Breathing Easy

With 35 weeks right around the corner (tomorrow in fact), I'm much more relaxed and have let myself get out and enjoy this beautiful time in life a little more.

We had guests in for the Thanksgiving holiday--our house-mate's family. We enjoyed having some pseudo-family around, but didn't feel much pressure around entertaining. The ten of us (8 adults and 2 kids) went to some local vineyards for the Holiday Open House to check out the fall colors and sample some fun food and wine pairings (don't worry, I was a designated driver). The next day we hit the beach.




It's nice to be out in the world again after so many weeks around the house. People are really sweet (for the most part). I do get some of the, "You need to eat more," when people find out when I'm due. I'm always torn between smiling and nodding and telling them, "Actually I have gestational diabetes and am following a strict diet, but thanks for your concern."

It's really hitting me these past few weeks that this is something I may never get to experience again. I know I've said it before, but I'm so thankful for this pregnancy and the little boy that is rowing inside.

Milestone

If you look at the little baby counter on the right today, you'll notice it says 34 weeks, or 6 weeks to go. I am breathing a huge sigh of relief today, knowing that if my little man decided to make an early appearance, everything would be OK. Sure, I'd still like to get to 36 or 38 weeks, but today I am happy for what I have--a healthy growing boy with 34 weeks of gestation under his belt. The last few days I've really started enjoying the pregnancy and preparation again since the anxiety is fading away. MM asked me the other day if I was ready to have this baby, and I think I am, at least as much as I can be. I haven't been listening to my hypnobirthing CDs like I wanted, I'm not meditating or practicing yoga like I would like, but still, I feel ready.

At my last appointment I talked with my midwife about our plans for the home birth. She said the gestational diabetes makes our window of comfort a little smaller. If everything was normal, she would say home birth is OK between 36 and 41-42 weeks, but since GDM delays fetal lung maturity and he's a white boy (statistically the slowest to mature and worst outcomes pre-term), potentially a very fat white boy (GDM will also mean he's bigger than he would otherwise be), she would feel better if we delivered at home only between 37 and 40 weeks. Also, chances are good that I'll be induced if I go past my due date (again, thanks to GDM) which would of course mean a hospital birth. It's a little disappointing, but I didn't get into this so I could have a home birth, I got into this so I could have a baby and be a mom. However that happens at this point is fine with me.

Part-time work is going well. It's just enough to keep me interacting and engaged with the world outside home and baby preparations, but not so much that I'm contracting and totally exhausted. I have started having some lovely swelling of my lower extremities--yep, some days I have cankles. Otherwise I feel pretty good.

Blood sugar is still in check without insulin thanks to the steady diet of ham (nitrite free :), eggs, cheese, avacado, nuts, and peanut butter, with an occasional half an apple and veggies. I gave myself a pass not to check my blood sugar after meals this weekend. I didn't eat anything I hadn't eaten before, and I was enjoying a much needed day out with MM and didn't want to poke my finger one more time. Otherwise I've been a great patient, I promise.

I can hardly believe we've made it this far. It's truly amazing. He will be here so soon!

Baby Needs

I'm finally starting to think this whole thing might really work out now that I'm over the 32 week hump. Until the past few days, I hadn't felt much of a sense of urgency about preparing for the little guy. What do babies really need anyway? Mostly boobs and diapers from what I can tell. I actually started leaking some colostrum last week, so it looks like all systems are go on the first count. As far as the diapers, thanks to the generous gift of several friends, we're pretty much all fixed up with our cloth diapering goodies as well.

I think that's one of the best things about this process, experiencing the love and generosity of our community. We've already been given more than we even need. It's really amazing. It feels good to bring this baby into a place where he is so loved. To me, that's just as important as boobs and diapers.

Food for a day

I know you're just dying to know what I'm eating these days. Listed below is my 24 hour recall from yesterday, my first official day with GDM.
Here's the run-down:

Breakfast: 2 slices of bacon, 1 oz. cheese, 1/2 avacado (3 protein, 1 fat)

Snack I: 1 oz cheese (1 protein)

Lunch: 2 oz grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato--the inside of a grilled chicken sandwich (2 protein, 2 veggies)

Snack II: 1/4 c cashews (1 fat)

Snack III: raw carrots, 2 Tbs. peanut butter, 1 oz. cheese (3 protein, 1 veggie)

Dinner: spinach salad with cheese, dried cranberries, & sunflower seeds, small serving lasagna (2 veggies, 2 protein, 1 fruit, 2 starch)

Dessert: pumpkin pie (small slice) with 2 Tbs. real whipped cream--I only made it with 1/2 the sugar (2 fat, 2 sweet/carb)

Daily Total: Protein-11, Fat-4, Starch-2, Veggie-5, Fruit-1, Sweets-2

I think the nutritionist would be proud. My blood sugars were all under 101. This isn't necessarily the perfect diet for everyone with GDM, but I'm not supposed to worry about calories, so I can eat all the fat and protein my body can handle. Oh, and when it says cheese, I do try to mix it up and not always eat the same kind of cheese, but your right Mo, I do love cheese :).

GDM

It's official. I have Gestational Diabetes. I got to put off the 3 hour GTT for a few weeks while I was contracting like crazy, but now that things seem to have calmed down I had to buck up and do it.

If you've never had the pleasure of getting blood drawn 4 times in a 3 hour period while eating or drinking nothing but a syrupy sweet orange glucose drink (100g of glucose), well, I hope you never do.

Between my elevated 1 hour test and this one I had been checking my blood sugars at home. They were OK, so I wasn't too worried. I do have a strong family history of Type II diabetes, but I've always kept a pretty healthy lifestyle and weight. I hoped that would protect me, but pregnancy apparently trumps lifestyle in my case. My 1, 2, and 3 hour blood sugars were high. Difininive diagnosis--GDM.

I met with the nutritionist and reviewed my diet. She agreed it was healthy, but not what my body needs right now. My instructions are to get 10-11 servings of protein/day (including cheese, but excluding other dairy) and only 4 servings of grain, and 1 serving of fruit. No juice, no milk, but all the water and caffeine-free tea (no sugar or honey) I want.

I spent a good part of the day today eating and/or thinking/planning to eat. I was successful in eating my daily recommended servings of protein and didn't even have my fruit. Blood sugars were excellent fasting and after meals (I'm checking 4 X/day). So hopefully if I keep this up I'll be able to avoid any complications or insulin. It's just another annoyance right now, but I can do it for another 2 months.