30 weeks

Most everyone who's following this blog already knows the news, but for those few that don't, I found out early this week that I do, in fact, have gestational diabetes.  (Only now am I able to write that sentence without breaking into tears.)  This news was absolutely devastating at first; I was so disappointed in myself, even though everyone kept telling me that this is not my fault and there's nothing I could have done to prevent it.  And I was shocked – I do not meet any of the risk factors, except possibly being "old," although I beg to differ.  (Actually, that criteria is simply "women over 25," but doesn't that include just about all moms-to-be these days?)  Here's a link to some more information about GD, including the specific risk factors, in case you're interested.

I really never expected this and was very down about it initially.  I allowed myself one day to grieve and just be mad, but the next day, I knew I just needed to suck it up and deal with it.  I became determined to not just manage this condition, but to kick it's butt.

I meet with a dietician next week, but in the meantime, I'm on a special diet (specifically one that limits carbohydrates) and I'm checking my blood sugar levels four times a day.  The diet is not so bad.  Of course I have to pretty much completely eliminate the candy and other junk food that I've admittedly overindulged in the past 30 weeks.  But for this lifetime dieter, planning meals, reading labels, and measuring out food is nothing new.  In fact, only since I've been pregnant have I not "watched" what I eat - that's pretty much been my MO up until last November.  The sad part is that I was rather enjoying my little reprieve from dieting.  I guess the party's just over a bit sooner than I would have liked.  : (

As far as checking my blood sugar goes, it's obviously not fun, but I can deal with it.  At least it will only be for another 10 weeks.  (GD typically goes away as soon as you have the baby.)  The worst part, though, is that both me and the baby run a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life (some statistics say my chances increase as much as 90%, some more like 40-60%).  That's the one fact that I am struggling with the most.  I guess it means that not only do I need to be vigilant about keeping my weight down and exercising for the remainder of my life (to hopefully reduce that risk a bit), but unfortunately, so does our child.  I feel really bad for passing this on to him.

That said, I'm not feeling sorry for myself over this.  I am constantly reminding myself, instead, that things could be much worse and that I have been, and continue to be, very truly blessed.  This is nothing that I can't handle...and maybe I'll even be a better, healthier mommy because of it.

On a happier note, we are working on painting the baby's room this weekend.  Even as I type this, we are waiting for the first coat to dry so we can go in and do some touching up.  I do have one more design element that I'm hoping to incorporate onto one of the walls in a couple of weeks (I didn't want to attempt to do it all in one weekend), but it feels good to have this mostly behind us now.  The nursery is starting to look good, but I can't wait to see it all put together with the crib and the linens, etc.  I'll have to wait another month and a half or so for that, though.

(Check out Kinnick in the baby sling that we got from Eric and Jenny this week.  Much to his dismay, we've decided that Kinnick will be testing out all of the baby equipment from here on out!)

And, it's probably completely imperceptible, but I may look a wee bit smaller in my photo this week.  I have actually lost a couple of pounds since going on this diabetic diet.  I'm planning to ask the dietician if that is normal next week.  I think so long as the baby is still growing (which I won't know for sure until my next doctor's appointment in two weeks), it should be fine.  I'm guessing it just has to do with my body adjusting to LOTS fewer sweets and treats than it had grown accustomed to and will probably level out again next week.

And finally, I am soooooo looking forward to the shower in Iowa next weekend.  This has been a long time coming and I can't even express how excited I am.  Yay!  : )