SURPRISE!

Whew. What a week... well, I'm officially 29 weeks (+2 days) pregnant... and diagnosed with gestational diabetes! Are you as surprised as we are?!? Well, it's true. My doctor was equally floored – "you're the last person I would pick out of a crowd to have gestational diabetes". Yet, here we are. 

I failed my glucose screening test on Monday. And then really failed the glucose tolerance test three days later on Friday. Really failed might be a bit of a stretch, but I certainly didn't pass. 

If I squint, turn my head sideways at just the right angle, I can barely catch a glint of the bright side. My fasting glucose levels are nice and low (73). It was just after drinking that 75g glucose drink that they SKYROCKETED through the ceiling. Clearly my body isn't making the right amount of insulin needed at this stage in pregnancy (my body should be producing double its normal quantity now). But as long as I don't guzzle disgusting, syrupy sugary drinks, I should be fine... 

Naturally, as any healthy, third-trimester pregnant woman would do – I cried... a lot. I cried from sheer frustration. I cried because I hate failing. I cried because it felt like another f*cking wrench being thrown into this fertility/pregnancy journey. And I cried because I felt so damn helpless. It just felt like another thing my body can't do properly. First, infertility. Then, endometriosis. Now, gestational diabetes. FIGURE IT OUT BODY!

I indulged in said pity party most of Friday. Scott was fantastic. He held and rocked me. Listened while I tried to speak between heaving sobs... and then he sprung into action! Lucky for me, Scott's scientific background is a huge asset when faced with a new and uncertain diagnosis. 

I now have to log everything I eat, record my blood glucose levels at specific intervals four times daily, provide details on my level of exercise, and also note any stress or illness. STRESS?!?! YOU ASK?!?! That's a f*cking joke, right? For my own pleasure, on my first day of recording, I noted "STRESS? This diagnosis". Hopefully I can make a nurse at UCSD have a chuckle.

We've been tracking for two days and so far, so good. My levels are below target requirements! I don't necessarily have to change what I eat (except no more quarantine baking), but rather how and when I eat. Limit fruit and lactose/milk in the morning. Smaller meals more often. Incorporate fat when eating sugar. Copious amounts of veggies! 

My handsome chef 

Hopefully with these minor adjustments to my diet, I will keep my levels in check. Baby Wiggles will be healthy (and not ginormous). We will make sure of that! And if for some reason, diet isn't enough, I have a fantastic community surrounding me for support. 

Not to mention a wonderful, kickass doctor. I'm privileged and fortunate to have access to top-notch medical care... and even higher caliber cooking from Scott and Marcia! I am incredibly thankful to have a mother-in-law that so generously spoiled us rotten this weekend in Temecula. It was such a lovely getaway. 

I usually like to wrap up these posts with a ribbon – come full circle so to speak. And I'm at a loss on how to best close this one. So, I'll leave you with a Pauline-ism... something she'd use when things didn't quite exactly go as planned. "Life's a bitch, then you die." 

Humor goes a long way in this family. ;-)