Siona started rolling over!

Siona started rolling over from her back onto her tummy 5 days before her 5th month birthday!! She's been rolling over from tummy to back for a long time (since she was 3 month old) but this is new and exciting for her as well as for us!! We're filled with pride and happiness watching her do this feat. And since it's new for her she's practicing it over and over again. As soon as we put her in the gym, before we can sit down, she's already rolled over!! Yay.

Siona needs mom to sing "twinkle twinkle" to sleep

Siona slept after hearing "Twinkle Twinkle" from mom around 15 times (and not just humming). Any attempt to change the song was not liked. Finally she slept resting her cute little head on mom's shoulders. Mom could hold her like that forever and ever.

Sugary hell: Gestational Diabetes

Event: Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT)


While we had barely got over the week 26 scare, it was time for the Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) done at week 28. Earlier, there used to be 2 tests done - only if the first test results showed high glucose levels, was the second test done. But now CA has standardized to a 2-hr GTT. There's blood drawn first (12 hr fasting) after which a sugary syrup is given and blood drawn again 1 and 2 hrs. If the glucose level is higher than normal even for one of the 3 readings, the mother-to-be is considered having diabetes. It is called gestational diabetes since it occurs only during pregnancy and normally goes away after delivery. Saumya had been cutting down on her dessert cravings so far in the pregnancy, hoping that she'd eat to her heart's content once the test is normal. Sadly, that was not to be. Her glucose level was high for all the three readings.

She had a consultation with a nutritionist who explained she needed to have 6-7 small meals every 3 hrs, each with extremely limited carbs and no sugar (also considered carbs). But there was no limit on fats. Sadly, most of the diet comprises of carbs - rotis, rice, bread, most fruits, juices. She could have as much cheese, peanut butter, ghee - but who are we kidding? If meausuring the food intake was not enough, she was required to poke herself 4 times a day to check her glucose level. It usually helps if you walk a lot in diabetes, but due to her low AFI level and complete bed rest, that was also ruled out. We were in for a tough 2-3 months (if she lasted full-term).

Her milk changed from regular lactose one to soy milk with low carbs, breakfast comprised of one small slice of bread with cheese, lunch was a chapati with veggies, a few berries in snack, a light dinner and crackers with peanut butter at bedtime - this remained her meal plan for the next 2 months. She craved for change, but there were not many options. She'd cry at times just looking at the cheese, but there was not much that could be done. Not to mention, all the poking for diabetes had left her finger-tips pierced. All this was done so that the baby is not exposed to high glucose levels in the blood, and does not get unusually large and over-weight. Of course, when Siona was born, we were in for a big surprise.

Scare at pregnancy week 26

Event: Routine doctor's appt

Saumya had a routine appointment with her OB-GYN today. She was close to 26 weeks and was starting to feel the movements of the baby girl (yes, we knew we were going to have a princess!). But of late, the movements had become little less and she thought she'd ask the doctor. The doctor wasn't planning on doing an ultra-sound in this appt - she mentioned its normal not to feel big movements till now as they get prominent only after week 28. She made us hear the heart beat of the baby and it sounded normal. Still, something came to her mind and she thought she'd do an ultra-sound just to dispel our fear.

During the ultra-sound, she found the amniotic fluid level (AFI) was a little less - and not just little, it was a lot less. The normal level is supposed to be around 12-14 and anything less than 5 requires immediate delivery, and Saumya's level was close to 6!! The doctor was worried - she asked us to go home, pack our bag and get admitted to the hospital right away. Saumya would be put on IV and unless the AFI level got better, we were looking at delivering at 26 weeks! Not to mention, we were pretty scared.

We got admitted to the hospital - one of the nurses inserted an IV in Saumya's arm (she injected the needle 3 times in and out, before she could find the right vein - all this while, Saumya cried in pain). Now started the painful wait - they conducted a test to ensure her amniotic sac had not ruptured - if it had, it would not be safe for the baby to stay inside (Not that it would be any safer outside either - it was just 26 weeks and chances of a baby delivered this early are just about 50-50, even with the current medical advancement). We prayed for things to be fine, and thankfully the amniotic sac was fine. Next, she was asked to drink plenty of fluids orally, while IV continued to be administered to her. The agonizing wait that lasted 48 hrs felt like a few years- an AFI check done again after this period showed the level had risen to 11 - still not normal, but considered safe enough for her to be discharged.

The doctor recommended her complete bed-rest from now till the fluid level gets normal - she was asked to drink plenty of fluids and get complete bed rest. We didn't know if she'd last the full term - all we wanted was  to take it one week at a time. We started setting goals for her fluid intake - beginning with 4 liters per day and slowly increasing. The doctor asked to see her every week and perform an AFI check to ensure the levels are  safe. The level didn't get any better, but thankfully it didn't get any worse either and stayed close to 11 mark. This meant we were looking at a pregnancy with complete bed-rest right till the delivery. Phew! And to imagine how its a cakewalk for most people...