Thank you all for tolerating my delinquency in posting as of late! I have a new picture for you of the belly (at 32 weeks) and lots of news.

I "failed" the blood glucose test and was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. This does not mean that the baby has diabetes, but, rather, that my pancreas isn't able to produce enough insulin for the increased amount of blood sugar produced during pregnancy (3x more than normal!). Plus, pregnancy makes the insulin a woman produces less and less effective the further along in the pregnancy. So, my doctors wanted to treat this very aggressively because it can be damaging for the baby. Both Mom and Baby make their own insulin, but a pregnant mom's blood sugar can cross the placenta and raise the baby's blood sugar levels. This causes the baby to have to produce more insulin, which is not a good thing. Insulin is a growth hormone, so it can cause a baby to grow too fast, leading to complications in birth or necessitating an early induction. The baby can then be very large but still have immature organs. Plus, after birth, if the baby has been producing extra insulin to counteract the Mom's high blood sugar levels, then when born, he or she has too much insulin and can suffer from low blood sugar. All of these complications are easily avoidable by keeping Mom's blood sugar down, either by diet or medication. So, I was directed to the Pregnancy Diabetes clinic and received a ton of information and help. The nurses and nutritionists there helped me come up with meal plans and a new diet. I monitor my blood sugar four times a day, and they monitor me by phone, checking up on all my numbers each week. So far, so good. They, and we, are very pleased with the results of changing my diet. I have a very limited amount of carbs that I get at each meal, but I've found ways to still get in a cookie here and there :) and I've been reassured that once Babykins is born, I can pig out to my heart's content!

So, last week at our doctor's visit, we had another ultrasound to check the baby's growth and make sure he or she wasn't producing extra insulin and growing too fast. They measured his upper body and limbs and were very pleased with the result: Babykins is smack-dab in the fiftieth percentile for weight, a nice 5 pounds 13 oz. My midwife was very pleased with the results of the tests and where the baby is lying. He or she is already head down and dropped very low and is facing my right side. She said he's in the perfect position and everything looks great! We are so thankful!

At the end of the ultrasound, we got to see Babykins in 3-D. It was amazing! He or she was practicing breathing (a very good sign, the doctor said), and we saw him or her sucking and then sticking out his tongue! It was so amazing! The pictures speak for themselves, though.

On Tuesday of next week, I will be considered full-term, which is very exciting! At our last appointment, yesterday, I was found to be 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated. That was exciting, BUT it really doesn't give any indication of how soon (or how late) Babykins will be born, so don't get too excited! It basically just means that my body is doing what it is supposed to do. Babykins has dropped very low, though, and my midwife was surprised how low he is. It's a good thing, because that means he hasn't got too far to go during labor, but it makes for a fair amount of discomfort for me in the process. I've been experiencing a lot of pelvic and groin pain, but I know it's temporary. We have four more weeks until our due date!

Thanks to all for all your prayers and love and support. God's blessings.