Sugar Baby

So, I failed my second glucose test.  They tested my blood four times and I failed three of those tests; the only one I passed being the fasting level before I drank Satan's koolaid.  Most of you have tried the original Satan's koolaid they give you for the first test, but the second batch...oh boy, it's even more satany.  I put a few drops in the cap and made Rik taste it.  ((I always make him taste my medicine if it's nasty b/c misery loves company.))  He agreed with me, Satan's koolaid.

Anyway, they called me the other day to give me the wonderful news that I failed and have gestational diabetes or "diabeetus" as I've been calling it because it reminds me of my great grandma and it makes me laugh when I want to cry.  I'm really NOT happy about having this.  I find it insanely difficult to believe considering I've always had low blood sugar and several low blood sugar attacks since I've been pregnant.  I also have none of the "risk" factors that typically fit people with gestational diabetes.  I'm not overweight, I eat a healthy diet, I don't have anyone in my family who's ever had gestational diabetes, etc.  The only thing I do have against me is that I'm over 25 years of age and pregnant.  Who knew?

Everyone I've spoken to about this gives me the "you'll be fine, people deal with this everyday" speech and it's honestly, a little grating at this point.  I know people are thinking I'm worried about keeping it under control or worried about having diabetes, but I'm not.  I'm not concerned with controlling my sugar levels.  I'll follow the diet, I'll do what I'm supposed to and it will be kept under control.  I have self control and I love my little guy.  What I'm upset about is the possible side effects that may affect Easton in the future.

He has more increased risks than I do.  He could have macrosomia (which literally means "fat baby") at birth and be a large baby due to the fact that he can't convert the sugar in his body to energy so it's then stored as fat.  He could have hypoglycemia at birth and have to be given a glucose supplement to help regulate his sugar levels (which could interfere with breastfeeding as well).  He could have respiratory issues.  He could struggle with obesity his whole life.  He could develop diabetes himself at any time, including childhood.  I'll not even mention the other things b/c they aren't going to happen because I'm going to keep this mess under control for the next 10 weeks.   I know these are all RISKS....but they are increased risks because of this issue.    If I get Type II diabetes in 5-10 years because of this, fine.  I'll deal with that.  I just can't stand the thought of him having to deal with something like this because my body didn't handle being pregnant properly.

You can probably tell I'm a little down about this.  I know it's NOTHING that I did wrong and I had no control over this.  It's just one of those fluke things that happens with some pregnancies b/c of the hormones in your body and yada yada yada.  It doesn't mean I'm not still pissed off about it.  I grew up so healthy.  Never sick, always in great shape, super athletic/active, never abused my body w/ drugs/alcohol, took care of myself, etc.  Why is it that now, when I want my body to do what God intended it to do, it won't cooperate?  It took us this long to get pregnant and we had to trick my body into getting pregnant in the first place.  Then it was touch and go for a while because of my partial placenta previa issue.  I'm deficient in Vit D, Iron and now I have gestational diabetes and could potentially be a harm to my son.  It's very frustrating when your body just doesn't seem to want to do what it should be doing.  I just keep reminding myself that I'm blessed to be able to experience this because I couldn't have gestational diabetes unless I was pregnant and that's all that matters.  So, I'm trying to stop feeling sorry for myself and baby E, suck it up and just be thankful I'm going to have a son in a few weeks.  That makes it ALL better because I know what a blessing that is.  

Easton is already a little bigger than average, but not abnormally so.  He is in the 77th percentile.  At first, they said it could be because of genetics (Rik is 6'4" tall) but now it could be because of genetics OR gestational diabetes.  We had a huge growth spurt around 26-29 weeks but he has since leveled off a little bit.  At my 27 week appt, they said he measured 29 weeks.  On Tuesday, our 30 week appt, he was measuring 31w3d.  The doctor said we may come back in two weeks and he'll be right on target again and that the 27 wk measurement could have just been due to a rapid growth spurt we were catching at it's end.  Who knows...  I expect him to be long, I just hope he's not a big baby.  I don't want to worry about him getting stuck in the canal or hurting his shoulders because he's too big or me having to have an emergency c-section b/c he won't fit through through my pelvis.  These are all new worries I wasn't previously concerned about b/c I've done great on my weight gain and had no reason to think I couldn't deliver him vaginally.  Now, we wait and see.

We met with the high risk doctor yesterday.  I didn't even catch his name b/c all he did was walk in, do a little work on the ultrasound machine and tell me that he doesn't need to see me again unless I can't control my sugar.  The dietician/diabetic counsellor was amazing though.  Her name was Linda and oddly enough, Rik and I both know her son from work.  She explained everything to me and showed me how to prick my finger and check my blood.  I have to check it four times per day.  When I wake up, aka my fasting level, and then two hours after breakfast, lunch and dinner.  So far, not a single test has been over the limit they gave me.  It's actually been way under.  The diet isn't really that different from what I was already eating other than not having any milk until dinner or later and not eating fruit except for afternoon snacks or later and even then, sparingly.  I'm a fruit eater so this is a little different for me.  I can pass up a cake or doughnut any day of the week but you put some fresh pineapple in front of me and it's ON.  :)  The only other real sacrifice will be my every-other-day glass of sweet tea.  I love sweet tea.  Anyway, so far so good. No blood sugar issues.

My best friend is a nurse and she still thinks the only reason I failed those tests is because I'm NOT a sweet/carb eater (except for bread and potatoes now and then) and they overloaded my system with 100 grams of straight glucose and my body flipped out b/c it never has to process that much glucose.  haha....  My other friend is a dietician and she was a lifesaver that week between the test results and the high risk appointment.  She gave me a lesson in diabetic eating and I was able to get through that week without panicking too much.  It's awful to get your results and then hear you have to wait a week to know what to do and how to handle it.  I was afraid to eat ANYTHING!  

So, that's what's new in our world.  My fingers are sore from the pricking and ya'll know how much I hate needles, right?  I mean, really.  Childbirth freaks me out less!  Say a prayer for us.  I'm doing what I need to do to make sure Easton and I are healthy as we can be and the rest is up to the big man upstairs.    The doctor said hopefully, this diet will help slow Easton's growth down a little bit so that he gets back on track by the time he's born.  He weighed a chunky 3 lbs 12 oz on Tuesday.  :)  So far, I've gained a total of 16-17 lbs.

Next post will be more upbeat, I promise.  We're almost finished w/ the nursery and I have photos to share.  :)  If any of you dealt with gestational diabetes, I would love to hear how you handled it and how your baby handled it at birth and later on.

XOXO,
Shannon