Gestational Diabetes

A few weeks ago I went in for my glucose test. Fun stuff. I went alone since it would take longer than an hour and there's no way Arielle would sit still in the office long. Jr stayed with her and I went.

They called me the next day and I had failed.

Sugar levels should be under 150 and mine was at 160.

So they scheduled me for the 3 hour test. Oh what fun! Again. Jr stayed with the girls and I went alone... with my phone and ipod touch fully charged to get me through 3 hours.

They drew blood when I got there since I was on an empty stomach. I was then given the nasty little drink. And then I got blood drawn 3 more times afterward. Once every hour.

And again the next day I got a call. I passed 2 of them but I failed two of them. So they told me... I had gestational diabetes.

The next step was an appointment with a specialist and dietician. And I had that appointment on Wednesday.

I got an overload of information. First they explained what GD actually is and how it effects me and my baby. Basically it's like Type 2 diabetes. I have insulin but it's not working correctly. And this could cause the food that breaks down into sugar to sit in my blood stream too long. Causing me to have a high blood sugar level. And that is bad because I give that to the baby.

So they put me on a diet. I have to eat 6 small meals a day now. Instead of three big meals. Reason being... 3 big meals takes longer for my body to break down causing it to sit there giving me high blood sugar. If I eat more consistently and 6 small meals (and I mean pretty small) then the process can work better. Get it?

So this is my 4th day on this diet. I actually thought I would starve since everything I eat is on the restricted list. Pasta, rice, pizza, bread, tortillas, beans. I mean come on these are my staples! Good thing is I do love vegetables and those are free foods that don't count. So salad which I eat a lot of is just fine and I can add that to any meal. Also cheese. Which I add to everything and it's perfectly fine. And they want me to eat more of it since I don't drink milk.

Surprisingly I am doing pretty good. And not as hungry as I thought I would be. I feel after a meal like I can have seconds... cuz I always have seconds! But after walking away I don't feel THAT hungry anymore. It's taking some adjusting... and some willpower (of which I have none of especially when it comes to food). So to help I went out and bought me sugar free fruit cups for snacks, Crystal Light so I don't just drink plain water, sugar free hershey's syrup so I can drink a little more milk, and a lot of healthy already portioned out meals according to how much I can have. So that's been keeping me on track and so far so good I guess.

I have to keep a log of everything I eat, with specifics such as the type of food and quantity. And also keeping a log of my blood sugars. So far I've been under where they want me which is good... but I get pretty close sometimes.

Here's an example of one day of my diet:

8:00 Breakfast - An English muffin with egg white, sausage, and cheese. Water

10:00 Mid-Morning Snack - 1 oz cheese, 6 crackers, 1 fruit cup. Water

1:00 Lunch - Turkey Sandwich with cheese, small salad with carrots. Water or to change it up I can drink Crystal Light.

3:00 Mid-Afternoon Snack - 1 light yogurt, half of a banana. Water

6:00 Dinner - 1 Chicken Breast, 2/3 cup of rice cooked, salad, 1/2 cup of broccoli. Water

9:00 Bedtime Snack - 1 slice of toast with 1 tsp of peanut butter. 1 cup lowfat milk (I add a little chocolate so I can actually drink it.

And I've completely cut out soda (obviously). And so far I haven't had ANY sweets at all... which is what I crave the most. (And pre-pregnancy I am not a fan of sweets at all) I am allowed to have them in VERY LITTLE quantities especially if they are sweetened with splenda. But I've just completely stayed away because I won't have the willpower to just have one bite! Instead I've been getting my daily fix by adding peanut butter either to a slice of toast or a slice of apple.

I check in Wednesday for my first week. We'll see how I am doing. And go in for my weekly ultrasound. Yes... I get a weekly ultrasound from now on too. And I go into the hospital for monitoring once a week as well. So I'll practically live at the hospital or my Dr's office from now on. Good grief!

The sacrifices I must make to ensure my baby is healthy! It'll all be worth it!