Gestational Diabetes: week one complete

I'm telling you, this is both a blessing and a curse.

Things I miss:
Chocolate.
Muffins.
Sub Sandwiches (but I don't really eat those much during pregnancy anyway because of the stupid listeria scare with the deli meat. Ugh).
Ice cream with hot fudge.
Brownies.
Rolls.
Crackers.
Pasta.

Things I don't miss:
Extra pounds.

I'm serious. Since starting my gd diet, I've LOST weight. Which, technically speaking, isn't encouraged during pregnancy. But I'd already gained a little too much, so with the weight that came off, I'm just about where I should be weight-gain-wise. And since I have to follow the diet for the next five-and-a-half weeks (or 38 days, if I get to schedule the c-section on the day I want. But who's counting?), only the baby is going to gain weight.

So far, baby girl seems to be doing great. At my last appointment, the doctor did an NST (non-stress test, which was non-stressful for the baby, but since I couldn't find a sitter for my two boys, they were in the room vying for full view of Octonauts on the iPad. Mom was a little stressed). Her movement and heart rate were perfect. She's very wiggly, which is very reassuring to this high-anxiety mama.

The doctor was VERY pleased with my numbers this week. I only had 1 reading over the limit (165. The two-hour glucose limit is 120) and it was because I had a bowl of canned chunky chicken noodle soup and five, yes FIVE Ritz crackers. Every other time, my numbers have been awesome just with diet and light exercise. He did say it might be harder to control as I get closer to my due date and the placenta gets bigger. We'll see.

For now, I'm going to keep at it and indulge in a few of the things I AM allowed:

1. Surprise, surprise, cereal!! I have to measure out less than a full serving and I have to eat it with almond milk but this is seriously no big deal for me. I get my Cheerios and a huge plate of scrambled eggs. Hooray!!

2. A late night snack. I'm not kidding, they TELL you that you NEED a snack before bed in order to keep your morning numbers low. Woo hoo!!! And my go-to snack of choice? Oikos vanilla greek yogurt! It's SO yummy, has tons of protein, and even with the sugar, my morning numbers have always been normal (and the doctor said those are the hardest to control, so yay!).

3. All. The. Almond. Butter. I. Want. I'm allergic to peanut butter so I eat almond butter instead. Sometimes a spoonful to hold me over between snack and meal time. It's the best.

On to week two.

Been a few years

My last post was in August of 2013. My mom died later that year and I just didn't have the desire to blog anymore. Add school and another baby in 2015, and I didn't have the time, energy, OR desire to blog. So here's a little update on my life, in case you're curious, even after three and a half years of silence:

My husband graduated from dental school in May of 2014. He's working full time as a general dentist now and he loves it. He's great at what he does too. I look at him and wonder how I got so lucky.

We had another little boy in May of 2015. Born via c-section and almost three pounds lighter than his big brother. He's 20 months old now and seriously the sweetest little boy ever. His big brother is now four, in preschool, and is equal parts sweet and horrible.

I graduated from BYU-Idaho with honors this last December, with a degree in University Studies. Though I minored in English, I discovered I actually hated analyzing literature (at least, the kind they were making me analyze) and decided to focus more on graphic design, which I LOVE. I'm now, very slowly, starting my own freelance design business.

And in about six weeks, we are expecting the final member of our family: a little girl!! We can't wait to meet her and are so filled with gratitude that our boys and our angel Ella will get a little sister.

Another reason I've decided to start blogging again is because I want to document a little journey I'm on. Five days ago I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and it's my hope that the struggle and discovery I've experienced will help to encourage and comfort other moms out there who face the same annoying little complication.

Next post: Failed glucose tests and sugar fasts.