Oops...

So I totally flaked on my week's worth of healthy dinners. Maybe I'll try again in two weeks when I'm on spring break.

Needless to say, things just got really hectic and the next few weeks don't look like they'll be slowing down much.

Last week I started 5 units of NPH (insulin) before bed to regulate my fasting blood sugars (they're still on the high side). Because of that, my OB scheduled me for a c-section on April 30 at 8:00 am. WHOA! April starts next week!!! If I happen to go into labor earlier than April 30 on my own, then I can deliver naturally. He just doesn't want me going past that date.

I know a lot of people who would be "disappointed" about needing a c-section or worried about the fact that yes, it is major abdominal surgery. But me? I'm actually pretty relieved for a few reasons:

1) I know that she will be closely monitored before, during and after surgery and they'll make sure she's okay.

2) 1) I'm horribly impatient. Knowing that she will be here by a specific date makes me less anxious.

3) There won't be any pushing (unless, like I said, I go into labor naturally before the 30th). Therefore, her head and my lady parts won't be all sorts of misshapen after birth. Shallow? Probably.

4) I'll get more money from my STD and Hospital Indemnification Policies (an extra couple of hundred dollars never hurt anyone).

I think that's it for now. Of course, there are some things that I worry about as well:

1) I won't get to hold her right away.

2) Recovery from a c-section.

I don't know much about them so that's all I have for now.

Either way, there is no avoiding the fact that this little princess is coming on April 30, and I absolutely cannot wait to meet her. 

A Week's Worth of Dinner: Day 1

Seeing as how it is a real possibility (I'll know in a couple of days) that I will end up on some insulin for the remainder of my pregnancy, I figured it's a good time to start making sure that I eat super healthy foods.

I did really well the first few months of pregnancy (it helped that my biggest cravings were Cream of Wheat, fruit and fresh vegetables) but have really fallen into some bad habits. Baby Daddy is an accountant and it's his busy season which means lots of quick [and usually unhealthy] dinners for me. I think I'm going to give up eating out for Lent (better late than never right?)

Also, I have absolutely no idea how much weight I've gained. I know I started out heavier than I would have liked to have been, and for that reason I have made clear at every appointment that they are not to tell me my weight. I remind the doctor to simply tell me if I'm gaining too much or too little. As of last week's appointment, the doctor said my gain has been absolutely perfect. I guess that's as good as it can possibly get when it comes to gaining weight. 

Anyway, a colleague of mine who really eats well gave me this quick and easy, one pot recipe for lentil stew that happens to be delicious (I was wary of lentils since they're not something I typically eat). This was actually the second time [in one week] that I made it. That means it's officially become a staple, so I figured I'd share it.

Lentil Stew

Ingredients: 

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 strips of bacon (chopped up)

Chopped carrots (no set amount - just eyeball it and add however much/little you want)

1 chopped potato

1/2-3/4 cup French Green Lentils (rinsed - I don't soak them)

1/2 cup canned tomato sauce

Basil

Salt (I use kosher salt)

**I just eyeball the seasoning. Last night I just used a palmful of a basil/oregano/tomato blend I happened to have in the spice cabinet**

Water or broth (enough to cover what's in the pot. I've used beef broth and water with some bullion thrown in and both have been good)

Parmesan cheese rind (not necessary)

Directions: 

1. Sautee bacon in olive oil

2. Add carrots and potato and sautee for 3-5 minutes

3. Add lentils and sautee for 3-5 minutes

4. Stir in tomato sauce 

5. Add basil, salt, and water/broth. 

*Here is where I toss in the cheese rind

6. Let cook about 40-45 minutes and then serve. 

I doubled the recipe for last night's dinner because the leftovers are even better the next day, so I wanted to be sure I had some. 

We LOVE spicy food in our house so I actually meant to add some crushed red pepper, but I forgot. I will definitely be trying that next time though. 

Enjoy!

Yes, I am LOVING pregnancy and no, I'm not sorry

Every day I am asked how I'm feeling. My response is, normally, "great!" plus a smile and a thank-you for asking. However, I typically get the following reactions:

"Wow. Every pregnant woman in the world probably hates you."

