30 Weeks and growing

Happy weekend everyone! It's been so amazing to finally have some down time--this past week was such an emotional, stressful, hectic week for us. I am hoping to spend the rest of the day recovering and working on the several little projects I was hoping to get done this past week! I can't wait to show you what I've been working on. For now, I thought it was time for an update on Baby D and I since we just closed out 30 weeks!

Symptoms/Progress:

This week was full of all sorts of new "symptoms" if you will. Monday morning I spent four hours in the OB office doing the 3 hour glucose test. Between 24-28 weeks of pregnancy it's routine for doctors to do a 1 hour glucose challenge to check for signs of gestational diabetes. This involves drinking a very sugary drink, waiting 1 hour and having blood taken. Well, I found out last week that my glucose levels were high when I did the 1 hour test and the next step was drinking an even more sugary drink and having blood taken every hour for 3 hours to confirm the diagnosis. Giving blood is totally not my thing, so it was not the most pleasant. I also had to do this test after fasting: no food and no drink (not even water) since 9pm the previous night. Yuck! 

Sure enough, the next day I got a phone call confirming that I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Basically that means that my body's hormones, produced due to the pregnancy, are inhibiting my production of insulin to properly process sugar that I consume. Essentially it has caused me to be diabetic, but only for the duration of the pregnancy. Still, in order to make sure that Baby D does not gain too much weight and that he stays healthy, I have to follow a special diet plan and check my blood sugar 5x daily (after meals and before and after bedtime). 

When I first found out I was devastated, scared, frustrated, and emotional. However, after two follow up appointments with a diabetic consultant and nutritionist, I was beginning to feel a bit more at ease. However, following a new diet plan was stressful, especially considering the increased hunger and cravings that I have been having. Luckily I have an amazing friend who also had gestational diabetes during her pregnancy. She brought me a bag full of food I CAN eat (including diabetic ice cream!!). This new lifestyle is going to be different, but it will only be for 9 more weeks and I can definitely handle that once I get used to it. 

Frank and I also went to our first birthing class on Tuesday evening. We opted to skip the regular Lamaze class and are trying a 5-week Hypnobirthing course. Frank and I are going to try our best to deliver Baby D as naturally as possible--meaning no drugs at all (if there are no complications). This course has been so helpful, especially during this chaotic and emotional week, since it basically teaches me how to achieve deep relaxation which in turn is supposed to decrease the pain I will feel during birth and increase the speed of delivery. We are excited to see how it works and are willing to try anything that promises 50% shorter labor!! That being said, we don't think that other ways of giving birth are wrong or that Lamaze is not the right "way" to prepare for birth. Frank and I are just really interested in what Hypnobirthing has to offer. You can read a bit about it here and here. 

Cravings:

I am pretty much craving everything I can't have much of: ice cream, milk, chocolate, pasta, pizza, and FRUIT. I am learning to love peanut butter on everything and I am hoping my milk craving switches to string cheese since I'm allowed to have as much cheese as I want. I'm excited to try out some of the new foods that my friend brought me and come up with ways to make my new diet work for me and my schedule. 

Nursery Progress:

Nursery is definitely moving along! We just received the dresser/changing table. It is still in the box and will take some time to put together. Hopefully we will be working on that this week. 

We also just received our stroller system! Frank and I are super grateful that his grandparents purchased the system for us! And, we are super excited about this stroller. We chose the Graco Fast Action Fold Jogger Click Connect Travel System. We love that it's easy to maneuver and is very easy to fold up. The carrier/infant car seat that it comes with is lighter than other carriers we tried out and easily clicks into and out of place. Frank loves the fact that he can jog with the stroller as well and hopes to spend some quality time with the baby while he gets his running in. 

I also have been picking up odds and ends for the nursery as I see them. I found this great basket at Home Goods today to hold diapers so that they are accessible, but also more attractive than having a bunch of diaper boxes stacked up next to the dresser. 

Little by little things are starting to come together! I am putting the finishing touches on the mobile which I hope to show you early this week and I am working on another small project that I hope to have finished today! 

I hope you all have a wonderful, restful weekend! I have a few projects to show you this coming week--so be ready for a few simple tutorials. And don't forget to follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see what I've been up to during the week and to receive updates when I post on the blog. 

  Keep in Touch with La Vita DiBella!

Subscribe to Blog I Follow on Facebook I Follow on Twitter  Follow on Instagram I Follow on Bloglovin’