How ya doin’, Sugar?
Speaking of sugar, you’re going to be coming up for your glucose screening test to make sure you’re not rockin’ gestational diabetes.
It’s one of the more common pregnancy complications – up to 10% of pregnant people develop it – and there aren’t any symptoms, so everyone gets the once over.
You may have had one already if sugar showed up in your urine (one of the many things they are testing for when you pee in a cup every visit) or if you are high risk.
Normally, the test takes place around 24 to 28 weeks. It consists of you drinking a sugary drink that would even make Willy Wonka say, “damn, that’s sweet”, waiting an hour, then having your blood taken to see if your body processed the glucose efficiently.
If it’s too high, you’re sent back for a three-hour glucose tolerance test, where you fast for eight hours, have your blood taken, drink your sugar shooter, and then have your blood tested every hour for the next three hours.
Bring a book – it’s a long haul.
This will confirm for sure, for sure, if you have gestational diabetes.
While the condition isn’t something to be screwed with, it can usually be managed with diet and exercise and it typically resolves after you have the baby.
This would also be a good time for me to point out that if you have a needle phobia, you’re going to be traumatized a few times during your pregnancy. I am not fond of needles (to say the least), so I had to buckle down and suck it up during both my pregnancies. If it makes you feel any better, I found that having that many blood tests really did help me tone down the terror when it comes to me and needles.
23 Weeks Pregnant Cheat Sheet:
- Your baby is almost a foot long (or 28 cm) and weighs around a pound (or 450g) and is about to embark on some serious weight gain. Hell yeah, kid!
- Your baby can hear muffled sounds from the outside world.
- Lungs are still being developed and your baby is practicing swallowing.
- You have around 119 days before you give birth.
How many months is 23 weeks pregnant?
Twenty-three weeks is five months and three weeks. (Almost six months pregnant.)
This week's to do:
Install your car seat. They can be a little fiddly so make sure you know what you're doing before you stick an infant in it. Do it yourself or get a pro in your area to install it. If you still need to get on, check out How to Pick the Best Car Seat. Follow Safe In The Seat on Instagram.
Birth announcements. If you want to send out birth announcements, now is a good time to start thinking about them. My favorite spot is Minted (they are beyond nice and they make it look like you have your shit together.) If you order from them, use the code PREGNANTCHICK20 to get 20% off your first order. Ends 12/31/24. Exclusions apply.
How are you feeling this week? Let me know here.
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