Sugar

Ok... not by choice I have become a Reformed Sweet-a-holic. Ask anyone, I love sweets. Be it cake, chocolate, honey glazed carrots, or ice cream (I love ice cream), I am an addict. I could easily make a meal out of cake or brownies. (Obviously, it's no surprise that i am not skinny.) So since becoming pregnant, where the majority of tastes headed in the salt or carbination category, I have been trying to eat much better. I generally went 2 weeks without ice cream... even though it's always in the house, and Scott has some almost every night. Good girl.

Now that I am a diabetic, sweets are generally a giant No-No. Giant. Huge. I have actually been told that I am not allowed ice cream until after Baby Jones makes his/her entrance in 5 1/2 very long months. No Ice Cream! I can have a cup cake w/o frosting on occassion, but no ice cream? In the Pregnancy Books, Ice cream is considered a great way to get your calcium? Don't diabetics need calcium? Apparently not badly enough for a 1/2 cup of Neopolitan. So sad.

So this marks 2 weeks as a diabetic. And today I am craving sugar. Preferably candy. I have been so very good. I am counting every thing in the world. I have increased my insulin again this week, and the new needles from Walgreens are twice as long as the others!!! So since I am allowed 15-30 carbs for my snacks, I decided to treat myself. I walked out to the candy machine that I haven't seen in weeks. I put in my 60 cents and pressed E5. And blissfully enjoyed my Salted Nut Roll with only 27 carbs. It was probably the wrong thing to do, but i enjoyed it very very much. I also like to think that the peanuts were healthy and full of protein. hmmm... it's thought.

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday to Shannon!!!

Tomorrow is Shannon's 23rd Birthday. And in the middle of all her prep work this afternoon, she actually called to see what kind of snacks she could buy so that way i won't have to worry so much about my numbers tomorrow. Yeah, she's a great sister.

So... I've officially been a diabetic for a week now. The doctors threw a curve ball Wednesday, and basically said that I have had this for a while, and that more than likely, I am a Type 1 Diabetic. This means that it is extremely likely that i will be on insulin for the rest of my life. They wondered why i had such a little reaction. What good does a big reaction do? I can't change anything. All I can do is make the changes that I have to make. For me, Scott, our child, and my family. Very simple. So, I have accepted my fate. And I am making the changes. And surprisingly enough, I learned Wednesday that I had lost 6 pounds in 4 days. Hmm....

Coping

Ok, so this diabetes thing isn't easy at all. My fingers hurt from the almost constant sticking. The shots are the least of it, suprising enough. I have been a very good girl, counting every single carb like it was the last thing on earth. My numbers have been jumping around a bit, but they seem to be getting lower. Or so I thought.
I called my numbers into the dietician this morning. She was not excited. In fact, she was so very not excited that I have now added 3 additional shots of insulin to my day. I have to take a fast-acting insulin before every meal (shots in the tummy - yey!) and a now doubled amount of insulin shot at 9pm. I feel like i will be forever run by numbers. 7 finger pricks a day, 5 cc of insulin before meals, 10 at night, 8 if i am planning a carb-laden dinner (like Shannon's birthday dinner at Ohana on Saturday,) 15 carbs per snack, remember to eat 3 snacks, 30-45 carbs oer meal... adding, adding, adding. It's so depressing! And the fact that it's such a serioius situation. Not only for the baby, but for me too. I can't fake it or fudge the numbers... blood doesn't lie.
I have found an amazing website, thanks to Elizabeth Stanley, Scott's cousin: http://www.calorieking.com/ this site is awesome! You can check the carbs for every food you eat, as well as tons of restaurants! (Except TGI Fridays... ) Check this out: Chick-Fil-A 8 pc nugget = 10 carbs, Polynesian SAuce = 13 carbs and cole slaw = 17 carbs for a Grand Total of 40 carbs! perfect for lunch! Made my weekend. I am trying to collect receipes and ideas for carb-free pasta. Any thoughts?

A Big Bummer...

