Week 27

So Wednesday was the first day of my 3rd Trimester!!  And I spent all of that morning kinda marveling at this milestone and celebrating getting to this point.  I've been feeling so good across the board that I really felt like celebrating.  So I was in a particularly jovial mood that day; and just as I was rounding the final corner of my 3rd trimester victory lap, waving my clenched hands in the air...I got the call from Dr. R's office that afternoon, that I failed my 3 hour glucose test.  2 of the 3 hour tests, to be exact (in order to pass, you must fall within range on 2 of the 3 blood draws and I only passed 1).  So this means that I have officially been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM).

I asked the nurse what causes this and she basically said "nothing really specific."  It sometimes just happens.  That's why they test EVERYONE and not just women that fit a specific criteria.  I guess I feel a little better about that - like there's almost nothing I could have done differently?  But I feel like there's SOMETHING I could have done differently!  Exercised even more?  Eaten even better?  When you're such a hard worker and trying to just do the right things, it's very disappointing to discover everything ISN'T going as you'd want it.  But I can take this challenge.  I mean heck, we stared down infertility and now I'm pregnant!  Yesterday, when talking to another pregnant friend she was so happy at my attitude, 'cuz I was talking about how for the past couple weeks, I've already cut back so significantly on carbs/sugar (though now, looking back I might not have been doing it correctly) and exercising even more than we were before.  So I was thinking if I can do that for a couple weeks, then I can certainly do it for another 10-13 more.  Not to mention by changing my diet and exercising more I probably will gain even less weight in my pregnancy which will make recovering all the easier (silver lining)!  No Debbie Downers here!

To quickly let you know about the 3 hour glucose test - it was certainly more painful than the 1 hour.  Not so much physically (I mean, I've gone through IVF - I have no great fear of getting my blood drawn) but it makes you really stir crazy.  I had to fast for 8 hours this time (no fasting with the 1 hour) so I made an early appointment.  But this also meant that everyone else who had fasting blood testing to do was at the lab that morning.  Meaning, it was CRAZY packed.  Good thing I had an appointment.  My visit started with a fasting blood draw, then they gave me the same glucose drink as I had with my 1 hour.  Except this one was orange flavored.  It really just tasted like super sweet, flat, orange soda...

This time though, I couldn't leave the lab.  I guess some women do get nauseous or have problems tolerating the glucose liquid on an empty stomach, so they want you to stay in the waiting room for them to keep an eye on you.  I couldn't even sit in my car.  Good thing I brought 3 magazines, a fully charged phone, and a book.  I spent a lot of time on each item.  And I felt fine by the way.  Maybe not perfect - it was stuffy and warm in there, and did I mention how PACKED it was?  Like standing-room only.  So that made the experience a little more painful (plus I was really tired cuz I'd made a very early appointment and got up much earlier than usual).  1 hour after I drank the orange soda drink was my 2nd blood draw of the day.  Then back to the waiting room, more reading and an hour later a 3rd blood draw (this is now 2 hours after drinking the glucose).  Finally an hour after that I had my 4th blood draw.  I had them switch arms each time.  Seriously no problem with the needles.  It's fast.  So 4 blood draws, 3 hours and a bottle of glucose syrup later I could finally be on my way.  I left my magazines at the lab since I'd read them cover to cover and really that waiting room needed them!

And this is how it all turned out:
Fasting blood draw: range they want 65-94, mine: 78 mg/dL
1 hour blood draw: range they want 65-170, mine: 208 mg/dL
2 hour blood draw: range they want 65-150, mine: 189 mg/dL
3 hour blood draw: range they want 65-139, mine: 130 mg/dL
To not be diagnosed, you need to pass 2 of the 3 blood draws after drinking the glucose syrup.  I passed 1, but you can see I was still on the high side...

As for the GD diagnosis, remember last week I mentioned how I've been SO THIRSTY lately?  I've read more and more that this can be a symptom.  No wonder I had that sneaking suspicion... Next step for me is to meet with a dietician at my local hospital who specializes in diabetes.  I have that appointment next week.  But until then, I've been SCOURING the web for information on what and how to eat to get me through the weekend.  Fortunately for me, I have a friend who is a dietician (used to specialize in diabetes!), plus I was able to chat briefly with the dietician who called to schedule my appointment for next week AND I happened to have my monthly nurse call (something offered through my insurance that I've been doing through my entire pregnancy) this morning.  All of these sources combined have greatly helped me to understand what and how I'm going to need to eat.  Which thankfully, is not even going to be a huge shift for me since we really do eat rather healthy at home.  I think it will be mostly cutting out sugar/desserts.  And watching exactly HOW MUCH I eat (I've never counted grapes before.)  But sadly, do you realize what this means?  Closely watching what I'm eating plus cutting out desserts THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS!  Um.  Yes.  *sob*  But as I'm sure you'd agree - anything for my baby.

See you next year, desserts...

