So what did I do? I googled it. Bad idea. That’s why I’m blogging about our experience because for others who have to walk through this journey, it doesn’t have to be as awful as it sounds online. Yes, it’s going to double your number of doctors visits and you have an additional aspect of your pregnancy to be on high alert about, beyond the normal nerves and unknowns….. but there are some positive aspects to this.

Now, before I continue…. I want to be sure that I emphasize that what we’re experiencing is insignificant compared to what others have to walk through, and I’m so very aware of that. I don’t ever want to come across as ungrateful or unthankful for this season that we’re in, because I know that this little girl is the greatest blessing of our life thus far!! We’re so grateful and I would never want a post like this to somehow discredit other’s pain. That would never be our intention. Our goal is to help people and encourage others in our current reality.  If I can provide some POSITIVE google search results for Gestational Diabetes… I think it’s worth it to share our experience! It’s never a good thing to have your body struggle to process sugars and there are risks that are associated with having GD. I’ve found that when you search about being pregnant and having GD, it can be a little scary, and you only hear about risks and warnings. Well, maybe this can be a little light at the end of the tunnel for those who are trying to figure out what this will mean for you.

PRICKING MY FINGER : So I’m pricking my finger four times a day to check my blood-sugar levels… this isn’t ideal and it takes a lot of planning to make sure I don’t miss my time frames! Every time I prick, I’m just praying my levels are good, and I’ve finally learned how to prick my fingers without having to do it twice! Ouch! So that’s the down side…. here is the silver lining:

• Learning to remember to do something on a schedule, two hours after every meal, is preparing us for newborn life. We’re not used to segmented scheduling, and so I’m trying to view this not-so-fun new aspect of my routine as training for February when I’m hopefully on a nursing schedule.
• Even though I hate the prick, it’s nice to know what my levels are multiple times a day, because if more unnecessary sugar goes to the baby then the bigger she can get, and she’s already measuring really big!
• Michael and I are taking “teamwork” to a whole new level. I’m not the best morning person, and I have to prick my finger as soon as I wake up.  So Michael sets an alarm, gets the lancer ready and basically does it for me because I’m half asleep. Good husband status.

COUNTING EVERY CARB : Michael and I just went to a two hour nutrition class for Gestational Diabetes and I honestly walked in with a chip on my shoulder, because I did NOT want to be there. I’d rather be at home blogging our “Behind the Scenes” post for 2016, but instead I was in a room with a dietician and samples of plastic potatoes, fruit and beans scattered across the table and giant workbooks to read through. More on that experience below. I know how to read nutrition labels but adjusting carb and protein levels down to the exact GRAMS for EVERY meal is a lot of work…. however, here’s the silver lining to that:

• During our nutrition class, we met a couple who is running a business that is WAY more demanding than ours, and she was diagnosed with GD at week 11. That means that she’s going to spend 3x the amount of time dealing with GD than we are. That put things in perspective, and we left with new friends and a new attitude of gratitude that I was diagnosed so late in my pregnancy.
• I’m eating well. I never had a POOR diet, but I did crave cereal and chocolate milk…. not together… but those were my favorite treats. I now have a big reason to track and monitor everything I eat, and I’ll be healthier because of it. The truth is, I feel better and have more energy when I’m balancing my carbs and proteins and so that’s allowing me to get more done!
• Because I’m monitoring my carbs and avoiding sugars, I’m hoping this will mean that the weight loss journey after giving birth will be slightly easier. Not only am I counting carbs, but I’m also exercising more because that helps my levels too. I know this isn’t promised, but since I’ve gained 25 pounds and I have 8 weeks to go, this new change in lifestyle is MAKING me take the steps needed to be healthier for delivery and recovery.

MORE DOCTORS APPOINTMENTS : I hate doctors appointments, and we literally just doubled them because of this new diagnosis. However, there’s a silver lining here as well.

• Every week we get to know that our little girl is doing ok and if something changes, we’ll know fast.
• More ultrasounds! We’re getting to experience ultrasounds almost every week just to make sure she’s not growing too fast! Last week her measurements were a little startling considering how far we have left to go, but the doctor isn’t worried and I’m trying not to be too! I’m thankful for more chances to “see” her these last 8 weeks even though the reason for the ultrasound isn’t ideal.

So overall, we’re trying to be positive and focus on the silver linings and not the new demands of this diagnosis. The other news is that apparently I have a cyst/weird bone growth/tumor-like thing in the knuckle of my index finger…. on my right hand. It’s incredibly painful to shake people’s hands, pick up anything using that finger and last but certainly not least, that’s the hand I use to hold my camera! So that’s not good, but we’re seeing specialists about this issue too and thankfully, we don’t have a wedding for several months because of maternity leave. So we have plenty of time to get this fixed!!!

Whew! What a week right? It’s been a little crazy over here! Michael and I are living in our apartment with just our BED (that now serves as our couch) and our desk and a TV. That’s it. We have about 5-6 outfits that we’re cycling through for the next little while, but our parents have helped us pack up our life the last two weeks so that we’re ready to move when the house is done…. which is hopefully next week. The OTHER crazy thing is that we’re sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to hear from either my sister or our best friends ANY DAY now. They are BOTH having babies in the next two weeks so we have our bags packed just in case!

COULD. DECEMBER. GET. ANY. CRAZIER?!!!!!!

We’re thankful, we’re grateful and we’re trying our best to not have mini-meltdowns when the emotions get the best of us….and when I say “we” or “us” …. I mean ME. Michael is wonderful…. the ultimate silver lining in all of this is that I’m not doing it by myself! So all of this is why you haven’t heard from us this week and may not hear a whole lot from us next week depending on how things go! I hope this is encouraging for those in our situation with GD . . . and now we’re off to continue packing!!!!!