24 weeks and the gestational diabetes glucose test

Well, on tuesday I hit the 24 week point.
It was also the day that I was scheduled to go in for the always-super-fun blood analysis. This time the blood analysis is checking for gestational diabetes.
According to the midwife, you should go to the medical center at 8AM, drink the bottle of syrupey orange glucose (yuck!), and then wait an hour to have your blood drawn.
They want you to drink it there so that you aren't walking around a lot after drinking the syrup stuff.
Well, knowing how hectic the chaotic med center is at blood analysis time, and knowing that I wouldn't get let in right at 8, nor would I have a place to sit...
I finally decided to get up and get ready and drink my syrup at home sitting down before calmly driving down to the med center.
We still have a parking spot in the garage below our piso, so I have a place to park nearby the med center, even if I can't find anything closer. I still would try to find a place right outside, if possible, to avoid walking too much.
So, that's what I did, and I luckily found a parking spot right next to the med center entrance, so I didn't really have to walk at all.
When I got there, I found the usual hall-full of people. I figured I wasn't going to have my blood drawn until 9 anyways, so instead of pushing my way into the hallway, I sat a little ways away. Of course, there was no way to actually hear if I was being called or not, so I figured I should move a little bit closer. I went to the hallway, but to the far end of it where there was a place to sit down. Of course, there you still can't hear what names are being called. It is actually quite ironic, but they have the pediatric section there, and the kids were screaming outside, so you can't hear much of anything else. (You'd think that the mothers would realize that it is already impossible to hear the names being called, and would try to have their kids at least yell in a not-so-loud manner, but, of course, they don't seem to really care, and make no attempt at shutting their kids up.)
Then, I noticed that in front of me stood another pregnant girl with an empty bottle of glucose. She also had a cup of urine ready to turn in.
Hmmmm, my midwife never said anything to me about a urine analysis. (My midwife only made me wait for over an hour to do nothing but weigh me and take my bp, as usual). I read the fine print of the analysis sheet, and, sure enough, it looked like I was also supposed to have a urine analysis. (Now, I was worried that they were going to make me come back tomorrow with a cup of fresh urine, and a new bottle of syrup... but I was NOT going to re-drink that "stuff" (a nice way of putting it) on account of the fact that my midwife didn't give me a cup to pee into.)
So, I decided to push my way through the crowd of people to see if I could speak with someone there to explain my situation.
Of course, the way that I was brought up makes it very uncomfortable for me to do so. Eventually, though, you just have to think- wouldn't these people push even pregnant me over to get to the person they need to talk to (or to get in front of me in line at the supermarket!?!?!) Of course.
So, that's what I did. Well, they still give you nasty looks, especially if it is obvious that you aren't originally from here, but if you are persistant and very pushy, you can get to where you need to go.
I finally was able to talk to one of the nurses. She told me to try to find a place to sit down, and to find her at 9AM (by then only 5 minutes away) to have my blood drawn. She said not to worry about the urine analysis, that she would give me a cup to turn in right afterwards.
So, I sat down and waited.
Meanwhile, the other pregnant girl was running wround after her kids, just like she had been for the whole hour. (And I had been afraid of walking a block to the med center?)
So, at 9, I pushed my way through the people to have my blood drawn. Of course, the people who were next in line gave me horrible looks for doing so. What else, exactly, was I supposed to do, though? They want the blood to be drawn at exactly an hour after you drink the glucose!!!
They drew my blood (luckily uneventful), and gave me the urine anaylisis cup... so I had to find an unoccupied restroom, and pee- definitely not a problem these days. Well, the peeing part at least, since it seems that someone likes to kick or hit my bladder quite often lately. :)
The only problem, once I was done I had to push my way through the crowd again to turn the cup in. Of course, once again I was met by dirty looks, but by now I was so used to it, that I didn't really care.
On the plus side, while I had been waiting for 9AM to roll around, I had had time to fill in a section of my pregnancy journal.
One thing I found quite annoying, though, is that the questions in the journal were obviously written for Americans giving birth in the US.
Have you chosen a hospital yet? Hmmm, you mean some people have a choice?!?!?
Have they given you a tour of the hospital you plan to go to? Giving a tour?!?!?!? I'll just laugh at that one. Like they'd care enough to show you what you were getting into.
Do you have a birth plan yet? What for?, I doubt I will have much of a choice of anything...
Have you chosen a doctor yet? Once again, giggle, a choice?!?!? yeah right...I've had 8 different doctors by now, and will likely hit 10 by the time baby is born.