How far along: 27 weeks, 2 days
What did baby do this week:  Baby is the size of a rutabaga (have you eaten a rutabaga? cuz I don't think I have.  And honestly, is it really larger than a head of lettuce?  I'm not sure about these vegetable comparisons...)  Baby is about 14.5" from head to feet, and weighs a little over 2 pounds.  Brain tissue is developing rapidly and the brain waves are working like newborn brain waves.  Baby's eyelids have begun to open!
Total weight gain: 23 pounds (same as last week; which was down .2 from the previous week).  This means I basically haven't gained any weight in almost a month.  It makes sense since I was so confused about what to eat that I found myself just not eating much.  But I've since learned that that's not a good plan.  I still won't complain about not gaining weight though.  My belly has definitely gotten bigger - which is the important thing.
Symptoms: I've been taking the Colace (for constipation) for just over a week now and it's definitely helping.  Things aren't quite like they were 1-2 months ago (when I was not constipated at all) but it's better.  I noticed the box said to not take it for longer than a week, so I called my doctor who told me to scale back to 1-100mg tablet at night (instead of 2 a day).  I'll be in to see her next week so I'll check on how long I can continue it.  No other symptoms I can think of!  I feel like they're just on the horizon though.  Or maybe Mother Nature will give me a break since she blessed me with Gestational Diabetes.  :-|
Queasy or Sick:  Not really, though I might be getting a tad nauseated about 20-30 minutes after taking all my pills/vitamins at night.  Colace, baby aspirin, blood pressure medication, calcium, prenatal and fish oil.  I've just been noticing this the last week-ish, so maybe it has to do with the Colace?
Sleep: Great!  Though I seem to be going to bed late and waking up early.  Maybe averaging about 7 hours.  I just can't fall back asleep in the mornings!  I should probably try to go to bed earlier, but there are so many books on my nightstand I'm trying to get through (all baby/pregnancy related.)
Best moment this week:  Feeling so accomplished at hitting my 3rd trimester!  AND - I'm still wearing heels to work!  I don't feel off-balance at all and my feet really haven't been hurting me (unless I stand for long periods of time) so I'm happy to report that I can still wear my high heels.  I don't have very far to walk between my car and my desk so it's quite doable.
Hardest part of the week:  Obviously - the Gestational Diabetes diagnosis.  I'm not much of a crier (tho I HAVE been so much more emotional since getting pregnant) but I almost felt like crying after I hung up with the nurse who told me.  I don't want to put my baby at risk and I don't want to have a complicated pregnancy.  It's just so frustrating!!!  But I'm trying to think back to where we were a year ago and... really I'm just so happy to BE pregnant.
Looking forward to:  I hate to say it, since I was looking forward to enjoying/experiencing my 3rd trimester (and the last few months of time Hubby and I can just have together) but because of the GD diagnosis, I'm finding myself looking forward to my pregnancy being over.  I'm sure I'll get used to the diet, exercise, testing, etc.  But it's got me very frustrated right now.  Obviously.

Movement:  Lots!  There were a couple days where I was a little worried I wasn't feeling Baby move a lot, but I might have been extra active those days too - in which case I wouldn't notice movement as much.  But yesterday and today have been very busy days for Junior.  I guess Baby is practicing their dance moves!  Hubby and I sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "The Alphabet Song" to the baby every night (did you realize those are basically the same song with different words?)  And it could be my imagination, but I swear even if Baby isn't super active right then, I start feeling some movement once we start singing.  I love this because it makes me feel like we're interacting with the little one!
Food cravings: Chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cake, fruit pies, blueberry muffins, noodles, waffles, ice cream...do you notice a theme here?  Can't indulge in a single one!
Happy or moody:  Frustrated, a little down, but I know everything will be fine.
Labor signs: No
Maternity clothes:  Yup yup - and just ordered some dresses from asos.com in anticipation of our maternity photo shoot coming up in 3 weeks!
Belly button in or out: In
Wedding rings on or off:  On
Stretch marks: No
Learnings from the week:  We visited the daycare center at my company on Friday.  We were very impressed and I think I'm ready to register and hold a spot for next June.  Speaking of things I'm trying to get done while I still have the energy (and time!)  Here's a quick checklist, in case you want to give thought to getting on top of any of these items yourself:

• paint nursery (last week)
• solidified maternity/newborn photographer (yesterday)
• newborn care class (next week)
• pediatrician consults (next week)
• nursery furniture delivery (next week)
• finalize maternity leave (next 1-2 weeks = 6-8 weeks before leave is to start)
• breastfeeding class (2 weeks away)
• check into whether we want to increase our life insurance, or buy more (in the next month)
• create a living trust with guardianship directives (prep as much before Baby as we can so it's easy to solidify once they arrive)
• childbirth class (1 month out)

Final Thoughts:  Managing Gestational Diabetes (and I suppose, Diabetes in general) is really confusing when the only nutritional information I've ever studied in my life has been fat/calories.  And that's pretty straightforward - just try to avoid as much as possible in order to lose weight.  With tracking carbs, there is a careful balance.  We NEED carbs since that's where our energy comes from, but we can't have too many at once nor too many through the course of a day.  If I find the time, maybe I'll throw an additional post in here just about GDM.  I'll wait until after I see the dietician next week to feel more thoroughly informed (though I've been reading a lot and getting so much good info from my friend who is the diabetic dietician!)  But you know me...when I have information to give - I want it to be as well vetted as possible.