30 Weeks, 1 Day
Well, clearly I am doing better with the entire health issues thing than I was a week ago. I'm just happy I was able to eat most of the coffee-flavored ice-cream and all those peanut butter cup cookies that Aunt Dolores gave us before I had to cut the goodies completely out. So I began the limited diet journey on Monday, July 13th. That Thursday I met with the nurse. She instructed me on what gestational diabetes is and how to operate the glucose meter.
Gestational Diabetes (in my own words) is basically when the hormones of pregnancy block your natural insulin from working. And that regulates your blood sugars. A high blood sugar means you could have a very large baby (macrosomia), go into early labor and baby could have respiratory issues from lungs not fully developing, and/or greater risk of Type 2 Diabetes later in life (for you AND the baby).
How to Operate the Glucose Meter: It's super easy once you get the hang of it. First you have to make sure your hands are sanitary. I carry extra alcohol wipes in my case if I'm out and about. Rub finger you will prick so that blood is pushed toward finger tips. Insert this special strip into the meter, which will turn it on. You take the... I'll call it a "trigger" but I don't really know the technical name... already loaded with a lancelet (tiny needle) and place on side of finger tip. Hit button and needle will poke you. Push more blood up if the spot isn't enough. Put next to the special strip and blood automatically gets sucked in. The meter will read it. And when you pull the strip out and dispose of everything, meter will shut off.Right now I have to record my blood sugars 4x a day - right after I wake up in the morning (fasting) and two hours after every meal. In the morning my levels should be <95 and after meals <120. Weirdly I can still eat carbs, I just can't eat as much as I was before. My portion sizes are a LOT smaller. I used to go back for seconds on a bowl of stroganoff and now I might be able to have a cup of noodles (I'd have to check my cheat sheet, the label on the noodles, or my Carb Manager app), but honestly I wouldn't even consider stroganoff a meal worth having now.
Which leads me to my appointment with the Dietician on Tuesday, July 24th. We went over what my diet had been prior, and then talked about what they're looking for in my diet now. At meals I can have up to 45g of carbs. At snack times, I can have up to 30g. I should have protein every time I eat. And, "increasing the protein in the evening will lower my ketone count" (...but I don't completely agree with that statement based on what my numbers are showing).
Ketones are measured in your first pee of the day. With gestational diabetes, you hope that the reading is low rather higher. If you have ketones, you are in a state of ketosis (or basically dieting, i.e. "keto diet" which is really popular right now). It means that the body, instead of using sugar for energy is using fat. And there's a strong possibility you are losing weight. I read that ketones are a sign that mom and baby aren't getting enough food for energy and could lead to low IQ in baby or learning disabilities.So for example, my breakfasts have been an exchange between a slice of bread with peanut butter on it and a cup of milk (23g) or two slices of bread with a little mayo, eggs and cheese (22g). When talking with the dietician I learned that they don't count carbs in cheese or in some other foods. After the kids and I left the appointment, it was "snack time" and I told the kids because I did so good on my diet, we could have ice cream. My thoughts were ice cream is similar to milk, so it would be 15-30g of carb if it's a small portion. Add some peanut butter and get my protein in. I was wrong. My blood sugars spiked that night. Oops. But you learn.
Now, after doing the diet correctly-ish (because it's really hard to know precisely how many carbs are in a casserole or cheeseburger take-out when they don't provide the nutritional information on their online menu), my numbers are mostly in the 90s. But lately my ketones have spiked to HIGH. Ugh. My next appointment is this Thursday with the Diabetic Consultant AND the Dietician, so we'll see if there's anything I can do naturally to get that down. Otherwise, I am assuming that I may have to take medication. Having insulin is really the entire culprit of all of this mess.
30 Weeks, 5 Days
When there is so much going on... it takes a few days to get everything down that you want to cover. And then, of course, something else happens. That is life.
So backtracking a bit... On July 20th we brought home a golden retriever puppy. It was a surprise for the kids. Friends of ours just got one for their son's birthday and mentioned we should buy the brother. I guess I didn't chime in with my opinion of it being a weird time as loud as I should have (we're about ready to have a baby!!!) because now Bandit is part of our family. And he's nothing like his cuddly, mellow brother.
Welcome Home, Bandit!
(9 Weeks Old)
He Really Fooled Us...
