New Baby *might* be a drama queen.

My 28-week doctor's appointment (almost 4 weeks ago) was full of all kinds of fun, like getting my TDaP and Rhogam shots. One in the arm, one in the hip. Both brought about much soreness and wincing. And the Rhogam needle is HUGE (and hurts). Also, for those who don't know anything about Rhogam, here's some info about it. I have to do things the hard way, it seems. Thank you, genetics.

While I was getting those taken care of (and seeing the doctor), I was also in the midst of my 1-hour glucose test...which I failed.

What??

This surprised me a little because I passed it with no problem when I was pregnant with Claire. I figured I had eaten something that spiked my blood sugar. 

So, a week later, came my 3-hour glucose tolerance test, which is taken after fasting (my least favorite thing whether pregnant or not)...which I also failed. Failing this one means I have a gestational diabetes diagnosis.

Good grief. How??

My body is just really bad at pregnancy, guys. Preeclampsia with Claire, diabetes with New Baby. I don't know what my deal is. And the very uncomfortable part is the fact that since I have already had preeclampsia, I have a higher (albeit not terribly high) chance of developing it again. I'd really prefer not to, as the stuff they pump into you to keep you safe during and after delivery is very uncomfortable and miserable. That, and preeclampsia is yet another complication I'd rather avoid for, you know, health reasons.

I've been trying to tell New Baby that this drama is not ok. We strive to be low-maintenance around here, and diabetes does not fall into that "low maintenance" category. 

The two questions I keep getting are a) did I have diabetes with Claire? and b) what does this mean for my everyday life? Great questions.

Answer a: no. Didn't even have to take the 3-hour test. 

Answer b: a few things.

First of all, this doesn't mean I have diabetes in my regular, non-pregnant life. Gestational diabetes (also referred to as GDM: gestational diabetes mellitus) is the result of the placenta (ew, pregnancy words) complicating the body's production and regulation of insulin. It also does not mean that the baby has diabetes (whew). It does means I have to be a bit more regimented in my daily life. Unless something drastic happens (knock on wood, friends), I can manage it with diet and exercise (ha ha...exercising. That's funny. Does walking up and down the stairs in my house count? I think it should for 3rd trimester gals who don't even really exercise when not pregnant.). 

I met with a nutritionist today to get a crash course in how to adjust my diet to manage my blood sugar over the next couple of months. Growing up with the parents that I did, I already knew most of the information that she shared about carbohydrates and sugar, breads/pastas/fruit, etc. Plus, I'd already started making my own adjustments in between finding out about my GDM and getting an appointment with the nutritionist, so I didn't really have too much brand new information. Except for...

...how to use a glucometer. Because being pregnant in the 3rd trimester isn't fun enough, I also get to use a glucometer and prick my finger FOUR TIMES A DAY until delivery to check my blood sugar. This will help me and my doctors keep an eye on how my body is processing things. It will also tell me what foods are particularly good or bad for regulating my glucose levels. As long as my numbers stay in a safe range, I won't have to go on any oral medication or have additional tests run to check on the health of the baby. I am less than thrilled about this lifestyle change.

My fancy-pants finger sticking kit. Yay.

I found out about the GDM diagnosis about a week and a half before I had my appointment with the nutritionist, which had me a little stressed about what I was supposed to eat until I could see her (note: I read that stress is not helpful for regulating glucose, so I wanted to rid myself of that STAT). In my head, just because I didn't know the rules yet didn't mean that the diabetes was on hold. I didn't like the thought of eating things that were going to exacerbate the problem until I had a chance to learn more information. So, I took to Google, Pinterest, and had my brother-in-law (you know, the one headed to the Mayo Clinic) look up for me some basic carb goals to shoot for, and I started cobbling together a diet to work off of in the interim. In the middle of my high stress and discouragement on Day 1 of "I'm a diabetic," I found this post that was perfectly timed to calm me down. The blogger started off the post by saying that she hoped other women with GDM would come across her post while searching for help and find her saying these words: "It's ok. You'll be fine."

Blame it on the hormones, but reading that brought me to tears. It was exactly what I needed to read in that moment of frustration, uncertainty, and fear (if I'm being honest). She also posted some of her staple meals and snacks, which I found to be really helpful. While I know many women deal with/have dealt with GDM (including my mom and aunt), it was really hard at first to stop the flood of "what if" thoughts that go along with the "I have diabetes" thought. It was good timing to come across her words of encouragement.

I'll keep you posted on how things are going as we truck along. Hopefully, it will be incredibly boring and there will be nothing to report (fingers crossed). In the meantime, I'm going to have a chat with our youngest daughter about how we are not signing off on her penchant for drama...