"Oh you must have a high threshold for misery." 

Or, my personal favorite, "Ooooh you better not let so-and-so hear you say that. She'll want to kill you." 

I get that every pregnancy and every woman is different. And some women probably are miserable. You hear about the common pregnancy symptoms: morning sickness (which isn't confined to just the morning OR the first trimester for that matter), sore boobs (some women claim they become so sore that the water hitting them in the shower feels more like knives stabbing them) and fatigue. At least these are the symptoms that I had been expecting. To be honest, none of them sounded pleasant and my husband kept our house stocked with cases of ginger ale and boxes of saltine crackers for months while I waited for them to start. Only, they never did. 

I turned into a wreck: anticipating that the ultrasounds would show nothing on the screen or that I was bound to start bleeding any day. I mean, you have to have some symptoms when you're pregnant, right? RIGHT!? 

Well, as it turns out, the answer is no. Symptoms do not mean that you will have a healthy (or unhealthy) pregnancy. Once I realized this, I almost started feeling guilty about my "easy" pregnancy. And then I got over it. 

I've dealt with more hardship over the past five years than I'd ever wish on anyone else. Over the course of five years, I have lost my grandmother, dad, and friend - all of whom were indescribably important to me. Often times, their absence is still palpable. And I'm sure it will be even more so once our daughter is born and it hits that she will never be able to meet these people who are so important to me. All the while coming to terms and dealing with infertility. In short, the last five years have been anything but happy and or easy. 

Then came this pregnancy. For the most part, it has been absolutely perfect (minus the GD that just reared its ugly head a few weeks ago). I mean, sure. There are a few things that are, at best, annoying: my nose is constantly stuffy, I haven't slept through the night in God only knows how long, I almost always feel like I fell on and bruised my tailbone, sitting on my couch for more than an hour becomes painful, and as of this week, I will no longer be wearing socks because I simply cannot get them on. Oh, and I forgot to mention the snissing. 

Maybe this all sounds bad, but it's really not. Inconvenient? Sure. But not enough for me to say that I hate being pregnant. In fact, I love it. 95% of the time, I do feel great, and I am so beyond excited to meet our daughter. With everything I've been through over the last five years, I deserve this perfect pregnancy. And for that, I just can't apologize. 

 

Finishing Out My Pregnancy with GD

I was officially diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes (GD) about two weeks ago. I failed my one hour Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) with a whopping 170 (it should have been at or below 130).

My new OB (whose office I LOVE and will talk about later) sent me for a two hour GTT (thank God for small favors because the old office was sending me for a three hour). The fasting blood test was normal, the two hour blood test was normal, but I failed the one hour again. Make sense?

I had to start seeing an Endocrinologist who basically told me that my blood sugar spikes but comes down relatively quickly so I should be good with just monitoring my diet and spacing out my meals. Easy enough. I now have to test my blood sugar four times a day: once in the morning right after I wake up and then two hours after every meal. Again, it's pretty easy and I'm able to see which foods make me spike...no more Mac n' Cheeseburger with fries from Cheesecake Factory (which is probably a good thing).

I had a follow-up appointment yesterday and asked him why my morning levels are higher than normal. I mean, I test my blood before I even have my morning coffee so what gives? The doctor told me that I have to start making sure I have a snack before bed because my body can't go that long without food.

So last night I ate some trail mix (I really don't have a huge appetite so I had to force it down) before bed. When I woke up at 1:42am (I'm always up in the middle of the night for a pee break) I finished the bowl. Then I tested at 6am and it was STILL too high. Obviously the trail mix didn't cut it.

I have to fax him my log in a week and if snacking before bed and in the middle of the night doesn't help then I may need a shot of insulin before bed. This part is especially hard because like I said, I'm not one of those pregnant women who is hungry all the time. Ugh.

The risks to our baby are scary - GD could result in a larger baby who would probably need to be delivered early and therefore could be underdeveloped. At least that's what the Endocrinologist said.

I'm seeing the OB tomorrow and will see what he has to say. He'll also be doing another anatomy scan so hopefully she's not growing bigger or faster than normal.