By the time I got to the 3-hour I wasn't sure what to think. As it turned out my numbers were mostly fine except for my numbers taken at the 2-hour mark which was in the 180s and should have been below 155. Since I had a history of it, it was better to just diagnose me with it. So my life turned into being careful with carbs and blood testing.
I definitely had to have a bit of a refresher course since it had been six years since I had done it all. I dug out all my paperwork from when I was pregnant with Addison and did a little researching It had been a long time since I had done this and I definitely needed all the help I could get. I had my testing kit from then but I had to get new strips and could barely remember how to even do that. Luckily and unluckily, it came back to me pretty quickly.
I started watching the carbs I was eating, setting my 2 hour timer when I started eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner then testing my blood. Plus I also did my fasting blood test every morning which is an awful way to start a day if you ask me. I had to start getting creative on what I could eat and snack on to make sure I was getting enough but also staying under my carb count.
Almost immediately I started having trouble with my lunch numbers. They were just way higher than they should be. I was starting to get frustrated and quite frankly I was worried. I knew if I couldn't control my numbers than I would end up on medicine or insulin and I wanted to avoid that. Not to mention I knew it was hard on Emma's little body to be producing that extra insulin and it had health issues for her. I just couldn't get it figured out.
It wasn't under I threw up after an afternoon snack then had a high dinner number that it occurred to me that maybe the issue wasn't what I was having for lunch but the fact that I wasn't having a morning snack. I started reading and saw that if what could be happening was that after breakfast my blood sugars were dropping low which then caused them to spike when I did eat again at lunch. So I started testing that theory and sure enough I started getting that number under control by having a morning snack.
However my numbers continued to be all over the place despite my best efforts. It was definitely a struggle and one that I felt like I was losing. I was definitely feeling discouraged by the whole thing. I was trying so hard but my numbers were still all over the place. Plus I knew I couldn't have things that I very much wanted which was equally as frustrating.
The only plus side to the whole thing was that I was able to see Emma every week because now I was doing weekly biophysical ultrasounds. She had to pass a couple tests. They looked at her heart rate and the amniotic fluid. In addition she had to move and they had to watch her practice breathing. It was nice to see her every week at least. Every three weeks we were also doing weight checks to make sure she wasn't getting too big which can be a problem for gestational diabetes babies.
Beyond just not being able to eat what I want when I want I was having to prick my finger and take my blood sugar four times a day. And let me tell you it hurts a little bit. It grew old pretty quick but I knew I had to do it and I knew it was only for a short amount of time so I just kept reminding myself that I could do it.
But with my numbers all over the place, we decided that I needed a little extra help controlling it. So I started on low dose medicine to help me control my numbers throughout the day better. Even though it was low dose, I found quickly that I actually had to eat a little bit more carbs with each meal and snack to keep from my numbers getting too low. It was all becoming a balancing act that I was growing tired of pretty quickly.
The bonus is that I know there is an end date for all this. We have a date set to induce if she doesn't come before - which no one believes that I will actually make it to that date by the way. At this point it could be a couple days or three weeks which is when my date is set for. Either way the end is coming so I can do all this craziness for a little longer if it's all about Emma.
I remember feeling like controlling my numbers and making these careful choices with Addison was the first time I really felt like a mom. It was the first time that it really wasn't about me. It was all about my kid and I had to make choices based on what was best for her. It's the same thing again. It's short time sacrifices in order to keep Emma healthy.
I started watching the carbs I was eating, setting my 2 hour timer when I started eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner then testing my blood. Plus I also did my fasting blood test every morning which is an awful way to start a day if you ask me. I had to start getting creative on what I could eat and snack on to make sure I was getting enough but also staying under my carb count.
Almost immediately I started having trouble with my lunch numbers. They were just way higher than they should be. I was starting to get frustrated and quite frankly I was worried. I knew if I couldn't control my numbers than I would end up on medicine or insulin and I wanted to avoid that. Not to mention I knew it was hard on Emma's little body to be producing that extra insulin and it had health issues for her. I just couldn't get it figured out.
It wasn't under I threw up after an afternoon snack then had a high dinner number that it occurred to me that maybe the issue wasn't what I was having for lunch but the fact that I wasn't having a morning snack. I started reading and saw that if what could be happening was that after breakfast my blood sugars were dropping low which then caused them to spike when I did eat again at lunch. So I started testing that theory and sure enough I started getting that number under control by having a morning snack.
However my numbers continued to be all over the place despite my best efforts. It was definitely a struggle and one that I felt like I was losing. I was definitely feeling discouraged by the whole thing. I was trying so hard but my numbers were still all over the place. Plus I knew I couldn't have things that I very much wanted which was equally as frustrating.
The only plus side to the whole thing was that I was able to see Emma every week because now I was doing weekly biophysical ultrasounds. She had to pass a couple tests. They looked at her heart rate and the amniotic fluid. In addition she had to move and they had to watch her practice breathing. It was nice to see her every week at least. Every three weeks we were also doing weight checks to make sure she wasn't getting too big which can be a problem for gestational diabetes babies.
Beyond just not being able to eat what I want when I want I was having to prick my finger and take my blood sugar four times a day. And let me tell you it hurts a little bit. It grew old pretty quick but I knew I had to do it and I knew it was only for a short amount of time so I just kept reminding myself that I could do it.
But with my numbers all over the place, we decided that I needed a little extra help controlling it. So I started on low dose medicine to help me control my numbers throughout the day better. Even though it was low dose, I found quickly that I actually had to eat a little bit more carbs with each meal and snack to keep from my numbers getting too low. It was all becoming a balancing act that I was growing tired of pretty quickly.
The bonus is that I know there is an end date for all this. We have a date set to induce if she doesn't come before - which no one believes that I will actually make it to that date by the way. At this point it could be a couple days or three weeks which is when my date is set for. Either way the end is coming so I can do all this craziness for a little longer if it's all about Emma.
I remember feeling like controlling my numbers and making these careful choices with Addison was the first time I really felt like a mom. It was the first time that it really wasn't about me. It was all about my kid and I had to make choices based on what was best for her. It's the same thing again. It's short time sacrifices in order to keep Emma healthy.
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