First Baby-Related Appointment of the Year

So I got up really early this morning...like 3:30 AM.  Ryan's car is in the shop again, and I had to take him to work.  I came back home, went to sleep for an hour and a half, and then got up to get ready to head to Salt Lake.

Have I told you how much I like winter mountain driving?  I haven't?  Well...the thing is, I don't.  I hate it.  I have rescheduled this appointment 3 times since Thanksgiving because of bad roads.  I wasn't going to let a little snow shower get in my way this time.  I wish it would have snowed in Wyoming, however, the only real snow I hit was going down the mountain pass into the Salt Lake valley.  I hate it.  LOL

Anyway, today's appointment was at the University of Utah hospital with a maternal/fetal medicine doctor.  My reproductive endocrinologist wanted me to meet with him so we could go over the risks pregnancy would have for me with all of my other health issues.

I *really* liked this doctor.  He was kind of asinine, but he was realistic and down to earth, and he had a little sense of humor, which is a must for one of my providers.

After getting lost for several minutes and checking in, I was promptly led to a conference room.  I was weighed and had my blood pressure checked.  My blood pressure was actually good, today, which is surprising considering the drive I had.  And my weight...well...I'm still fat.  Shocking, I know.

So I sat down with Dr. Branch for an hour.  We went over my medical history as well as Ryan's.  Neither of us have any known genetic abnormalities in our histories, like cleft palate or mental retardation (I joked that he hadn't met my husband...lol!).  We discussed my risk of preeclampsia, which he said would be about 25%, which is fairly significant.

We also talked about the risk of multiples that comes along with IVF.  He brought up the topic of "fetal reduction."  I have a huge problem with that, so instead of Dr. Keye, our reproductive endocrinologist (who will do our IVF), transferring a bunch of embryos, we'll only have him transfer 2 or 3, if that. 

We spent most of our hour talking about my blood sugar.  It needs to be reduced, obviously, as the last time I had it checked it was at 7.1%, which is high.  Dr. Keye wants it below 7% before we go ahead with IVF.  Dr. Branch wants my daily blood sugars consistently under control before we move ahead.  So...I had my last dish of ice cream for a while tonight, because tomorrow I'm keeping track of everything.

Dr. Branch said that the most important thing is consistency.  I need to get good sleep EVERY night of the week, and get up and go to bed at the same time.  I need to try to eat the same amount of carbs at each meal, and eat each meal at the same EVERY day, weekends or not.  Getting up at 5:30 on the weekends is kind of going to suck, but if it gets us closer to our goal of a baby Gargano, we'll do it.

We discussed exercise, too.  He suggested an hour a day, but to start slow.  I've been doing EA Active, but he says that's probably not enough.  If I start out slow, I'll be okay.  He said I can break up my workouts, too, so maybe I'll walk a little after school and do EA Active or Wii Fit later on in the day. 

Lastly, we discussed insulin.  He said after I get the diet and exercise things going again, we'll probably have to try a small dose of insulin to get my blood sugars completely under control.  He also said we'd change my blood pressure medication after I actually got pregnant.  Dr. Branch said I would be considered a "high-risk pregnancy" right off the bat, but it's relative, and my issues aren't HORRIBLE, and that he's seen way worse, praise the Lord.  LOL. 

So, we're moving forward.  After I make supper, I'm going to make my little spreadsheet thing to keep track of stuff.  We're going to talk next week via phone to see if my sugars lower and stabilize and to see how the exercise stuff is going.

So, my guess is that it will be a few months before we do our first cycle of IVF.  That's okay with me.  I am thinking forward to when I would actually have a baby.  November is a good month for a baby, with Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks...:)