I’ve been reading a lot about BPA in plastics. It started when Kathy created Safe Mama to keep track of things like BPA and toy recalls. My worries have steadily grown. I really need to find some safe bottles for the wee one. Right now, I have some Playtex bottles. I think they are called Aire or something like that. I’ll need to check. But they are plastic and it’s doubtful that they’re safe. I’ve only used the bottles 3 or 4 times and actually haven’t even heated the milk in them. Wee boy has had the milk at room temp and he eats just fine. But when I start back to work at the office part time, I’ll need to pump regularly and he’ll be eating from bottles a lot more frequently.
Now, add in more worries. I just read some more info over at Mommy Off the Record and she mentions that BPA can cause many health issues. One of them is diabetes. For the last 2-3 years, I have been drinking from Nalgene bottles. They are not BPA free. While I don’t drink hot liquids from the bottle, it’s still possible that I have had exposure to BPA all this time. My bloodwork from Wednesday indicates that at least one of my numbers is elevated. Which means I’ll probably have to go back to monitoring again. Could BPA exposure be a contributor? I’m not sure how I would even know that, or if I can find out. What I do know is I’ve regularly been screened for diabetes over the years and I’ve always been fine. Why now? I really don’t know. But I’m back to being scared and worried again. I don’t want to do this.
But I don’t have a choice, do I? I’ll find out more on Monday when I go to see the nurse practitioner.
I went in for blood tests today. The doc wants to follow up after my pregnancy by checking my blood sugar and thyroid function. I hate these GTTs (glucose tolerance tests). They make you drink this sweet, orange-y drink, wait, then test your blood over a period of time. Today it was 1/2 hour, 1 hour, 1 hour. It was supposed to be a 2-hour test, but it winds up being over 2 1/2 hours. Explain that one? That orange drink makes me nauseous every time. Add to that: fasting. So I stopped any food after 9.30 last night. I can only have water until the test’s over.
By the time I’d been stuck FOUR times (I hate those stupid tests. I hate getting blood drawn.) and was allowed to leave, it was 10.30. No, you can’t really leave between blood draws. Where would you go? And it was cold outside, so I didn’t want to walk out there. So I was stuck, wandering around the hospital with the baby. Fortunately, he wasn’t fussy. When he was awake, he was really interested in all of the new stuff to see. Paintings, plants, people. When I left, though, I was so hungry my hands were shaking. I forgot to take crackers and thought I was going to pass out. I should have remembered that! But I got something to eat and I was fine after that.
I shall call the doc tomorrow and see if there’s any news. I’m a little nervous. I hope all of the blood sugar issues have gone away. I really do. That was a tough existence. It wasn’t the healthier diet – we all need that. It was the worry and the testing and the monitoring and the constant doctor visits. It really wore me down. I don’t want to go through that every day for the rest of my life. I don’t. I hope I won’t have to.
But, of course, if there’s an issue I’ll just do what I have to. Not because I want to. But because I need to stay healthy for my son. He needs me. I think J just might, too. Heh.
So here’s hoping there’s nothing more to worry about after tomorrow. At least, unless we decide to have another kid. Then it’ll be back to that routine again. But I’ll know better and maybe I’ll be able to control it from the start so there is no issue. Crossing my fingers and toes. And eyes. (Because I can.)
