31 weeks. Only 9 more to go (eek!).

My feet are down there somewhere

So, my 3 hour GTT test came back, and it turns out I do have gestational diabetes. Damn it. I picked up my blood glucose monitor yesterday, and I have to check my blood sugar four times daily. Just like my diabetic mother. Though unlike my mother, I did not have a donut and a glass of milk for lunch. I'm not even kidding.

Luckily, the doctor wants to see if we can control it with diet before considering medication. It's been a rough start, trying to figure out what types of foods make my sugar spike and what works better. For example, for me, broccoli and quinoa for dinner= bad, oatmeal and a banana for brekkie= good. Who knew? But I think I will get a handle on it once I learn the ropes. Vegan protein sources can also count as starches due to carb content, so that adds some confusion. But I'll get it, dangit. I just miss my daily chocolate fix so badly. And juice. I love juice. But little Luka is worth it.

Speaking of.  Yes, we have a name for our little guy. He's Luka John Joseph. I've been calling him Lu, for some reason. I talk to him a lot when I'm driving.

Oh, one fun thing happened at my last appointment. I asked about the status of my latest blood panel, and the doc said my iron levels were higher than about 80% of his pregnant patients. Go vegan blood! Woo!

Also, I'm BIG.

29 weeks 5 days.

swollen hand and swollen belly


*sigh*.

So I "failed" the one hour glucose tolerance test, and now I have to take the three hour glucose tolerance test tomorrow morning to check for gestational diabetes. I'm so not looking forward to fasting, drinking a bunch of sweet goo, then having my blood drawn every hour for three hours. Oh, and sitting in a crowded waiting room for three hours, too. What if the fasting then sweet goo makes me sick? Please don't let me barf.

Of course it will be important to know whether or not I have gestational diabetes, so I can start a soul-sucking diet of low carbs, no sweets, and less calories. I'll do anything for our little guy, but I would be lying if I said that it won't be awful to not have bread or chocolate for another few months. By the way, having gestational diabetes doesn't mean I had diabetes before becoming pregnant, or that I will still have diabetes after pregnancy. It's just based on how my body handles insulin while pregnant. Still, it sucks and I feel bad about this potentially bringing harm to our kid. But catching it now would be great for him & me, so we can get the right treatment. I do feel for pregnant women who don't have access to regular prenatal care. Having diabetes while pregnant and not knowing it or getting treatment could be a really bad thing for both the kid and the momma.

I'm still struggling with some depression, though nothing too major. I don't want it to become major, so I checked into some talk sessions with my HMO. Well, $60 copay per visit means that's a big fat no. Oh well. I don't feel out of control or anything, just a bit stressed and down. I've definitely had worse, so I will soldier on.

I had a tour and doctor interview at a pediatrician office yesterday that went even better than expected. I was impressed that the office has separate waiting rooms for sick kids and well kids, so they don't infect each other. Also a third waiting room for newborns only (even a separate entrance) so they come in contact with as few people as possible during their very early little lives. The tour was after hours, and some of the nurses were scrubbing all of the toys and chairs in the regular waiting room, too. I'm not a super germaphobe or anything, it was just kind of nice attention to detail at a place where sick kids frequent. The doctor was very receptive to my two pages of questions (yes, I was that person), and said they would be more than fine with treating a vegan kid with an alternative vaccine schedule. Good news. I am still going to tour a couple other places, just in case.

Wish me luck with the three hour test tomorrow. Should be a fun time.

27 weeks.

Everything is going swimmingly with me and Baby McGee at 27 weeks. The belly is growing into a jolly round basketball that occasionally itches like crazy. My weight gain is still on track, though a tad alarming to hear that I gained seven pounds in the last four weeks! I'm feeling mostly fine, just a little tired from the constant sleep interruptions from my bladder and the stupid carpal tunnel hand nonsense. The "black wave" I've been all too familiar with throughout my adult life has been peeking out a little, so I have been doing my best to take care of myself with extra relaxation when I can.

Ken and I finished our childbirth classes, and overall they were pretty helpful. They covered how to spot the signs of preterm labor, details on what happens when you get to the hospital, and the various options and outcomes. The information shared regarding natural childbirth gave me more confidence on having the birth plan we want while in the hospital, so that's good. Then they gave us free Luna Bars, Preggie Pops, and showed us how to breathe. There was a graduation diploma involved, too. Ha.