Everywhere I read, though, it is stressed how important it is to have a physician that has a similar outlook as you, or can at least somehow go along with your "birthing philosophy."
Not only is that impossible here within the public system, where you have absolutely no choice of hospital nor doctor, but I'm starting to wonder about what the birth process is actually going to be like.
People in the US complain that the c-section rates have risen to such high rates lately (20-25% in the US), and that every day it is getting harder to have a natural birth. Still, they have more options to find another place or another doctor that has a birth philosophy that matches their own.
I know 7 girls here who have given birth in the last few months. Know what their c-section rates were??? 100%!!!!!!! Seriously!!!
I only know of one girl within the last 5 years who had her baby via vaginal birth.
If you are lucky enough to have a vaginal birth, you seem to automatically be given an episiotomy (another procedure whose rates are too high in many countries (ahem, Spain), and who many, even the head of the WHO, have called a form of genital mutilation). In Europe, the rates vary incredibly. In Denmark and Holland, for example, the rates are at less than 10%, but in Spain, the rates are closer to 85%.
So, I'm starting to get a little worried about what delivery is actually going to be like.
It seems like the hospital that I was ASSIGNED, is very adamant about mothers brestfeeding their babies. On the one hand, I actually like that because it makes it seem like the hospital might be more open to a more natural way of doing things...
On the other hand, it seems like it is all just really a front.
The last baby I know of to be born, by Cesarean of course, was given an IV rather than a bottle, after days of not being able to eat because the mother's milk hadn't "come in" yet. The problem with having a c-section, and then trying to breastfeed, is that supposedly the milk takes longer to come in...
Who knows, but the idea that I don't have a choice of anything makes me want to stay away from the hospital as long as possible (during the early labor process).
It seems like lately there is too much of a rush during labor, and it seems like more routine pitocin use, Cesareans and episiotomies are being done in cases where it just makes things easier and quicker for the doctors.
Ideally, I would have liked to have tried a water birth.
I would have liked to have had as natural of a birth as possible, and to be able to move around to more comfortable positions as needed, and let nature take its course as much as possible.
We'll see how much of a choice I get, and how things will work out in a couple of months, I guess.
It is sad, though, that I can't at least choose a physician, so that I can ask questions, and I can have an idea of what I'm getting myself into.
So, yes, I could wait at home during the early labor process (if I'm not automatically induced or scheduled for Cesarean like many), but then again, I'm also worried about having to give birth on the ride to the hospital if I go at the last minute!! :)
So, what's a girl supposed to do?
I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens.
Hoepfully I'll have more of a say because I am the only girl I know around here that has really researched all of these things and more...
There are just so many decisions to make lately.
For boy-Circumcision or no?... do they even have a choice here? I have absolutely no thoughts or ideas about any of it, nor do I really fully understand the idea, being a woman.
(For girl, I had already decided-probably-against piercing ears right away in the hospital- despite the fact that most people would have called her a boy even in a pink dress.)
What type of stroller do I want?
Do I want a baby carrier or sling? I think so, but what type? (Yes, I know some sling types were recalled)
Modern cloth diapers or disposables, or, very possibly, a combination of the two?...
There's just way too much to think about and to have to research.
Well, I guess this has gotten very long.
That's what happens when your mind is all over the place.

So, anyways, I'll leave you with the 24-week update from my email:

How your baby's growing:
Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

How your life's changing:
In the past few weeks, the top of your uterus has risen above your belly button and is now about the size of a soccer ball.

Most women have a glucose screening test (also called a glucose challenge test or GCT) between now and 28 weeks. This test checks for gestational diabetes, a pregnancy-related high-blood-sugar condition. Untreated diabetes increases your risk of having a difficult vaginal delivery or needing a cesarean section because it causes your baby to grow too large, especially in his upper body. It also raises your baby's odds for other complications like low blood sugar right after birth. A positive result on your GCT doesn't mean you have gestational diabetes, but it does mean that you'll need to take the glucose tolerance test (GTT) to find out for sure.

Finally, if you don't already know how to spot the signs of preterm labor, now's the time to learn. Contact your caregiver immediately if you notice any of the signs mentioned below...


(Scary) :)
And they thought it was too early to want to set up the baby's room!?!?!??!