No Gestational Diabetes!!!

I got a call from the doctor's office today and they said my levels looked good and that I didn't have Gestational Diabetes. They still want me to watch my diet, but yay no Gestational Diabetes! It means that I don't have to test my blood sugar every day and worry a lot about a huge baby as long as I watch my sugar intake, which I do anyways. So...Praise God! The test was worth it. :)

Baby is a mover and a shaker.... :)

Our little baby is a mover and a shaker! Moving all around in my belly, kicking, punching and creating something that kinda looks like an earthquake hit! It's kinda funny and creepy at the same time! I feel this baby move all over though. It's really reassuring that yes, the baby is alive and doing well. I really like that Eric can feel the baby more often now and other people are able to visibly see my belly moving.

This weekend at the WA shower went really well, I'll blog about that later!

Blessings,

Kristine

Concerns of a mom :)

As a mom, you worry about your child. When the child is outside of the womb you can visibly see whether they are doing alright and see symptoms. When the child is inside the womb, you have to rely on moments and feelings. Unfortunately these are varied by the day, what you eat, how active you are and where the baby is positioned.

Some days the baby is super active and moving, other days the baby noticeably moves a few times here and there. I try not to take stock in "kick counts" and stuff like that because I know all babies are different and as are the woman's ability to feel those kicks/movements. Sometimes the baby has more room to move and you don't feel it as often. Other times the baby is crammed and you really feel the movement.

Pregnancy brings on hormones and emotions and anxiety. Because of my first pregnancy (where I lost the baby), I think I am on a higher alert regarding this baby. So I try to pay attention a little more to movements and the idea of the baby being at risk for any reason sometimes brings fears to my mind. All I want is a healthy baby, boy or girl and it'd be nice to carry to term. :) I praise God that I've made it this far and so far the doctor's visit show I am right on track with my lower weight gain and the baby seems to be doing well.

I continue to pray over this pregnancy and baby and would invite those of you who read this to pray over us too! Nothing could happen without God being involved in it, so I am blessed and thankful he's given me such a good pregnancy this time around. Hopefully as I continue to keep that in mind I can be peaceful and not worry about the pregnancy or baby! :)

3 hour Glucose Screening Test.... (This is LONG)

Today I had my 3 hour Glucose Screening Test for Gestational Diabetes. I fasted all night and barely drank anything as per the instructions over the phone. I went to the location where I thought the lab place was only to not see it listed next to the elevator. I asked a nurse looking person about it and she said they didn't do labs at this location and that the other location nearby did them. (Not posting specifics cause um...this is the internet!).

Can't judge a book by it's cover...

So I drove over to the other location not sure if I was supposed to be there. I walked inside and tried to ask whether they got the fax from my doc to avoid waiting too long. But I waited 20 minutes with the cast of characters in the waiting room. It was very interesting to say the least. There was one man who looked disheveled and almost drug addictish. He kept drinking cup after cup of water, walking outside with it and then coming back in. I guess this occured several times. Everyone in the waiting room had their guesses as to why he was drinking as much water. This was all answered when he spoke to me saying, "I had blood drawn today." Normally this would be a quiet typical statement...but the voice he used to say it striked me of someone with a mental disability. Which turned out to be true as he continued to talk to the desk people about why he was drinking so much water, "To keep my upper lip from sticking." He was waiting for a ride and I felt bad for thinking he could have been a drug addict or something else. He could have done that in the past, but goes to show you can't judge a book by it's cover!

Wrong Location...

I waited until my name was called and I went up to the desk. I asked her whether I was in the right location and whether they got the fax. They didn't get the fax and I wasn't in the right location. I mentioned that I went to the other location first but didn't see the lab name by the elevator list of occupants and that a nurse-like person told me they didn't do labs there. This was very confusing to the plebotomist and she called the other location and they faxed the info over. I realized I shouldn't have trusted some random person in a parking lot, but hey I am pregnant and fasting and stressing about the test..these things happen. I asked her about the other place cause she said they do indeed do labs there. I wanted to know about the chairs there cause the chairs at this location were very uncomfortable. The idea of spending three hours in them with all the random crazy people waiting didn't sound awesome to me. She told me the other place was much smaller and that I would most likely be more comfortable here.

