A woman can learn a lot about herself during the 9-10 months of pregnancy. You learn just how capable your body is and seeing what it can do and how it changes during pregnancy is really amazing. Some women have easier pregnancies than others; some love it, some don't enjoy it at all. But the end results, from what I'm told, is that it's all worth it.
For this pregnant lady, 33 weeks along (that's about 8 1/2 months for you math majors ;) ), the greatest thing I've learned so far is to let go. I have not had control of my changing body since late December when those telltale pregnancy symptoms starting to show up, before I confirmed my suspicions with a home pregnancy test. For someone with an anxiety disorder, letting go of control is not an easy task, and it can be down-right scary. I'm still not used to it, but it is teaching me a lot.
Tuesday of last week I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. My initial reaction was disappointment in myself and guilt that I might be harming my unborn baby. I knew that both of these thoughts were silly, because any woman with any sort of lifestyle can develop GD, and if you take the steps to monitor it, there is no harm to either you or your baby. Even so, it took me a few days to move past these feelings. My OB recommended that I test my glucose at least three times a day, including a fasting test first thing in the morning, for two weeks.
This Tuesday I met with the nutritionist I was referred to, and learned a bit more about how a body should process glucose, and what happens with GD and Type-2 Diabetes. I had to learn how to check my glucose levels with a glucometer. I was pretty scared at first, but it doesn't hurt THAT bad, and I'd much rather do this than that awful 3-hour glucose test I did the previous week (4 blood draws in 4 hours! Ouch!). I realized I was eating more carbs (even good carbs) than I thought and my portion sizes were a bit too much. I mean, who wants to eat just a half-cup of pasta, right?! Well, even though my eating habits were pretty good, and I eat pretty healthy most of the time, I learned I needed to make a few simple changes...and I'm already seeing results!
I started my glucose testing routine yesterday morning: Test first thing in the morning (fasting test), then an hour after breakfast, and again an hour after lunch or dinner. My numbers were a bit high in the morning (102) and after breakfast (155), but much better than the reading I got the previous morning at the nutritionist's office (175 an hour after breakfast). But dinner was right on an hour after dinner (140).
This morning I again tested first thing to get my fasting number, which was a great (they want it below 95, and I had a 98 reading), and an hour after breakfast I had a 143 reading (and they want meal readings 140 or below). Only three points too high for both which is great compared to the two previous days!
By being a little more mindful about my food combinations and portions in just 1 1/2 days thus far, I am already seeing these numbers decline. These little successes make me feel proud and I look forward to see these numbers decline more in the next two weeks. And hopefully, if they stay steady at normal levels, I won't have to continue to keep testing after the two weeks is up.
Even though developing GD was disappointing (even though it was out of my control), I am, in a strange way, grateful to have developed it because it is teaching me to really hold myself accountable for my eating habits with no excuses. Like I said, I eat pretty well, but I did learn I was consuming more carbs (good and bad) than I had realized and that my portion sizes were a bit high (which I knew).
On top of this GD journey, I signed up with a fitness coach through Beachbody.com and received my exercise program, nutritional guide and recipe book, and food portion containers yesterday! I'm not sure how gung-ho I will be with the exercising this late in pregnancy. From what I've seen, the workouts are pretty intense and it's not recommended that pregnant women start intensive workouts if they haven't already been doing them. Of course, this doesn't mean avoiding any activity altogether! I really ordered the program for post-partum fitness, so I'm looking forward to that! And as I mentioned, I have been eating larger portions than I should have been (only for my whole life!), so the portion containers will definitely help me with that. If I feel as though I have to hold my self accountable for something, I am more likely to succeed.
In my opinion, this minor pregnancy inconvenience has actually been a blessing.
