Needles, and Blood, and Gestational Diabetes... Oh my!

Pebbles, 

I was really worried about you today. 

I had my second gestational diabetes test. Which involved a LOT of needles and blood, I will tell you the details when you about about 13. After the variety of tests, I was called with the results, it turns out I have gestational diabetes. Immediately I thought, "What does that mean for the baby?" This question lead me to oodles of websites with oodles of information. I read many of the complications involved with GD including: high birth weight, increased trauma to shoulders during delivery due to large birth weight, hyperinsulinemia/ a large drop in blood sugar, breathing difficulties, possible diabetes later in life, etc... 

After reading those things I felt like I let you down. :( I felt like I should have been able to do something more. As I am realizing more and more... sometimes things just happen that are out of our control and we don't know why. 

Let me tell you that letting you down is NOT one of the things that I will ever be doing as long as I have something to say about it! 

So now... I will be going into the dietitian next week. Who happens to be a good friend from high school, talk about things happening for a reason. At the appointment I'll learn more about testing my blood sugar and getting on a strict low carb/sugar high protein/fiber diet to manage my/I guess our, blood sugar. 

For now, I have a lot of support from friends and family who have had GD. They are giving me some pointers and I continue to be SO relieved that these people are in our lives helping to keep you and I healthy. 

I absolutely LOVE you and will do whatever it takes to keep you healthy. 

As Auntie Jenn said... I will "make Gestational Diabetes my BITCH!" 

 *Yet another reason you won't read this until you are 13! 

Love, 

Mom 

A little bit of progress

We have been working on our bathroom shower for the last week and that has turned out great! I should post pics of that too.
In between making decisions and overseeing the bathroom reno. I was trying to stay out of Jason's way by putting up a few things in the baby's room. We still don't have furniture but plan to get that in the next month.
For now, I've just been working on crafty things for her room.

This is a picture of the wall straight ahead when you walk into the room. I found some looms and painted them different colors. I also found some fun colorful fabrics to put inside. They say that contrast is key for infants. They contrast well on the navy wall. I think I want to get a couple smaller ones to mix in with the others.

This is a picture of the new light fixture we put up. I think it adds a nice feminine touch to go with the navy walls. Jason put a dimmer on it and also changed the outlets so they would be child safe.  I really LOVE the light. :)  FYI: The window frame you can barely see below on the right is the same window on the left in the picture above. 

I painted this abstract pink masterpiece!!  I know... you all want one now but I'm going to be really busy with the baby. ;) It was a bit of a learning experience. The masking tape I used to mark off the white lines didn't keep the pink out so the white lines were not so crisp when I took off the tape. I had to do a few layers of white to sharpen the white lines up. It turned out to be exactly what I wanted and was a pretty cheap piece of artwork!

The poms hanging from the ceiling are hanging in the place where we will put the crib. I made a few different sizes and would like to make the cluster a little bigger on the left side. The poms were made with tissue paper and flower wire. I think I spent a total of 5 dollars on all of them. I'm going for the contrast of the navy and the pink. It's all coming together little by little. 

Things that should be coming soon: 

Rug

Crib

Dresser

Shelves in the empty corner you can see with the picture of the light fixture. 

Closet organizer

and more!

10 weeks left!! :)

-Val

30 Weeks

It's been a while!!
I figured I should send out an update.

How far along? 30 weeks

Maternity clothes? Definitely! Necessary, and so comfortable. I am going to start looking for a pair of shorts or a little above the knee jean skirt. It's getting warm outside!

Stretch marks? Nope. Still doing pretty well in this area. I can feel that my skin is absolutely stretching out though! My veins are so easy to see, I feel transparent!

Sleep? I've been sleeping pretty well. I wake up every night at least a couple times due to heartburn or having to use the bathroom but I'm usually able to go right back to sleep. 

Best moment this week: This week my mom and I started making curtains for the room and did a little shopping at a local second hand store up north near their place. We found a bunch of cute clothes including some baby jelly shoes! I also sewed together a taggie stuffed animal that I'm pretty proud of! I'll have to post pics of that. 

Miss Anything? I miss being able to eat whatever I want without having to worry about heartburn. I also miss my old shorts and summer shirts that won't fit over this baby belly! I miss my cute bras. They could make larger bras a little more fun and... inviting...  I feel like I'm putting the ladies in a straight jacket! haha 

Movement: Oh boy! She moves all the time. The other day, I thought that she did a ninja kick inside, either that or it was a good ol' 1, 2, punch!

Food cravings: Lots of fruit. McDonald's oatmeal with a big glass of milk hits the spot too!

Anything making you queasy or sick: I didn't pass the 1 hour gestational diabetes test so I had to take the 3 hour test and get my blood drawn 4 times in one morning. The directions were to fast for 12 hours but after the 3 hour test (which is closer to 4 hrs.) I hadn't eaten in 16 hours! Which normally a person would be hungry but this pregnant momma was having crazy hunger pains. I also started to get a little nauseous after only having that sugary drink in my stomach. I've been feeling pretty good otherwise. 

Have you started to show yet? Yep! You can tell. I don't think I waddle yet but I'm quite a bit bigger!

Gender: A little girl! aka: Pebbles (for now) We sometimes call her Seatha Seath as a joke!

Labor Signs: I don't think so. It sometimes gets tighter "down there" and feels a bit like a cramp but I wouldn't know the difference!

Belly Button in or out?  In, I had a pretty deep belly button to begin with. It might start to turn in the next couple weeks though. It's getting closer to the surface. 

Wedding rings on or off? On. Not too much, or any swelling yet really. 

Happy or Moody most of the time? Happy most of the time. I can be a little short at times. 

Looking forward to: More frequent visits to the doctor where we will get to hear the heart beat! We start going in every two weeks now. We are also signed up for a Baby's and Beyond class that is two Saturdays in the middle of April. It will be nice to meet a few people that are going through this for the first time like us.