18 May 2020

Pregnancy special: my second and third trimester with Kaleido

A big moment during my pregnancy was when the word was finally out. I have received so many nice reactions from friends and family. Because of the medical ‘label’ that type 1 diabetes puts on me, there was no choice for me on where delivering the baby would take place. The hospital was the only option.

They have a special ‘birthing house’ for that, where I get a room once the time is ripe. If you’re pregnant with T1D, certain painkillers are not recommended during delivery. My preferred method (nitrious oxide) was one of those, but I really didn’t feel like taking an epidural either. It’s smart to plan in advance about these crucial details that come with delivering a baby.

20 weeks in

Another big moment was the week 20 echo: all was well! However, at 24 weeks it felt like something was happening. It occurs with type 1 diabetes and pregnancy, that the babies grow bigger than average. In my case it was the other way around! My baby’s growth ran a little behind the graphs, which was probably caused by the placenta not adequately regulating the delivery of blood to the baby. Something that is a risk factor in type 1 diabetes and pregnancy. From this moment and on, I needed to come and get check-ups every week. If things would develop the way they did, the baby would have to be delivered by week 36 latest. You can imagine that the Field Safety Notice regarding Kaleido was highly inconvenient! Until then, I was able to keep very tight blood sugar control on Kaleido, and all of the sudden I had to switch insulin pump therapy, or go back to pen injections. Both are far from ideal options when you’re in your 28th week of pregnancy, which is challenging enough already.

There she was

By only working half-days in the office, by walking enough (stimulating the flow of blood), avoiding stress and by keeping calm we managed to make it out to week 36. And then it turned out the baby was in a breech position. With 37 weeks and 4 days of pregnancy I had to come back to attempt an external cephalic version, hoping the baby would turn in the 1,5 weeks still to come. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. Coming in for my check-up on April 13th the attempts to turn the baby were not successful. Thus we’d be up for a planned C-section. After the doctors consulting for 20 minutes, they said there was an opportunity to do it right now. It was my call. Within an hour I was in a surgery room and 13:17 Ayleen was born weighing 2735 grams.

After 2,5 days in the hospital we went home, all in good health. Being a mom still hasn’t really landed with me yet. From the external cephalic version attempt to being a mom ‘all of the sudden’ 1 hour later… that’s quite weird! Now that we’re at home for a few weeks, I’m getting the hang of it. Breast feeding and all these hormones in my body tend to mess things up diabetes wise. We really hope Kaleido returns to the market soon, so I have tighter control over my BG’s again and experience less hypo’s.. That way I can enjoy my little girl as long and healthy as possible!

About Lucille

Lucille, lover over tropical places and what the Dutch call ‘gezelligheid’, has been working in HR for the past 5 years and living with diabetes for 12. After all the parties and concerts over the past few years, some amazing travel adventures it’s now time to slow down. Ready for a new, adult, adventure, she’s currently building her life with her partner and baby on the way.