I just got back from the doctor…
First things first – our baby is very stubborn. It would move so that you could hear the movement on the Doppler, but not enough to hear a clear and consistent heartbeat. So, we had another ultrasound, and the heartbeat is 148 beats per minute. Thank goodness. I think this baby loves having it’s picture taken.
I had to take the glucose test this morning to monitor my blood sugar. It was very high. Range should be less than 140 after the test, I was 305. So I was sent immediately to the diabetic specialists at Mercy Medical Center. 2 hours later, my blood sugar should have been under 90, it was still 186. Not good. They are pretty certain that I was a diabetic before I got pregnant, and are obviously certain that I am now. So things could get better after the baby is born, but right now, it’s not good. I have to poke my finger and test my blood sugar 7 (!) times a day, I have to give myself an insulin shot in the tummy every night. And then there’s the diet. 160 carbs a day. Not too bad, until you think about where you can’t eat. Like Fast food. So, now I have to plan everything. Like right now, I am contemplating how many carbs are in a stick of gum….
Yeah… I’m freaking out. A lot. Scott looked shell-shocked, and said that this is “F’d up.” Direct quote. He’s worried.
Oh! We should know what the baby is March 14th. That is, if he/she cooperates.

Test Results

Well, the test results came back this morning (I had to call for them since they were going to wait until my next appt on the 15th.) Everything is NORMAL! The baby looks great and all blood work is healthy for me. Phew.
It's not that I worried. I just wanted the pictures. But after I got the pictures all I could think about was what would i do if something was wrong with the baby? Would I have been happier not to know. Would it change my outlook? Well, I am so happy that everything is ok. I feel guilty for feeling like that, but I am slowly letting it go. Everything is ok, and this is progressing normally, as it should.

Tah-Dah!!!

So, we had our doctor appointment last Friday. Of course, they do not tell you anything about the results of the test or if the measurement they took actually meant anything, but they still shed some light on our baby.
As you can see, the baby actually looks like... A Baby. Tah-Dah!!! (Sorry the picture isn't straight, but it's the clearest scan i got.)
So, onto the light shedding... . Apparently the baby has to be flat on its back in order to get the perfect picture of the correct measurements. Yeah, this is definitely my child. It refused to budge from its side and stomach positions. I sleep the same way. And the fact that they had me turning over on my sides and then back to my back just to get him/her to move, didn't really make an impression on this baby. Since it would move and then flip back to our most comfortable position, it's side. Obviously Stubborness is a genetic trait. But eventually we got the right picture, and they finally let me get off the table. It's heartbeat was 161 beats per minute (fabulous), and she/he is measuring 3 days ahead.
I am finally feeling a little better. I slept almost 5 hours straight each night of the weekend, and realized that if i just get up and go to the bathroom, I may sleep another hour or 2 after that. Oh! And I keep having the most detailed, weirdest dreams. In last night's dream I was Designated Driver at a bar in Clinton, where I kept running into people my sister saw in Clinton this weekend. I was much more pregnant and wearing maternity clothes, but everyone kept saying how Fat I looked. Yeah... that was my dream. Man, hormones really screw with your brain. And it's like that most nights now! : )

Internet Shopping

Ok, so I bought the maternity clothes. One pair of jeans, one pair of black pants (I have to work), and a cute shirt. I generally don't buy online because I am hard to fit. So... I paid the extra shipping to have it here this week. It arrives yesterday. The black pants are great. Very comfortable, though the petites are a little long, and I am wearing them right now. They feel like jammies. The shirt is cute, but it exaggerates the Baby Bump... that isn't quite there yet. So I'm going to wait to wear that one for a while. The jeans... well they looked cute in the box. But they were 2 sizes too small! As if I'm not already feeling huge! So I sent them back today. And I sent a very respectful, but demanding email to Lane Bryant.
They were so kind as to overnight a pair of jeans before I even sent the wrong ones back. Now that's customer service! Or they were very afraid of a pregnant lady and her ability to ruin business in the Midwest. :)