Gestational Diabetes Success!

I am lucky that my pregnancy has gone smoothly and the only major issue has been the diabetes. Don't get me wrong, I realize completely that this is not a huge deal. But I will admit I'm a bit of a sugar addict. In fact I come from a family of sugar addicts! The best way to describe my family's relationship to sugar is Christmas cookie decorating. First it starts out like a fun time actually decorating the cookies and setting them aside, but after just a few cookies it turns into more of a chips and salsa time. We just dip the cookies in the icing and eat them. In fact after my baby shower we had leftover cupcakes and I actually had one at each meal. It's bad.... We just love sugar! And of course you can imagine how many times we quote Elf, "We try to stick to the four main food groups, Candy, Candy Canes, Candy Corns, and Syrup."

Anyways, so when I was told I had gestational diabetes and sugar was now a "no no" I did panic. Seriously I panicked. I was about seven months along and I had only cried two times before in my pregnancy, one time after having morning sickness all day, the second time I had gotten a different doctor who said some pretty awful things (I better not see her ever again...). But when I had to change my diet and cut out sugar I cried....a lot. I had no energy, I felt hungry all the time, I couldn't figure out what to eat without sugar in it. It was so discouraging. One day I ate a salad thinking that was the safest thing, yeah....I forgot that dressing has sugar and I spiked my blood sugar. It was so discouraging. But I am happy to say, I have figured it out!!! It's all about portions!! It has taken about a month, but I know how to balance my meals so that I can enjoy a roll with my dinner, or cheerios in the morning. This is definitely not a pleasant diet, but I'm not longer crying because I feel so hungry and I can't figure out what I'm allowed to eat. My dietitian said, "Now after you have the baby we do encourage you to stick with this diet because it's a really healthy lifestyle." I actually laughed out loud. No I will not be continuing this diet. I will definitely change the amount of sugar I eat every day and be more aware of my food choices, but I will definitely let myself enjoy a normal sized brownie every now and then!

I am so excited for my son to be born and cuddle him, but I'm also so excited to send my wonderful husband to go get me a fat piece of chocolate cake for me to enjoy! Some girls have a list of things to pack for the hospital, I have a list of foods I want to have after the baby gets here. Some people told me that this diet will end up totally changing me and I won't miss sugar by the end of it. FALSE. I definitely miss sugar, but I will change the amount of sugar I eat, and I'll try to reconsider getting fries with my burger.

Well to all the girls out there struggling to figure out gestational diabetes, good luck, I feel your pain!

Are you ready??

"Are you ready??" is about the most asked question I get, and to be honest the answer is, "...well I don't know..." I mean I probably have plenty of onesies, we have a crib, diapers are ready to go, and now we are just waiting for the baby. But even with all of the stuff I still don't feel "ready." How do you get ready anyways?? I have read a couple of books, I used to babysit for other people, but can you really ever be ready for your own baby?? I'm not panicking just yet, but there have been several nights where I lay there and think about the 5 billion things my books haven't covered. Usually I'm the person who is pretty carefree and doesn't need much of a plan beforehand, but I finally looked at my husband and said, "uhhh I really do not know what I'm doing...." Thankfully he just replied that we will figure it out as we go along. Cue the sigh of relief!...kind of, I might still be a little anxious. 

Anyways, last week we had maternity photos done and I LOVE the pictures!! Greene Label Photography did an amazing job! I debated whether or not to get them done, but I'm so glad I did, it's a great memory to hold on to. 

I can't begin to explain how blessed I am to have a husband who keeps me calm when I wake him up in the middle of the night with my ridiculous worries. He has been so great! We can't wait to meet our little man in less than a month!! God has been so good throughout this pregnancy and we are so blessed!

34 weeks - Happy Thanksgiving

This has been such a productive past couple of weeks! My mom came in last week to help me paint the nursery, we had the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, Jared and I finished up the nursery, got Christmas decorations up, and today I have maternity photos! the nursery looks wonderful! Unfortunately the rest of my house is in need of a deep cleaning....

O'side Turkey Trot 2014 (although I think I should have called it the Gobble Waddle)

Anyways here's a couple pictures of the nursery!

I'm so happy with how it turned out! Not too shabby for being on a tight budget!

I think my favorite thing is the Bible verse above the crib. It took forever to make and hand paint all the letters, but I love it!

