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Someone sent me a link to the below picture because my nickname for the fetus is el jefe, or “the boss” in Spanish. (The word is masculine, but of course we won’t know the gender until it’s born.) Ever since the first trimester, it’s been very clear to me who is in charge, and it ain’t me.

Speaking of which, el jefe is doing very well. Still squirming quite actively and has its tushy wedged in to my right side with its head down, which is a decent position for being born. Although I have stopped gaining weight (!) my uterus is still growing (rapidly) and so the midwives that take care of me are not concerned.  In fact, they may take steps to make sure I don’t go past my due date since gestational diabetes can cause the baby to get too big.

I know pictures are in demand, so here’s one of me and my sister-in-law. She is also pregnant and due only 2 weeks after me! Just goes to show what a little extra torso room (& standing at an angle) can do for you…

I have been fortunate in that everything about my pregnancy has been average and normal. Even my aches and pains are typical. Last month I went through a ritual every pregnant woman dreads – glucose screening. Basically this is a test to check your body’s response to sugar because pregnancy hormones can inhibit one’s ability to produce insulin, right when you need a lot of it. This leads to gestational diabetes in about 4% of pregnancies.

I just barely failed the first test, so I had to take another, longer test involving fasting overnight, drinking a sugar solution, and having my blood tested hourly (while I continued to fast) for three hours. This would be pretty unpleasant for anyone, but not eating while pregnant is no joke! I was mentally wrecked for the entire day.
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