Taking the pregnancy glucose test

At 11 in the morning on a Wednesday I had two sandwiches instead of one, and then finished off with a homemade lemon and poppy seed muffin. I drank lots of water, and was constantly watching the time. At exactly 11.15 I stopped the eating frenzy.

I was going to have to fasten. It’s not like I’ve not gone without food for two hours before in my life, but for some reason the idea of being denied food for a few hours can seem a bit worrying.

I was preparing for the standard glucose test to check for gestational diabetes–a test I now feel is a sign the baby is really arriving pretty soon, and I was getting unnecessarily nervous about doing everything right.

I’ve never bought a bottle of Lucozade for anything else in my life, and I found myself reading the label several times to ensure I really did buy the original one and not the orange flavoured one, which I had noted in my iPhone calendar.

I also emailed my obstetrician’s secretary again to double check that it was really one hour before the test I was meant to drink this thing.

At home, I took out the measuring jug and poured in 300ml from the 380ml bottle, and from 12.10 to 12.15 I drank the 300ml from the measuring jug like I had been advised.

And then it was just a case of cracking on with work for another half an hour and jumping in the car to Chelsea & Westminster Hospital to get the blood test taken at the right time.

Finally I’ve reached the homestretch!

Tags: Blood test, Gestational diabetes, Glucose test, Lucozade, Pregnancy, Second trimester, Third trimester