So far I have been feeling really good! One night I had some strong contractions, but I went to bed and they were gone when I woke up in the morning. Jared is leaving to the field soon, and once he gets home the baby could be here anytime! That's so crazy to think about! I still think he won't come until January 10th, but who knows!

34 Weeks

30 Weeks - Happy Halloween!

What a crazy past couple of weeks!!! I tested positive for gestational diabetes so I have met with dietitians about my new diet. No sweets, restricted carbs, restricted fruit, restricted protein, and all the vegetables I want. It's a bit tough, especially with all the holidays. On top of my rabbit food diet, I have to test my blood 4 times a day and log everything I eat. It's definitely not fun.

I can tell the baby is starting to run out of room, its pretty fun seeing a foot pushing out. But its not much fun when he decides to press into my ribs, that gets a bit uncomfortable.

For Halloween Jared and I dressed up like Bleeker and Juno! We had a good time handing out candy (even though I couldn't eat any of it....).

28 weeks

Everyone told me when I got pregnant that I should make sure to cherish every moment with our baby, because time flies! But, they failed to tell me how fast time would fly during my pregnancy also! I can't believe I'm 28 weeks already!

I got back from my trip to St. Louis and I'm already missing home! I love being back with my husband, but I do miss being around my family. I had a blast at my showers! It was so much fun going through all my presents. Now That I'm back home I have had fun sorting through everything and putting it away in the nursery.

Now that I'm home I really have to start getting ready for Jack! My mom is coming out in a few weeks to help me get everything together. We are going to sort through everything so that she can help me figure out what else I need, and she is going to help me paint the nursery!

Speaking of my mom, at my shower she gave me Jack's baby quilt!!!

How beautiful are these??? The one with elephants has a fuzzy backing and then she used the extra fabric to make the other quilt! I have such a talented mom!!

This week Chance wanted to be in the picture. And of course in honor of fall I had to break out some flannel! Hopefully this week I'll get the nursery looking a bit better and I'll take some pictures!

26 Weeks

Apparently I can't do everything by myself anymore.... I never wanted to be one of those girls that was constantly asking for help. People have been so sweet and have offered help and I turn it down and just do things myself. But this week I was in the car and tossed my purse in the seat behind me, later I reached back for it and my dad said, "wait I'll get it!" Of course I turned down the help and stretched to the seat behind me to grab my giant purse. No big deal right? Wrong. Apparently something as simple as turning to grab my bag totally pulled something in my back. I was down for the day. Thankfully it was a quick fix and felt better the next day. But I have realized I do need help every now and then.

On a positive note; I'm in town visiting my family!!! It has been so refreshing! Being so far away is tough!! I think missing Christmas for the first time is going to be really hard... I have been busy every single day! I made a list of things that I miss doing in St. Louis and I have been checking things off my list every day! Once I'm back home I'll take time to post some photos from all my adventures and make a lovely post about why St. Louis is so great!

I'm 26 weeks and I have to say, this pregnancy is going fast! I know once I get closer to the end, I'll be way more uncomfortable and I'll probably be anxious to get it over with. But right now I just can't believe how fast it's going! Do I really only have 14 weeks left?? Baby J should be about 2 lbs now and is moving around like crazy! I love getting to lay down and watch all his kicks and movements. I mean it's weird, but it's pretty fun to watch!

Here's my 26 week picture! Overalls courtesy of my wonderful husband! I have to say overalls are the best! I don't have to worry about my pants constantly falling down!

24 weeks

What a week this has been! I have been getting ready for my trip back home to visit my family, which I'm so excited for!! This week I had a check up that didn't go as well as I had hoped. My doctor was called away and the doctor that replaced her was, how should I say it.....terrible. She led us to believe that something was wrong with the baby, when it ended up being nothing. Being pregnant is stressful and scary on it's own, having a doctor scare me even more was absolutely not helpful. But a follow up ultrasound showed that everything was normal and baby and I are healthy (praise the Lord!!)! 

My clothes are starting to get a bit tight.... Jared even said to me, "Uh.... how about we go to target and get you a couple new tops.." after seeing me struggle to find something to wear. He was so nice and got me a new dress and sweater to wear while I'm on my trip! 

Here's the dress he got me!

We got the dresser moved upstairs into the nursery! I'm still working on how to decorate but I'm excited to put it all together in November when my mom comes out to help me paint! Time seems to be going so quick! In only a few months our baby boy will be here!