In the Lab

She told me about a quiet room they have in the back and asked me whether I wanted to check it out. I went back and it had a leather recliner in it. I told her I didn't want to take the room away from people who really needed it and she told me they hardly ever need to use it. I told them to feel free to boot me out if they do need it. So I went and got the stuff out of my car and went into a lab room.

I told her about my small veins and how they told me not to drink much water beforehand. She said that usually they tell people such as myself to drink a lot of water the night before to help the lab draw. She tried one arm... swore she found a vein but it was to no avail. Of course she moved the needle all around. She tried the other arm and it worked right away. After we were done I drank the 100g of sugar stuff. I picked the lemon lime stuff cause it seemed easier to down in the first test. It wasn't that bad...it felt more sugary than the last test. They took me to the quiet room and I sat in the chair with a blanket on and took out my laptop. I bought a few movies with me and chose to watch Robin Hood: Men in Tights to bide my time.

The testing goes on....

After an hour a different plebotomist came in. She took blood easily out of my hand and I went back to my movie. She came in again and took it out of the other hand. I went back, finished the movie and went on to read some Baby Wise. When it was time for the last one... I didn't see the lady who was supposed to do it. I heard my name called and the new shift was on, which means a new person. I went into the room with her and she chose to take blood out a little below of my wrist and it was kinda painful but eh.. it went okay. After that I was on my way back home. I won't get the results right away since this lab sends it elsewhere to get tested. Maybe I'll get results tomorrow (Friday) but most likely next week.

What does this mean for me?

What does this mean for me? Well... if I don't have it great! If I do... it'll mean basically that I'll have to check my blood sugar often, go on a low sugar diet and probably exercise a bit more. If that doesn't work then they'd have me do insulin shots or something. If I get Gestational Diabetes it usually goes away after I have the baby.

What does this mean for the baby?

What does this mean for the baby? Well if I don't have it....great! If I do it means I might have a bigger baby. But restricting my diet should help with controlling the baby from growing too much. If the baby is too big it might mean for a more difficult delivery or the dreaded c-section. They'd check it after birth to make sure it's blood sugar is okay and that it's doing okay in other areas.

Treatable

This is totally treatable, so I am not too worried if I do end up having it. I was already at risk being overweight, but one thing to remember is that this happens to perfectly fit people too. It's all about how your body handles sugar and a growing baby at the same time. Cause I don't drink a lot of sugary drinks like soda, however I have been known to drink juice, eat bread and um.. have occasional ice cream treats. Like any other normal person! :) I plan on getting in better shape after the pregnancy, so that should help things too! :) Right now I am praying that the baby is okay and it was all a fluke. :)

Oregon Baby Shower!

We had the Oregon baby shower and it went really well today. :) There were many friends and Eric's parents and Aunt was able to make it. It was great to be able to see some people we hadn't seen in a while and to be able to talk to them. We really appreciate the effort our friends took to plan it amongst their tremendous other plans! We feel blessed to have such friends and family as these. :)

We got some fun clothes and some great stuff for our little one. I really hope this little one is a Jennavieve cause the clothes are super cute haha. I can't really have the boy wear those clothes! We'll see what happens. If it's not a girl we'll either keep the clothes, exchange some of them for boy clothes or give some to our friends who are for sure having girls. :)

We just continue to hope and pray that God continues to grow this little one into a healthy baby who we can tell about God and who in turn can tell others about Him too. A baby is a great reflection of the miracle of creation and how God turns something so small into something so big for His purpose. We feel blessed and privileged to have the opportunity to have this baby every day we can. :)

Glucose Test and meeting the other doctor

Today I had an updated doctor's appointment and my Glucose Tolerance test.

I got there and was able to meet the other doctor in the practice. This is the doctor who would help me deliver if my doctor couldn't be there. I got my sugary drink from the nurse and had to gulp it down in five minutes. I had a lemon lime flavor that was syrupy but alright.

The other doctor came in and she was super nice! She measured me and it showed that I had grown a couple of cm above what's normal. She felt my belly some more at the tip top and felt the baby there then continued to feel down to the bottom and felt the baby there. She thinks I'll have a long baby. :) She took the baby's heart beat and it was something like 150bpm. She said everything is looking great!

Update: Turns out my levels were slightly elevated with the test so they are having me take the 3 hour test...so not looking forward to that!