7 Months!

I can't believe we're already 28 weeks. It blows my mind every day, it feels like just yesterday I was reaching 24 weeks, but here we are :).

This was taken at 27+4 weeks right before going to the specialist for my shot and to have another meeting with the dietitian:

And this was taken on Sunday morning at 28 weeks:

I swear she must be gaining a good amount of weight because my belly is getting bigger each day and gaining some attention. One guy said to me on the way into the store last week, "Woooow, how many??" and pointed to my belly. Um. I'm pretty sure I don't look THAT big yet haha but it was the first time anyone's ever said that to me. And I still have at least 10 weeks to go before delivery!

As far as my blood sugars go, this week has been not so good. I'm following my meal plan as best as I can and it keeps going up and up after each meal. The highest I've caught it was 171, and it almost never goes below 120 now, which is where they want me to be. My dietitian told me, though, that each week it will be a little harder to control the diabetes because of the baby's placenta getting bigger. If it keeps staying high after meals I may have to go on insulin injections or some kind of medication (which does NOT sound fun!).

I was also told that around 32 weeks I will be going in twice a week for fetal monitoring (checking amniotic fluid levels, contractions, I'm assuming baby's growth and how she's doing as well). The one thing that surprised me was she said I should have a bag packed by then and stashed in my car, just in case there is anything that shows up on the monitoring that will send me into the delivery room right from the office. So WOW it could happen that fast! I'm keeping my fingers crossed TIGHT that we have no problems and I can make it to at least 36 weeks (when my cerclage comes out) and best case scenario 37-38 weeks.

In other news, nesting is in full force and I'm having a hard time stopping myself from moving and organizing everything in the house hehe. I'm going to really try to keep myself out of the nursery until after our baby shower because honestly I don't know what else there is to do in there, but I'll end up finding something to fix! It can stay put for a little while :).

27 Weeks

This week I've been feeling much more movement than ever. It's amazing to me that in the last 8 weeks I've gone from feeling tiny little thumps through my belly to full-on karate chops. Seriously, I think she has a black belt!

I'm just a few days away from my next "milestone" now, 28 weeks. Then I will be 7 months and Emily will be about 14 inches long and roughly 2.5 pounds. If for any reason she were to be born at 28 weeks her survival rate would be greater than 90% with NICU assistance. She's getting stronger and bigger every day and at this rate I'm very hopeful that we will be able to make it to full-term :).

This week we got our crib delivered and Daddy put it all together himself. He did a wonderful job. I have to admit I shed a tear seeing her nursery. I still can't believe that we have come this far.. Her room is nearly ready for her arrival, and I can't wait for the moment when I get to lay her down in her crib. I also chose her pediatrician on Monday! My to-do list is getting smaller but the anticipation of her birth continues to grow!

My New Monitor

I met with my dietitian this morning and had a lengthy chat about what we need to do to keep my blood sugar in check. My diet is pretty much unlimited meats/proteins, cheeses and non-starchy veggies, and I have to count my carbohydrates for each meal to make sure I'm having not too much and not too little as well as have limited fruits and milk. That's pretty much what I've been following this week but now I have a set meal plan specifically for my diet needs so that will help a lot. It's not too bad though. I can have up to 15 grams of carbs for breakfast, 45 grams for lunch, and 60 grams for dinner, with 3 snacks that each have 15 grams. Oh, and I'm allowed to splurge on a small piece of cake at my baby shower haha.

While we were going over everything we got on the subject of taking my blood to check my sugars (which I have to do 4 times a day, plus 3 extra times a week right after bedtime snack) and because I ate breakfast an hour before meeting with the dietitian I got to demonstrate how to use the monitor. This morning's reading was 115 mg/dL. Just now I took my post-lunch reading and it was up to 144 mg/dL. The limit they want me at is <120 mg/dL after one hour.

So... It's high. But with trial and error we can hopefully get my sugars worked out so that I don't need insulin! I also have to check my ketones every morning for a while. Sounds fun hehe.

It was a bit of a relief, though, when she explained to me that I didn't cause the diabetes from eating poorly. My body was already reacting this way and I may have been craving more sweets because of that. A little less stress from guilt is nice! I meet with her again next Thursday to go over more information that I need and from then on I will be emailing her photos of my testing log every Tuesday.

It won't be too long before I can go back to eating the foods that I love, but I just might continue follow a healthier diet after Emily is born anyway because it is best for her and me :).

Third Trimester!

This is my 26th week and I am beyond grateful that we've finally made it into the third trimester. I've never been this far along so this week I am learning about the things that come along with my growing belly.

I'm amazed at the flips, twists, kicks and punches Emily does now. At times it almost scares me to feel so much power behind the movements and to actually be able to see my belly shape-shift all day long, not to mention it can be a little painful hehe. She is most active now in the late mornings and most of the afternoon, with long breaks until late evening when she picks back up. She is constantly favoring the right side of my belly and now I can even feel kicks up near my ribs (but not quiet that high yet). And to top all of that off, Monday morning I woke up to a popped-out belly button, and Daddy thought that was the greatest thing haha! She also responds a lot to his voice :).

