Gestational Diabetes

At 31 weeks, I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. No, I did not have this with any previous pregnancies. At 32 weeks, I officially met with the hospital's Diabetes Center and started my new diet. Now at almost 38 weeks, I've decided to start a list of all the things I CAN'T WAIT TO EAT once this baby comes out and I am officially un-diagnosed:

• Belgian waffles with lots of fake syrup
• Wendy's chocolate frosty
• Big Italian sub with BOTH of the buns on it
• Pop Tarts - strawberry frosted with sprinkles
• More Belgian waffles, this time with strawberries and more fake syrup
• Lots of FRUIT (I never thought I'd say this!) - strawberries, peaches, any kind of berry or melon, maybe even a banana
• Chocolate-covered fruit (would be great from Edible Arrangements)
• Loooots of milk with REAL chocolate syrup, not the sugar-free Splenda kind
• A chocolate milkshake (seemed fitting that would be next)
• NO MORE JELLO 
• Ava's Jersey Creme Pie cupcake or a big Boston Creme donut
• Ginger ale
• Pizza
• Chicken pasta carbonara w/peas and prosciutto
• A corn dog and pierogies w/lots of sour cream from Stewart's
• Pad Kee Mao
• A huge Cinnabon with lots of icing
• Cinnamon rolls from my bread machine
• Anything from my bread machine
• Homemade banana bread (Jen Palumbo's recipe)
• McDonalds Frappe Mocha 
• Starbucks Cafe Mocha
• ANYTHING I WANT

Not saying I'm going over-indulge every single moment, but it helps to have goals, right? ;)

I have a diabetes testing kit and have had to test four times a day since week 32...so, what's that, about almost 200 times now? So far, I've been able to manage my numbers very well with just diet and exercise (who are we kidding? just diet...it's too hot outside to exercise), which has helped me avoid the need for Glyburide or insulin. Pray that continues the next couple of weeks!

After the first super-stressful few weeks where I just had absolutely no idea what to eat, I've settled into a good routine, and meal-time isn't so overwhelming or confusing. I have a good idea of how much I can have of which carbs, and am always very careful not to over-do it. It's amazing how self-controlled I can be when I have to report my numbers every week!

The question I get most often is, What in the world does this mean for you or the baby? The biggest effect this has on the baby is that he is getting too much sugar, since my placenta is not able to filter it properly and passes too much of it on to the baby. This often results in larger babies (haha - let's not even get into the irony here). Once the baby has been born, I do not have to check my blood sugar anymore, but the baby will have to be checked ever few hours after birth to make sure he is handling his suddenly sugar-free environment and not going into sugar shock or having seizures because of the sudden loss of so much sugar.

At least that's how I understand it.

Had I not been able to manage my numbers with diet and exercise, and had been put on medication, Tina (my midwife) would have had to induce me at 39 weeks because the need for medication is a sign that the placenta is really not working and it's too dangerous for baby to stay in there. As it is, even with my good numbers, I have to in twice a week for non-stress tests (this started at 36 weeks) just to make sure the placenta is indeed still doing an acceptable job.

So far, so good!