Six days later Aldo got on a plane to North Carolina for a conference on selling life insurance. Why? Because he is considering switching jobs. (And I repeat... WE'RE ABOUT READY TO HAVE A BABY!!!!!!) The first two days were so overwhelming, I cried. It wasn't hormones either. From the words of my Diabetes Consultant - "You are a living whack-a-mole." :-|
The puppy, along with the kids, mostly Mila, became too much for me to handle. I can't explain my feelings because honestly, it's still too much for me to comprehend at this point. I am not a creature of change... and so I have to deal with one thing at a time, in order of priority (or in my case, risk factor or life/death). So it goes: testing blood sugars and controlling my diet, regular baby appointments and prep (including mental), taking care of kids, taking care of puppy, finishing up things at the library/making it ready for the next person to come in, thinking of future business. And unfortunately I don't know when/where the commitment to ministry goes in. It's terrible to say, but I think it has taken a back seat when my heart breaks because it shouldn't be that way.
I cried one more day somewhere in there, but since then things have gotten better. Bandit hasn't been the terror that he was before. I was reading all of these blogs and flyers and articles that said when training your puppy, you have to be positive. For example, you're not supposed to stick their nose in their poopy if they go in the house. I threw all that out the window. They're like kids really. They need discipline. Bandit now gets treats when he goes "potty" outside (and he can go on command!). He knows how to "sit", how to get "down" (the stairs, and should know it when we're on the couch), how to "stay" thanks to Luke, and "kennel". He knows the meaning of "time out", which is also going to his kennel, but he doesn't get a treat for that one. He's like another Mila, but still figuring out the language. Thankfully, it's going pretty quick. I'm understanding his schedule and it coincides with mine. We go to bed around 11-11:30pm and sleep through the night!! I let him in the backyard at about 6:30am to go to the bathroom while I figure out my ketones and take my fasting blood sugar. I let him in, we hang out until 7:30 and eat breakfast together. Two hours later, I test. I snack. We all eat lunch at around noon. In between all this, if he drinks anything or plays with the kids, afterward I automatically send him outside. He's notorious for stopping playtime to pee on the carpet or hardwood floor. So... send him out before he has a chance. In the afternoon, he naps and I either relax or get work done. However, lately it's been the time I go to an appointment and he waits patiently in the kennel for us to return home. At about 6:30pm, he starts pacing for dinner. I'm supposed to eat at around 7:30 and I'm getting slightly better at it. At least I'm not eating at 10pm and going to bed.
Now that I've caught up on what I originally wanted to say...
Last week, Luke was finally able to ride on his bike. I was outside watching and training Bandit on the leash at the same time when Luke turns his bike too hard to the right and crashes, the bike landing on his broken left foot (the one that didn't have a cast; the one that we never could see clearly on the x-rays, but knew it was broken). Right on the two toes that gave him problems in the beginning. Today we went for his yearly checkup to satisfy school enrollment and because he couldn't walk on his tiptoes, they recommended we go back to the pediatric orthopedic surgeon and get x-rays again. When will this all end???!!!
I also saw the Diabetic Consultant and Dietician yesterday. I tried to knock the appointments out in one day. Love the Diabetic Consultant. She knows what she's talking about, and has this brilliant Australian accent that I could listen to all day. AND she loves my trend graph I did just to get a visual for my fasting, regular meal, and ketone numbers. She showed it off to her staff and the doctor she's under. :)
To make the post a little bit shorter, I'll try to be brief. We realized that my biggest trouble is at dinnertime and with fasting. I'm to decrease my carbs at dinner and take a prescription by mouth at dinner that will allow my body's receptors to take in my natural insulin. They're proud of me for doing everything in my power to get my numbers down where they are. <Double smiley face>
A nap in the two hour window between eating a meal and poking my fingers DOES affect my numbers. If I feel tired at night, I am to take a 15 minute walk. And last, lower stress or find a way to manage it. Well, that's easy to say...
LAST, a couple days ago, I don't know why the sudden change... I haven't been able to enjoy this pregnancy as much as the first two because there's a lot of things that get in the way and sometimes I wake up and it doesn't seem like I'm pregnant until I put on pants or hug someone. It's so strange. Anyway, the other day I finally had a moment to feel EXCITED. I'm so excited to have another baby! There will be baby things strewn all over, hopefully away from the dog. Or maybe by then he'll be trained. I'm excited to see a little wrapped up bundle and some brown hair sticking out. I get to see the phases all over again! Mila gets to have a best friend, a girl. Bandit is going to be the family dog. Playful with Luke and obedient too, protective over the girls. AND, I think we've settled on a name. I can't tell you what it is, but I can say this is what it means - "I love you" in the Native American tongue of Zapotec. We have yet to get the middle name.
Mama happy.
