The Pregnancy Diaries – Home Stretch!

I am 34 weeks today.   I had my daughter at 37 weeks 3 days, so holy moly, I am seriously in the HOME STRETCH!    I am super excited, nervous, thrilled and anxious all in one.    On one hand, I am so ready to meet her!  I also feel ready to stop all the “when the baby comes” talk and want to just DO IT!   Then on the other hand, I am sooooooo not ready just yet, as I still have so much to do!  I also think back to those first sleep-deprived, nursing-filled months and wonder how I am going to manage two kids.    Granted, I am not the first person in the world to embark on this “more than one child” thing, but still, I wonder how moms with more than one do it sometimes!  There will be just one of me, and TWO of them, I will be outnumbered when it comes to requests!  I guess my (almost) 3-year-old will have to learn the valuable lesson of patience. 

The gestational diabetes (GD) thing has been a blessing and a curse all in one.   For those who missed my previous post, here are all the details.    I am not going to lie, it was not easy for me in the beginning and I had some really bad, dark days and moments.   I am not really proud of how I handled everything in the beginning.   The stress of it all combined with pregnancy hormones and the demands of a young child and business were not a good combo there for awhile.  I am happy to say I am doing much better now!

The part I had the hardest time with was the fact that I was doing everything humanly possible diet and exercise-wise (to the point of it becoming an obsession), and about 30% of the time, my blood sugar would still be higher than it should be.   It left me feeling very depressed and out of control.  Every time I tested my blood it felt like it was a report card.  No matter how much I studied and prepared, sometimes I would fail.   It was infuriating!  I’ve had to slowly let it go.          

So, long story short, regardless of all my efforts, my fasting numbers in the AM have been elevated the past few weeks as are some of my after meal numbers, so I was referred to see a specialist yesterday.  At first I was upset that I couldn’t control it on my own, but I had to accept that I really have done everything I can.  The specialist was absolutely wonderful.  Isn’t it great when you find a doctor that seems to really care?  I started today on twice a day medication to help with my glucose levels and will now go to fetal monitoring twice a week until the end of my pregnancy.  He was very reassuring that all is OK and going to be OK.  I just need the medication to help regulate my insulin and the fetal monitoring is just a precautionary measure to make sure everything is OK with the baby.

I have to say that this has not been a totally negative experience, there have also been a lot of positives.   I would have cursed at myself for saying this a month ago, but I am almost grateful that it happened.   At this point in my pregnancy with Emma I was pretty miserable and uncomfortable.  By keeping my blood sugar stable, eating a high protein, balanced diet rid of all (excuse me) crap, and exercising daily, I have surprisingly few aches and pains or general pregnancy discomfort.  It’s been pretty amazing and it feels great to feel this good.  

The other really cool thing about going through this whole ordeal is how much I have learned about the mind/body/diet/exercise connection.   If I walk or do some sort of exercise after a meal, it will drop my blood sugar considerably.  Therefore, most nights after dinner and after many lunches we will take a walk.   It has been great to put Emma in the jogger and take a walk with my husband away from phones, TV and the computer.   So, the exercise has been good in more ways than one! Also, this has surprised me, but my skin has never been this clear in my entire life.  I have to think it also has to do with the diet.   On the flip side, if I have a stressful day, my numbers will be higher, so it is crazy to really witness how your mental state affects your body.   These are all lessons I am going to carry with me for a long time after this pregnancy is over.

Moving on, there is one GD hurdle to still tackle.   I had to have a c-section with my daughter because she was footling breech. In fact, I blame her foot for kicking me and breaking my water at 37 1/2 weeks!   I have done a ton of research and took an awesome class offered by Saddleback Hospital on VBAC, and this time I am really hoping to have a vaginal birth. The class is open to anyone, even if you are not delivering at Saddleback.   Given my situation (previous breech being the reason for the c-section), I am a good candidate to attempt a VBAC if baby is in the right position and I go into labor on my own.   Thankfully I have found a great supportive doctor.  The only wrench that GD throws into the whole *plan* is if the baby looks to be larger than normal, which is the concern with GD babies.   I go for an ultrasound on Monday to check her approximate size and will see my doctor next week to discuss.   So far my belly is measuring normal for my point in my pregnancy, and thanks to the diet, my weight gain has been less than my previous pregnancy, so I am really hoping that the baby is looking to be a normal size and it all works out for me. 

I would so appreciate everyone’s good thoughts and prayers in this area.  I feel like I can use all the positive energy I can get!    I will keep you posted next week after the ultrasound.   

Thanks for listening to my story and for all your support!!  xoxox Jen

{Graphic from Tiny Prints}