At my last OB appointment, I brought my doc a little box of holiday cookies from a vegan cookie swap I went to the night before. I mentioned to him that they were dairy-free and egg-free, in case anyone in the office had allergies. He looked excited for a second, then asked me if any of them were gluten-free. Sadly, they weren't. But it turns out he has two sons that are autistic, and follow a dairy-free, gluten-free diet. This conversaion led us to a really interesting (and kinda scary) conversation on vaccines, which I've been researching a lot lately. I am pro-vaccination, but Ken and I are both very interested in following a spread out/delayed schedule. I'll write more about this when I get my thoughts together about it, but I will say that I wish my OB was a pediatrician because he did a delayed schedule with his children after his first son showed signs of development regression after receiveing the standard MMR vax at 15 months. He did stress that only children who may be genetically prone to autism may have this kind of reaction to the standard CDC vax schedule, and that his younger son still has a mild form of autism despite the delayed schedule. His daughters have no signs of autism at all. Will our kid be genetically prone to autism? Who knows? I have an older brother who is learning disabled, but who has never really been properly diagnosed. Joseph doesn't have the most common symptoms typical of austism, like unusual sensory perceptions or hyperactivity. But he does have the abnormal social interactions, such as lack of empathy and inability to relate to people or make and keep relationships. He mimics other people's speech patterns and phrases without understanding what they mean. Humor is lost on him, with the exception of fart jokes. He has low intelligence and has an extremely hard time learning anything. His disability has made his entire life very difficult. Does this mean our baby has a genetic link to autism? Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. And if our kid does have a form of autism, then we will do our best to make sure he is given every opportunity to lead a fulfilling life. But still. A scary thought.

Lots of things are on my mind, and having to be in charge of a little human is going to be super weird. I've got more thinking to do.

Oh, and the diabetes test is on Christmas Eve. Yay?

24 weeks.

24 weeks today, and my pregnancy complaints are still minimal. The worst of it so far has been sleeping becoming increasingly uncomfortable. I started wearing a wrist brace on my right hand, which is helping with the carpal tunnel pain. But my hands are still going numb throughout the night. Also sleeping exclusively on my sides with my extra belly weight is really starting to hurt my hips. So between constantly trying to get comfortable and getting up two or three times to pee, my nights are more restless than I want. But... it could be worse.

Mostly I'm just excited (and a little freaked out) to be able to meet the little dude soon. Another doc appointment is coming up in a few weeks, a gestational diabetes screening, then more regular appointments. Everything seems to be going well. I'll be sure to post again once I think of something more interesting to say!

22 weeks.

This morning's appointment went well, and put me in a fairly good mood! The doctor reviewed the results from last week's big ultrasound, and told me that everything looked great. The kid measures just the right size for my due date to (hopefully) be accurate within a day or two. My placenta is in a good place to not be causing any problems, and the facial features they check for as potential Down Syndrome markers all appear normal. Organs look fine, too. Doc's also happy with my weight gain so far, as I'm right on track. He suggests a weight gain between 8-12 pounds by 22 weeks, and I'm right at 10 pounds today. The heartbeat sounded good, and I left the office without feeling under-informed as I usually do. Yay!

Yesterday Ken surprised me with a body pillow, which is so very nice. I've been having a harder time sleeping through the night lately, mainly because I can't get comfortable. I have to sleep exclusively on my side now, as the added weight of the kid can cause pressure on my intestines, aorta and vena cava. So annoying to be tied to my side, and not having a back sleeping option. The body pillow was mega comfy last night, though I fear between the new pillow and my growing belly, Ken will soon be sleeping on a small two inch square of bed.

Another crazy thing that's been messing with my sleep at night is that I keep waking up with my hands all numb! I had no idea this was a pregnancy thing, but the doc said it's pretty common, and will only get worse. Great.

Next appointment is in one month, then I go every two weeks after that. Things are gettin' real, y'all.

bambino.

Well what do you know. We're having a boy! Exciting, but I'm in a bit of shock. My sister Maddi said she also felt shocked when she first found out the gender of her baby, maybe because it's not a mystery anymore, it's real.

He's pretty cute so far.



If he looks like his dad, he's gonna get even cuter. How about cute like Ralph Macchio when he's 12?

(sorry Ken.)

20 weeks 2 days.

Cantaloupe image from The Bump.


A few things of note this week:

- There has been all kinds of activity in my belly the past 3-4 days. Flutters galore!

- My usually dainty little fingers now resemble links of steamed seitan. Actually, I don't know if the metaphor needs to be steamed specifically, but I do like a good steamed seitan. Anyway. My wedding rings don't fit right now, and that makes me sad.

- I'm hot and sweaty all the time. It makes me feel like I stink, though Ken promised me that I do not. Maybe he's lying to be nice. I'm so glad summer is over, or I would be way grumpier.

- Dreams at night are getting crazy vivid. Not too many nightmares, just a lot of weird stuff that makes no sense.

- We will probably get to find out what flavor the baby is on Thursday! What is your guess? Boy? Girl? Blueberry, chocolate?