29 Weeks, 11 to Go!

Not much is going on. I met with my dietitian last Friday and she looked over my food and glucose level log and said to keep doing what I'm doing. So, I'll continue on my low-carb, exercise heavy lifestyle. It's a good thing. I didn't gain any weight in a week, and my weight is right on schedule. I figure if I have to deprive myself of the normal pregnancy indulgences, I might as well have the benefit of not gaining too much weight. I'm up about 22 pounds. Not bad.

On Friday I also went to my OB appointment. Everything looks good, he was shocked I had gestational diabetes (join the club), but said that I look as healthy as can be. Our little girl's heart rate was strong and I'm measuring a week ahead. I think it all depends on who is measuring. Last appointment the nurse practitioner measured and she measured up to my bra line whereas the OB measured to the end of where the baby and related materials are. I just have an extra two inches of torso that the baby doesn't need? Anyways, the nurse practitioner measured me two weeks ahead last time.

Last Saturday was my first baby shower thrown by the women in my neighborhood. It's so nice to have good neighbors! We had fun, and everyone got the little girl cute clothes and a few other necessities...and non-necessities. My next shower is while we are visiting the Muckerheide/Young clan in Indiana over Thanksgiving. Then Mark and I have to book back on Sunday for the shower given by my friends. It is so humbling to be loved and thought of! Our little girl will be lucky to have so many good friends and family around! Our last shower will be January 3, with mostly family and some more friends!

Destruction of the Wedding Dress

Now that my mom and I got through our curtain project, we decided to start another. For awhile I've been wondering what to do with my wedding dress. I never had it cleaned, so it's in bad shape that way. I've never counted on my daughter wanting to wear it for her wedding, and it just kills me to have it hanging in a closet taking up space. I thought about selling it on Craigslist or Ebay, or giving it away...but it wasn't that expensive in the first place. It almost wouldn't pay to clean it and sell it and I would feel bad giving it away when it is so dirty. So, I've just kept it sitting in the closet waiting for a good idea.

A coworker said someone she knew had made her wedding dress into a baptismal gown. Perfect! I can make my daughter wear it when she is three months old instead of when she is thirty years old, and it will still have some sentimental value.

So, tonight we tore my wedding dress apart. It really didn't bother me at all. I think I just felt relief to be using it for something else, and something special. You can see the process and the final product of our tearing. We have some good pieces to work with. We think we can salvage some of the beading to include it in the baptismal gown. I'm excited!

Gestational Diabetes

Yep, I have it. The three-hour glucose test said so. I was angry for a couple days, now I'm over it. It just means a strict diet for 13.5 weeks and the propensity for type II diabetes later in life. It's good to know it now rather than later.

I spent some time dwelling on how unfair it is, given my positive eating and exercising habits. But, at the end of the day, we are dealt a hand in life and we have to deal with it. Much like infertility, this is another thing that I don't have control over. I can do the best that I can, and hope modern medicine can help me with the rest.

I take a two-hour class on gestational diabetes tomorrow. Mark has already predicted that I'm going to be pissed afterward. Everything that I've read online basically tells me to do what I'm already doing. "...If you can't exercise for 20-30 minutes at a time, you can start with 5-10 minutes and work your way up...". That was a bit of advise about working exercise into your routine...ha! I will say, though, that I can give up some sweets. I'm not usually a sweets person, but this pregnancy has turned me into one! I don't think Halloween helped that much either. Oh well.

I've attached a belly photo. We've been really bad about taking them. This is from last night, so it is a shot at 26 weeks and 5 days. I'm expanding! According to my check up on Friday, I'm measuring two weeks ahead, although in person most people don't think I look like I'm almost 27 weeks, so I don't know. I think it's because they measure from the pubic bone to the bra line, and I have a long torso. She could also be measuring ahead because of the gestational diabetes. I'm just hoping everything with our little girl keeps going OK. I just want her here, healthy and safe!

Failed the Glucose Tolerance Test

I had my glucose tolerance test on Friday...and failed it! I'm not entirely suprised, since women with PCOS have a considerably higher chance for gestational diabetes than the general population...but I've been taking good care of myself!


I really had a hard time with it on Friday when I found out. It's not to say that I have gestational diabetes. I still have to do the three-hour glucose tolerance test. For that test, I fast for twelve hours, they have me drink a really sugary drink, and then test me after one hour, two hours and three hours. If I fail that one...they make me go to the gestational diabetes class where I'll learn how to eat properly for gestational diabetes. I just feel like my body is failing me once again. I know I'm being melodramatic, but dang it already! I went on to celebrate my failure this weekend by eating way too much sugar, carbs and sodium. I have a bad-food hang over...but I had fun!

For Halloween Mark and I went as Juno and Paulie Bleeker. It was a good costume, with the exception of my blonde hair. We went to Shamrock's in St. Paul. It was a good time! We then celebrated Mark's mom's, Emily, 60th birthday with a birthday extravaganza. We started with champagne (only a sip for me) and a bagpiper in the afternoon. Emily has always said she wants bagpipes and champagne at her funeral. More recently she decided she wouldn't be able to enjoy her funeral, so she might want it sooner...so she got it! We then went to dinner at Pazzaluna, and to the Opera afterward. It was a great day!

























Today Mark and I played hookie from our jobs (Mark consults for his dad on the weekends, I obviously usually work being in real estate). The weather was beautiful, so we took Molly on a driving and walking tour of St. Paul and Minneapolis. We stopped by the river and played fetch with her, took a walk through the U of M campus to see the post-homecoming destruction as well as the new stadium, and had lunch on St. Anthony Main. It was really nice!

Tonight we finally got the curtains finished. What my mom and I thought would be a couple hour task, turned into a couple weekend task with lots of adjustments. But, I think the final product is great!

We still need more belly shots. We keep forgetting to take them. Both my parents and Jenny got some decent shots of me at the birthday extravaganza yesterday. You can definitely tell I'm growing! I'll have to get those from them and post some!