In the words of Jay, I should have studied more for my glucose tests, because I failed both of them. This means I have gestational diabetes. I was pretty shocked and upset about it, I guess because any complication in a pregnancy is unwelcome and unsettling, plus I only have one of the 5 or so risk factors associated with GD. I am now going on 34 weeks, which means I really only have 5 weeks left to deal with my diet changes and finger-pricking glucose testing every day. I am thankful for that.
I think this has also been good for me in understanding what my Dad lives with every day. He has Type 2 Diabetes as a result of the cancer treatment he received back in the 70s. He is very fit and can't just lose 20 lbs and be "better" like most people diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Constantly having to think about what you can eat, what you can't eat, how you feel based on what you ate, making sure the portion sizes are correct, dealing with feeling crummy much of the time- all these things really take the joy out of eating and just wear on you.
For the baby's sake, and for the purpose of not having a 13 lb baby, I have to severely limit my carb intake throughout the day. I have to test my blood sugar 4 times a day; once in the morning before I eat and then two hours after each meal. This is all because my body is not producing enough insulin to regulate the amount of sugar in my blood. And for this we can blame my placenta. The placenta releases hormones that block the proper "clearing out" of that glucose in my blood. Pregnant women have to produce up to 3 times more insulin than normal, and some of them just don't do it. That's when you get labeled with gestational diabetes. Interesting, huh? I thought so. Oh, and as soon as you deliver, your body goes back to normal (except in a very few cases).
So there you have it. Five weeks to go, and then I can eat a whole cake!
Wednesday I had another ultrasound so we got to see Peter up close! The tech used the 4D wand to capture this picture of his sweet little face. The cord is the wiggly thing obscuring the right side of his face, and he had his arm or foot in his face, covering his mouth. I think he looks remarkably like Harry when he was born. So sweet!
