregnancy, I was so scared something would happen to my baby. I cried every night praying that she would be brought into the world safe and soundly. I hate to say it, but not all doctors are too helpful when it comes to pregnant t1d. So trust your instincts and don’t look too much up on the Internet! :slight_smile: If you feel like something’s wrong with you or your baby GO TO THE ER! It’s not worth risking!

My tips for you are;

  • Try to not go over your 60 grams of fat per day except that very special occasion or craving :wink: because if your baby gets too big they will push for a c cection!
  • Check your blood sugar every 2 hours whether you feel funny or not. If you catch yourself before you get high, you could save yourself from feeling sick and potentially harming your baby.
  • Do not stress about every high or low, because stress isn’t good for you or your baby!!
  • and lastly, enjoy every moment you’re pregnant with your little bundle of joy. It’s such a precious time of your life, don’t let your diabetes control you :slight_smile:
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