My change in diet is going well so far, I still have two more days until I meet with the nutritionist. I'm dying to have some chocolate but I'm eating much healthier so it's for the best. I've noticed that I feel a bit "cleaner" eating this way. The only downside is I've been getting really grumpy without having any of my precious sweets and when I go a little too long without eating I think my blood sugar gets a little low, especially now that I'm not eating big meals like I was. We'll see soon though what else I'll need to do. Hopefully it won't be too much!

T-minus 10 weeks until my cerclage gets removed!

Gestational Diabetes

Yep... My test came back just over the limit for a positive result. I'm actually not too surprised because I've been craving and giving in to much more sweets these last two months. Carrot cake, brownies, cookies, chocolate chips, donuts... I'm pretty much at fault here hehe considering all of this has probably contributed to my 23 pounds of weight gain (not like I look very different). So right now my specialist has me on a restricted diet until I see their nutritionist next Thursday for a real game plan. No sugars, limit the pastas and breads (NOOOO!), and I'm going to try and eat lots of lean proteins and veggies (and small portions of fruit). We'll see if that helps! He's pretty confident that I will be able to manage everything very well with a little change in diet. A few months of clean eating is a small price to pay for a healthy body and baby!

Speaking of which, our ultrasound went very well! Emily is a little piggy now weighing in at 1 pound 11 ounces and about 13 inches long. She is head down and loving my right side. All of her bits and pieces look great :). And very cute little feet too!

I will have another growth ultrasound in 4 weeks and this time I will have a monitor to watch for contractions. He said that if I were to for any reason go into labor or have more than a few contractions in an hour (that don't go away with rest/water) before 35 weeks to go right to the hospital and they will give me medication to stop the labor. BUT, if I were to have this happen after 35 weeks, it will be delivery time! The same goes for if I'm having ANY painful pinching/pulling/tearing pains around my scar, I will have to go in and be checked for labor signs or thinning scar tissue. I'm very happy that I'm in good hands with these doctors, because if I wasn't I'd be a complete worried mess!

Also their average length of time from cerclage removal to labor is 17 days. So I'm going to especially be on the lookout then! I'm counting down now 11 weeks until the stitch is removed so in my mind I have to get moving on getting everything ready at home :). I'd rather get ready little by little than all at once near the end, no need to send myself into labor that way!

Next week, third trimester!

25 Weeks -- Nursery Paint and Glucose Test

I have a lot to share today :).

This week has been very nice. Emily is kicking and making my belly jump like crazy, especially in the early morning/afternoon hours. I can easily tell when she is in a new position now. When she is down low and in a ball it's very hard to walk normally, but when she moves up high I can feel her pressing on my stomach and I get full much quicker. It's amazing how in just a few months she has gone from a little pink line on a test to being roughly the size of a small eggplant.

On the 4th of July my husband and I decided to paint the nursery early. He had a wonderful 4 day weekend and took it upon himself to get some work done while he had the time to do it. The color we both picked out looks so awesome and it really goes well with the color scheme we're planning on doing. I nearly cried when it was all finished.

After the room was painted we noticed that someone was shooting off fireworks nearby and we could actually see them very well from her window. So we decided to sit on the floor in the dark and watch them together for a while, it was a very bittersweet moment. The fireworks were going off as a small storm cloud nearby had lightning lighting up some of the sky. I thought it really symbolized how we felt at that moment. A little bit of chaos mingled with the beauty. Our joyous moments will always have a little bit of fear underneath them.

I've also finally finished the baby blanket that I started right after my test was positive. It's been in the works for literally about 20 weeks, and it took me so long because silly me thought it would be a great idea to crochet a blanket with a single crochet stitch, which is the smallest one and takes the longest haha. I didn't anticipate it taking SO long to finish but thankfully I'm DONE! Dylan also suggested that I make some matching things to go along with the blanket, so I whipped up a hat and a really cute pair of capri pants (my first ones ever!).

My last little update is about my first time doing the glucose test today for gestational diabetes. I've heard lots of stories about how icky the drink is and no one ever seems to enjoy the experience hehe so I was prepared for a long, gross morning. I fasted from 10:00pm last night and went in at 8:00am this morning. They took my blood first, then gave me a drink that was lime flavor (it tasted like REALLY flat, warm 7UP). I had another blood draw an hour later, and then a third draw an hour after that. All on the same arm too so I was covered in cotton balls and tape when I came home :P. Needless to say after fasting for 12+ hours I ate like a horse the minute I walked in the door! At least Emily liked the sugar drink, she was moving around so much that I was able to watch my belly tossing and turning as I waited.

Only 3 more days until our growth ultrasound!